End of an era: Dosko Baarle-Hertog will not bring a first team into competition next season (Baarle-Hertog)

Since the founding of Door Onderlinge Samenspel Komt Overwinning (Dosko) in 1945, the club has been an established name in provincial football. The team from Baarle-Hertog oscillated between third and fourth provincial for years. The club has gone downhill in recent years: last season it was third to last in the lowest provincial series, this season it was even bottom with barely ten points from 28 matches. But the season isn’t over yet. The board was forced to make a serious decision. Dosko will not field a first team in the competition next season. For the sake of completeness: nothing will change for the youth teams.

The turning point came in 2020, when chairman and sponsor Ad Haneveer passed away. “One of the major problems of Dosko is its location,” says board member Jef Nemsdael. “We are located in the remote corner of the country. In the past, there were financial resources to convince boys to make the trip to Baarle-Hertog or to bring quality Dutch people to Belgium.”

Heavy legacy

Nemsdael emphasizes that the choice not to register a first team anymore has nothing to do with the financial situation of the club. “The legacy after the loss of Ad Haneveer was very great. We were left with a small existing selection, had to rebuild our youth department and at the same time invest in our outdated accommodation. As a club we have certainly taken steps forward, but with our first team we have ended up in a downward spiral. Two years in a row of bad results, two years in a row problems finding players for our first team. Players who decide to leave the club in the middle of the season and other players who dropped out with a serious injury. In addition, there is little progress from our own youth for the time being and our location is not ideal. The intention was to put a team together after all, but the recent forfeits (Dosko has already forfeited three times, ed.) caused us to have to make this unpopular decision.”

“Players who decide to leave the club in the middle of the season and other players who dropped out with a serious injury. In addition, there is little movement from our own youth for the time being and our location is not ideal”

Jef Nemsdael

Board member Dosko

This marks the end of an era for Dosko. “We hope that our youth will mature further in the coming seasons and that we can generate progression. When will we put together a first team again? When the time is right, but that will take at least a few years,” concludes Jef Nemsdael.