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RKC Waalwijk
Association football club in the Netherlands From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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RKC Waalwijk (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌɛrkaːˈseː ˈʋaːlʋɛik]) is a Dutch professional football club based in Waalwijk. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2024–25 season. Its name is derived from 'Rooms Katholieke Combinatie Waalwijk' ('Roman Catholic Combination Waalwijk' in Dutch) and was established as a merger of HEC, WVB and Hercules.
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History
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The club was formed on 26 August 1940 and used to play its home games at Sportpark Olympia. Its new stadium, the 7,500 seater Mandemakers Stadion was opened in 1996 and featured the home match against Roda JC. RKC's clubname was also expanded with the name of the town before that 1996–97 season. While considered one of the Eredivisie's smaller clubs, it nevertheless maintained its top flight status for many years. Its home colors are yellow and blue.
At the end of the 2006–07 season, RKC Waalwijk were relegated from the Eredivisie after a defeat in play-offs against VVV-Venlo.
On 3 June 2009 they were promoted to the Eredivisie division after a win in the play-offs against De Graafschap. Though, their spell didn't last long ending in the last place with only 15 points. In the season followed they would finish first in the Eerste Divisie promoting back in the top flight of Dutch football.
After another relegation at the end of the 2013–14 season, RKC Waalwijk finished 20th (last) in the 2014–15 season of Eerste Divisie. However, they didn't relegate to Topklasse (amateurs) because both of the two Topklasse champions declined promotion into professionalism. In 2016–17, they made the Eerste Divisie playoffs, losing 5–2 on aggregate to FC Emmen.
In the 2017–18 season, RKC was placed 16th out of 20 teams in the Eerste Divisie. In 2019, Waalwijk promoted back to the Eredivisie after a five-year absence, after beating Go Ahead Eagles in the play-off finals. After a 0–0 draw in the first leg at home, RKC won the second leg 5–4 away.[1]
In the 2019–20 season, RKC finished in last place, but they survived relegation due to the season being declared void due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] In the subsequent 2020–21 season, the club managed to avoid relegation on their own by finishing in 15th place.[3] RKC were relegated from the Eredivisie at the end of the 2024–25 season, finishing 17th. The club endured a historically poor start, equalling the league record for most consecutive defeats to start a season, and struggled with discipline, receiving six red cards in the first twelve matches.[4] Head coach Henk Fraser remained in charge throughout, despite mounting criticism.[5][6][7] In October, the club attracted national attention by signing former prodigy Mohamed Ihattaren, whose arrival briefly lifted morale and media focus.[8] A short resurgence in early 2025, including a 5–0 win over NAC Breda, proved insufficient, and relegation to the Eerste Divisie was confirmed on the final matchday.[9][10]
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Results
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Below is a table with RKC's domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1984.
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European record
- RKC score listed first
Current squad
- As of 24 July 2025[11]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
Club officials
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Former coaches
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See also
References
External links
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