 | |||
| Full name | Rooms Katholieke Combinatie Waalwijk | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short name | RKC | ||
| Founded | 26 August 1940; 84 years ago (1940-08-26) | ||
| Ground | Mandemakers Stadion | ||
| Capacity | 7,508 | ||
| Chairman | Peter Konijnenburg | ||
| Head coach | Henk Fraser | ||
| League | Eredivisie | ||
| 2023–24 | Eredivisie, 15th of 18 | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
RKC Waalwijk (Dutch pronunciation:[ˌɛrkaːˈseːˈʋaːlʋɛik]) is a Dutch professionalfootball club based inWaalwijk, that is currently competing in theEredivisie. 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.
The club was formed on 26 August 1940 and used to play its home games atSportpark Olympia. Its new stadium, the 7,500 seaterMandemakers Stadion was opened in 1996 and featured the home match againstRoda 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 againstVVV-Venlo.
On 3 June 2009 they were promoted to theEredivisie division after a win in the play-offs againstDe 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 theEerste 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 toFC Emmen.
In the2017–18 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 beatingGo Ahead Eagles in the play-off finals. After a 0–0 draw in the first leg at home, RKC won the second leg 4–5 away.[1]
In the2019–20 season, RKC finished in last place, but they survived relegation due to the season being declared void due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[2] In the subsequent2020–21 season, the club managed to avoid relegation on their own by finishing in 15th place.[3]
Below is a table with RKC's domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1984.
| Domestic Results since 1956 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic league | League result | Qualification to | KNVB Cup season | Cup result |
| 2023–24 Eredivisie | 15th | – | 2023–24 | first round |
| 2022–23 Eredivisie | 9th | – | 2022–23 | first round |
| 2021–22 Eredivisie | 10th | – | 2021–22 | quarter finals |
| 2020–21 Eredivisie | 15th | – | 2020–21 | first round |
| 2019–20 Eredivisie | 18th | No relegation due toCOVID-19 | 2019–20 | first round |
| 2018–19 Eerste Divisie | 8th | Eredivisie (winning promotion/releg. play-offs) | 2018–19 | Round of 16 |
| 2017–18 Eerste Divisie | 18th | – | 2017–18 | second round |
| 2016–17 Eerste Divisie | 10th | – | 2016–17 | second round |
| 2015–16 Eerste Divisie | 18th | – | 2015–16 | second round |
| 2014–15 Eerste Divisie | 20th | – | 2014–15 | second round |
| 2013–14 Eredivisie | 16th | Eerste Divisie (promotion/relegation playoffs: relegation) | 2013–14 | second round |
| 2012–13 Eredivisie | 14th | – | 2012–13 | third round |
| 2011–12 Eredivisie | 9h | – | 2011–12 | quarter final |
| 2010–11 Eerste Divisie | 1st | Eredivisie (promoted) | 2010–11 | semi final |
| 2009–10 Eredivisie | 18th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 2009–10 | second round |
| 2008–09 Eerste Divisie | 2nd | Eredivisie (promotion/relegation play-offs: promotion) | 2008–09 | third round |
| 2007–08 Eerste Divisie | 2nd | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 2007–08 | round of 16 |
| 2006–07 Eredivisie | 17th | Eerste Divisie (promotion/relegation play-off: relegation) | 2006–07 | semi final |
| 2005–06 Eredivisie | 12th | – | 2005–06 | third round |
| 2004–05 Eredivisie | 9th | – | 2004–05 | round of 16 |
| 2003–04 Eredivisie | 11th | – | 2003–04 | round of 16 |
| 2002–03 Eredivisie | 9th | – | 2002–03 | third round |
| 2001–02 Eredivisie | 8th | – | 2001–02 | round of 16 |
| 2000–01 Eredivisie | 7th | – | 2000–01 | second round |
| 1999–2000 Eredivisie | 11th | – | 1999–00 | quarter finals |
| 1998–99 Eredivisie | 16th | promotion/relegation competition: no relegation | 1998–99 | second round |
| 1997–98 Eredivisie | 16th | promotion/relegation competition: no relegation | 1997–98 | second round |
| 1996–97 Eredivisie | 16th | promotion/relegation competition: no relegation | 1996–97 | round of 16 |
| 1995–96 Eredivisie | 11th | – | 1995–96 | second round |
| 1994–95 Eredivisie | 8th | – | 1994–95 | second round |
| 1993–94 Eredivisie | 16th | promotion/relegation competition: no relegation | 1993–94 | quarter finals |
| 1992–93 Eredivisie | 9th | – | 1992–93 | round of 16 |
| 1991–92 Eredivisie | 10th | – | 1991–92 | third round |
| 1990–91 Eredivisie | 7th | – | 1990–91 | second round |
| 1989–90 Eredivisie | 8th | – | 1989–90 | second round |
| 1988–89 Eredivisie | 11th | – | 1988–89 | second round |
| 1987–88 Eerste Divisie | 1st | Eredivisie (promotion) | 1987–88 | semi finals |
| 1986–87 Eerste Divisie | 4th | promotion competition: no promotion | 1986–87 | second round |
| 1985–86 Eerste Divisie | 3rd | promotion competition: no promotion | 1985–86 | first round |
| 1984–85 Eerste Divisie | 5th | promotion competition: no promotion | 1984–85 | first round |
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Score | Goalscorers RKC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Intertoto Cup | Group |  1. FC Kaiserslautern | 1–1, 2–2 | |
 First Vienna FC | 3–4, 2–4 | ||||
 Carl Zeiss Jena | 2–0, 1–0 | ||||
| 1992 | Intertoto Cup | Group |  Caen | 1–0, 0–2 | |
 Lyngby BK | 1–1, 0–2 | ||||
| FC Schalke 04 | 3–2, 4–2 | ||||
| 2000 | Intertoto Cup | 3R |  Bradford City | 0–2, 0–1 | |
| 2001 | Intertoto Cup | 3R | TSV 1860 München | 1–2, 1–3 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head Coach |  Henk Fraser |
| Assistant Coach | Sander Duits |
| First-Team Coach | Peter Uneken |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Rein Baart |
| Assistant Goalkeeper Coach | Bart Tinus |
| Video Analyst | Nyo Sulsters |
| Sports Scientist / Data Analyst | Folkert Boer |
| Chief Scout | Lars Lambooij |
| Scout | Cees Schapendonk |
| Club doctor | Tim Baijens |
| Physiotherapist | Robert van Riel Rob Westerlaken |
| Sports Carer | Ramon van Haaren |
| Exercise Physiologist | Nick van Aken |
| Kit Manager | Djordy de Nijs |
| Team Manager | Sander van den Anker |
| Technical Director | Mohammed Allach |
Wim Klaassen (1968–71)Jan Remmers (1974–80)Jos Wap (1980–82)Kees Vermunt (1983)Rien de Leur (1983–84)Leen Looijen (1985–86)Leo van Veen (1 July 1986 – 30 June 1993)Hans Verèl (1 July 1993–December 18, 1993)Bert Jacobs (18 December 1993–June 30, 1995)Leo van Veen (1 July 1995 – 30 June 1996)Cees van Kooten (1 July 1996–October 12, 1996)Bert Jacobs (12 October 1996–June 30, 1997)Peter Boeve (1 July 1997–October 26, 1998)Martin Jol (26 October 1998–June 30, 2004)Erwin Koeman (1 July 2004 – 30 June 2005)Adrie Koster (1 July 2005–November 27, 2006)Mark Wotte (27 November 2006–June 20, 2007)
Željko Petrović (1 July 2007 – 30 June 2008)Ruud Brood (1 July 2008 – 30 June 2012)Erwin Koeman (1 July 2012 – 30 June 2014)Martin Koopman (1 July 2014 – 11 February 2015)Peter van den Berg (12 February 2015 – 7 January 2018)Hans de Koning (7 January 2018 - 30 June 2018)Fred Grim (8 July 2018 - 30 June 2021)Joseph Oosting (1 July, 2021–30 June 2023)Henk Fraser (1 July 2023–)
