Helmond Sport () is a Dutch professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Helmond Helmond (; called ''Hèllemond'' in the local dialect) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of ...

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

. Founded in 1967 following the acquisition of the professional license of , the club achieved promotion to the top-tier

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

in 1982. After two seasons in the Eredivisie, Helmond Sport was relegated and has since remained a consistent presence in the second-tier

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

. The club's most notable achievement came in the

1984–85 KNVB Cup The 1984-85 KNVB Cup 67th edition of the Dutch national football annual knockout tournament for the KNVB Cup. 46 teams contested, beginning on 20 October 1984 and ending at the final on 6 June 1985. FC Utrecht beat Helmond Sport 1–0 and won the ...

, where they finished as runners-up after a narrow defeat to

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion ...

in the final. Helmond Sport plays its home matches at

GS Staalwerken Stadion GS Staalwerken Stadion, also known as Campus De Braak, is an multi-purpose sports venue located in Helmond, Netherlands. The facility serves as the home ground of professional football club Helmond Sport and has a capacity of 3,600 spectators. ...

since 2025.

History

Helmond Sport was established on 27 June 1967 following the acquisition of the professional license of , ensuring that professional football would remain in the city of

. The club began in the

Tweede Divisie Tweede Divisie (; ) is the highest amateur (and historically the lowest professional) football league in the Netherlands. It was established in 1956, together with the Eredivisie and the Eerste Divisie. Between 1956 and 1960 and between 1962 and 19 ...

and, after a single season, earned promotion to the

by defeating

Fortuna Vlaardingen Fortuna Vlaardingen was a Dutch association football, football club which was founded in 1904 in Vlaardingen. The club played its matches in the Floreslaan stadium. History The club entered the Eerste Divisie in 1956. Fortuna never made it toward ...

in a decisive play-off match. In its early years, Helmond Sport struggled to make a significant impact in the Eerste Divisie, achieving only three top-ten finishes in its first 13 seasons. A breakthrough came in the 1981–82 season, when the club won its first period title and went on to secure the Eerste Divisie championship. This success earned Helmond Sport promotion to the top-tier

for the first time. The club narrowly avoided relegation in its debut top-flight season but was relegated the following year. One of the club's most notable achievements occurred in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, when Helmond Sport reached the

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...

final. After defeating

FC Wageningen FC Wageningen (before 1978 ''Wageningen'' and ''WVV Wageningen'') was a Dutch football club which was founded on 27 August 1911., The club played its matches in the Wageningse Berg stadium. History FC Wageningen spent most of its history in ...

over two legs in the semi-finals, the team faced

in the final. The match, played in Utrecht due to financial considerations, ended in a 1–0 defeat for Helmond Sport after

John van Loen Johannes ("John") Maria van Loen (born 4 February 1965) is a Dutch football manager and former player who most recently managed Locomotive Tbilisi. A forward, he earned seven caps for the Netherlands national team, with which he scored one g ...

scored in the final minute. From 1985 through the late 1990s, Helmond Sport remained a consistent presence in the Eerste Divisie, though it seldom challenged for promotion. The 1998–99 season marked a resurgence, with the team finishing fourth and claiming a period title. Another strong campaign followed in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, when the club finished third. Despite reaching the promotion play-off finals in 2003,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, Helmond Sport was unable to secure a return to the Eredivisie. Between 2008 and 2013, the club enjoyed a period of consistent success, finishing in the upper half of the table each season. This run ended in 2014, when Helmond Sport finished 13th. The following seasons were marked by disappointing performances, with the team failing to qualify for the play-offs between 2014 and 2016. Improvement came in the 2016–17 season under new head coach

Roy Hendriksen Roy Pierre Vernond Hendriksen (born 21 January 1969) is a Dutch professional football (soccer), football Manager (association football), manager, Coach (association football), coach and former player. During his 16-year playing career he played ...

, as the team secured a spot in the promotion play-offs by finishing second in the second period. Despite these sporadic successes, Helmond Sport has not returned to the Eredivisie since its relegation in 1984.

Honours

** Runners-up: 1985 *

** Winner: 1982 * Promoted to

** Promotion: 1968 ImageSize = width:800 height:60 PlotArea = left:10 right:10 bottom:30 top:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2024 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1990 Colors = id:bl1 value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.3) id:bl2 value:rgb(0.5,0.8,0.5) id:rs value:rgb(0.8,0.6,0.6) id:rn value:rgb(0.9,0.1,0.1) PlotData= bar:Position width:15 color:white align:center from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:18 from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:9 from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:5 from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:6 from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:19 from:01/01/2007 till:01/01/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:3 from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:4 from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:19 from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:20 from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:20 from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/01/2021 till:01/01/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:20 from:01/01/2022 till:01/01/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2023 till:01/01/2024 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2024 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "

Domestic results

Below is a table with Helmond Sport's domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1956.

Current squad

Management

Former managers

* Frans Debruijn (1967–1968) * Jacques de Wit (1968–1972) * René van Eck (1972–1974) *

Co Prins Jacobus Theodorus Wilhelmus "Co" Prins (5 June 1938 – 26 September 1987) was a Dutch association football player. He played 184 matches for football club Ajax Amsterdam from 1959 to 1966 where he scored 60 goals. He played for the German footb ...

(a.i.) (1974) * Evert Mur (1974–75) * Ron Dellow (1975–77) * Harrie van Tuel (1977–1978) * Jacques de Wit (1978–1979) *

Jan Notermans Willem II may refer to: People *William II, Prince of Orange (1626–1650), stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands *William II of the Netherlands (1792–1849), King of the Netherlands Other uses *Willem II Tilburg, a Dutch footbal ...

(1979–83) *

Jan Brouwer Jan Brouwer (born 1939/1940) is a Dutch former football manager who was the manager of Angolan side Sagrada Esperança, a position he undertook in April 2008. He previously managed the Zambia national team in 2001, Petro Atlético in 2004, an ...

(1983–86) * Jo Jansen (1986–87) *

Theo Laseroms Matheus Wilhelmus Theodorus "Theo" Laseroms (8 March 1940 – 25 April 1991) was a Dutch football player and manager. A defender, he made a name for himself when he played for Feijenoord. He gained six caps for the Netherlands national team. ...

(1987–88) * Dick Buitelaar (1988–89) *

Frans Körver Franciscus Arnoldus Mattheus Körver (31 July 1937 – 14 December 2024) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. Career Körver made his debut for Sittardia in 1959 and played over 50 matches for the club before joining Limburg ...

(1989–92) * Henk Rayer (1992–93) *

Louis Coolen Louis Coolen (born 12 January 1952) is a Dutch football manager and retired player who works as an advisor to the board at Helmond Sport. Playing career Coolen was born in Nuenen. A midfielder, during his playing career he played for PSV, Helmo ...

(a.i.) (1993) *

Adrie Koster Adrianus Cornelis "Adrie" Koster (; born 18 November 1954) is a Dutch football manager who was most recently the manager of Willem II. He is a former winger and former manager of Ajax, Club Brugge and the Netherlands U21 team. Career He p ...

(1993–95) *

Jan Pruijn Jan Pruijn (born 12 October 1958) is a Dutch association football, football coach. Career As a footballer, Jan Pruijn only played amateur football, playing in the Hoofdklasse the highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands. In 1985, h ...

(1995–96) * Willem Leushuis (a.i.) (1996) *

(1996–01) * Mario Verlijsdonk (2001–02) * Jan van Dijk (2002–04) *

Ruud Brood Ruud Brood (born 19 October 1962) is a Dutch football manager and a former player who was most recently the manager of TOP Oss. Football career Player Brood was born in Gorinchem. After joining the Feyenoord youth academy from hometown amateur ...

(2004–06) *

Gerald Vanenburg Gerald Mervin Vanenburg (born 5 March 1964) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who is currently serving as the assistant coach of the Indonesia national team and the head coach of the Indonesia under-23 national team. ...

(2006–07) * Mario Verlijsdonk (a.i.) (2007) *

Jan Poortvliet Jan Poortvliet (; born 21 September 1955) is a Dutch professional association football, football coach and a former player who played as a left-back. He works as the coach of the Under-18 squad of FC Eindhoven He represented the Netherlands nati ...

(2007–08) *

Jurgen Streppel Jurgen Streppel (born 25 June 1969) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player, who is the current technical director of Helmond Sport. Playing career Born in Voorst, Streppel began his professional career in 1990 as a midfield ...

(2008–11) *

Hans de Koning Hans de Koning (; born 5 April 1960) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. De Koning played as a goalkeeper. Playing career De Koning played for AZ'67 for ten years, before moving to Twente, where he became known as "''Han ...

(2011–12) *

Eric Meijers Eric Meijers (born 6 August 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of club TEC. Coaching career Meijers is mostly known for his ten-year spell as head coach of Achilles '29, which he turned into ...

(2012–13) * Mario Verlijsdonk (a.i.) (2013) * Jan van Dijk (2013–16) * Remond Strijbosch (a.i.) (2016) *

(2016–18) * Rob Alflen (2018–19) *

Wil Boessen Wil Boessen (born 3 May 1964) is a Dutch football manager and a former player. He is the manager of side Jong PSV. Club career Born in Sittard, Boessen played a large part of his career for local side Fortuna Sittard. He also had spells at FC ...

(2019–22) * Sven Swinnen (2022) *

Tim Bakens Tim Bakens (born 2 November 1982) is a Dutch coach and former association football, footballer who played as a centre back. Club career Bakens is a tall central defender who was born in Groesbeek and made his debut in professional football, bein ...

(a.i.) (2022) *

Bob Peeters Bob Peeters (born 10 January 1974) is a Belgian football executive and former player and manager. He currently serves as sporting director of Challenger Pro League club Beveren. Club career Lierse Noted for his large stature, measuring 1.96 m ...

(2022–24) * Adrie Bogers (a.i.) (2024) * Kevin Hofland (26 Mar 2024–3 Feb 2025) *

Robert Maaskant Robert Patrick Maaskant (; born 10 January 1969) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of club Helmond Sport. Club career Maaskant played for Go Ahead Eagles, Emmen, Motherwell, Zwolle and Excelsior. ...

(11 Feb 2025 – present)

References

External links

* {{Eerste Divisie Association football clubs established in 1967 1967 establishments in the Netherlands Football clubs in the Netherlands Football clubs in Helmond Helmond Sport seasons