Founded in 1920 this club were champions of the First Division several times in the 1940's aided by the legendary Abe Lenstra. They play in a blue and white strip and their home ground is the Abe Lenstra Stadium with a capacity of 14,025. After the introduction of Professional Football in Holland in 1954 Heerenveen played for many years in the First and Second Divisions. After the split between amateurs and professionals the club played on under the name Sportclub Heerenveen and are nowadays regarded as one of the more talented teams in the top division of Dutch football.

Heerenveen were founded in 1920 and started life playing under the name "Athleta". During the season they changed their name to "Spartaan", but that didn't last long because in October 1922 the NVB (Netherlands Football Association) notified them that, for some unknown reason, they would now be known simply as v.v. Heerenveen. Probably there was another club playing under the same, or similar, name, something which happened regularly in the early days of Football in Holland. In any case the club put up little resistance and they have been known as Heerenveen ever since.

The club's first competitive matches were played during the season of 1922 and saw their immediate promotion from the FVB division to the '3rd Class' NVB. They were in the mood to climb even higher and were promoted to the '2nd Class' NVB at the end of the following season. After a fine start they lost steam and had some lean years in which they failed to make their mark. They finished twice at the bottom of their division and capped it all with a disastrous season where they only earned themselves one point and it was only some administrative blunders by the NVB that saved them from relegation! 

In 1928 the club moved to a new 'home' in the J.H. Kruisstraat where they played all their  matches until 1993. This was a fine ground with a stand for spectators and proper changing facilities for the players. It had an inspiring effect on the team who managed to climb out of the lower regions until, in 1931-1932, they were competing for the division title, narrowly losing to rivals Sneek! In any case Heerenveen were back with a vengeance and, in the following years, became a serious opponent for any team to meet!

Heerenveen competed for the divisional championship several times at that time but it took until 1935-1936 before they finally won the coveted title. In the promotion playoffs Asser Achilles proved a little too strong but they repeated their achievement the following year and this time made no mistake. With the help of footballing legend Abe Lenstra they fought off Winschoten WVV and Leuuwaarder Friesland  to finally reach the top division of Dutch football.

Their 'Eerste Klas' debut was a tough one and  they had difficulty holding their own against such renowned names as Be Quick and GVAV. However, in the following years they became an increasingly confident team who began to  create a name for the club from 'It Friese Haagje'. Their most famous successes came during the dark years of the German occupation. They were Northern Champions in three consecutive years and could compete for the National Title but their supremacy up north proved of little value and their fight for the national trophy made little impression.

The Post-war years saw their promise converted into their greatest achievements. Although they had other strong players in the squad, it was mostly thanks to Abe Lenstra that they enjoyed the successes that followed. Abe was simply the best footballer to ever wear the Heerenveen strip ("pompeblêdentricot" in Fries!), an all-rounder who helped the club to win the northern title no less than 6 times in a row! Unfortunately, despite his galvanising presence, they never managed to win the national title although they were always a considerable threat to any team throughout the land!

The 1960s were lean years for the club who made a drab impression on pitch and, to make things worse, the Dutch FA (KNVB) decided on a reorganisational reshuffle which saw Heerenveen 'relegated' from the ranks of Holland's finest. They struggled on in the 2nd Division but the fans began to desert them in increasing numbers and the subsequent loss of income led to the predictable downward spiral. Without the money to buy the players needed to boost performance, and bring back the fans, their financial problems grew worse and bankruptcy became a constant  threat so that the very existence of the club hung on a very thin thread.

Just when the began to look hopeless the local population rallied round to rescue the sinking ship of  footballing Heerenveen. Financial help finally began to arrive through the efforts of the "Aktie '67" campaign which kept the club afloat and not a moment too soon! The KNVB was actively engaged at the time in a cleanup operation to rid the league of small clubs who were no longer capable of coping with the financial ups and downs of professional football. Heerenveen felt the welcome encouragement of the trade winds in their sails again after years stuck in the doldrums and  left the disappointing 1960s behind them in grand style with promotion to the 1st Division in 1970.