Kozakken Boys

Kozakken Boys (Dutch pronunciation: [koːˈzɑkə(n) ˈbɔis]) is a Dutch football club based in Werkendam. It competes in Tweede Divisie, the third tier of Dutch football.

Formed as Steeds Voorwaarts Werkendam (SVW) in 1932, it adopted its current name in 1935. Kozakken Boys was named after the Don Cossack troops, who liberated Werkendam from French occupation in 1813. One of the most prominent amateur clubs in the Netherlands, the club experienced a surge towards the higher divisions of Dutch football in the 2010s, reaching promotion to the third-tier Tweede Divisie in 2016. Kozakken Boys have won the top amateur division for Saturday clubs six times: in 1985, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995 and 2015.

The club has played at its current home ground De Zwaaier since 2001. Before, Kozakken Boys played at the grounds Kozakkenstoep and, between 1959 and 2001, at De Vierlaan.

History

Early history (1932–1940)

The first organised football to be played in Werkendam took place during the era of mobilisation between 1914–18 by soldiers stationed in the village. It was not until some time later, in 1924, that the first football club was founded: Werkendamse Voetbal Vereniging (WVV). Shortly afterwards, other football clubs such as Door Vrienden Opgericht (DVO), Samenspel Overwint Werkendam (SOW) and Excelsior were founded, but the majority of these clubs quickly disappeared. In those years, the clubs had difficulty retaining members, as a large part of the population worked outside in the Biesbosch National Park and were away from home for weeks.

On 13 April 1932, Steeds Voorwaarts Werkendam (SVW) was founded to create a second club in Werkendam as a counterpart to DVO. When SVW transferred from the Brabantsche Voetbalbond (BVB) to the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) in 1935, a club with that name already appeared to exist in Gorinchem, so that the name was changed from SVW to Kozakken Boys that year. The name was chosen as a tribute to the "Kozakstoep

This page also has a version in other languages :  Козаккен Бойз (russian)