ASWH, short for Altijd Sterker Worden Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, is an association football club from Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Netherlands. The club was founded in 1929. Its first squad won ten section championships, one in every decade since 1949, with the exception of three (Dutch third-tier) championships in the 2000s and no championship in the 2010s. In 2005 ASWH also won the Dutch Championship of Amateur Soccer and the Dutch Championship of Saturday Soccer. In 2011, the second squad won the national title for reserve teams. Ascending gradually through the ranks, ASWH played 2019–2022 in the semi-professional Tweede Divisie. Since 2024, the first squad plays in the Derde Divisie. In 2025–26, ASWH operates 77 teams in competitions, a growth of 7 since 2023–24.
ASWH has also been successful in cups: it won the KNVB Amateur Cup in 2006 and 2014, the District Cup South I in 2006, 2014 and 2016, and the Dutch Super Cup for Amateurs in 2005 and 2014. In the 2006–07 KNVB Cup, ASWH defeated the professional side Cambuur in the 16th finals, 4–2, before losing 0–5 against Roda JC in the 8th finals. In the 2013–14 KNVB Cup, it lost 4–1 against Ajax in the 16th finals. In the 2016–17 KNVB Cup, ASWH again reached the 8th finals, where it lost 2–0 against AZ Alkmaar. In the 2024–2025 Cup, ASWH lost 0–1 to professional side SC Heerenveen in the 32 clubs round.
Club name The origin of the club's name is not clear. Some claim ASW stood for Altijd Sporten Wij (We're Always Sporting), others claim it meant Altijd Sterker Worden (Always Growing Stronger). Clueless about which of the two is historically correct, club members eventually settled on "Altijd Sterker Worden" because of a general preference for this phrase as is. An H for Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht was later added as there were additional clubs with the name ASW.
History 1929–1949: Eventful first twenty years 1929–1939: Foundation, no ground and CNVB The club was founded on August 1, 1929, as ASW, by five children from Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht: Bas van Wingerden (born 1915), Johannes van Wingerden (born 1917), Jan van Nieuwenhuyzen (born 1917), Siem van der Wulp (born 1919) and Harmen Haksteeg (born 1920). The oldest of the five, 14-year-old Bas van Wingerden, became the club's first chairman. He was succeeded by then-16-year-old Harmen Haksteeg in 1936. Haksteeg would remain chairman of the club until 1971.
The club initially played only friendly away matches, for lack of its own ground, and could not join a competition. This changed when farmer Nugteren gave the club a pasture in 1936, coincidentally (as the club kept moving around) opposite the location of its current field. The first home match was played on May 25, 1936, against ULO Groenendijk. The club joined the Rotterdam district of the Christian Dutch Football Association, as a new club in its third and lowest class. On 2 November 1936 ASW lost in Rijsoord 3–1 against VV Rijsoord, the leaders of the competition and initially a stronger rival of ASW. With ASW central forward Pons missing, Van der Wulp scored an equalizer for H.I. Ambacht, yet the team and its keeper were no match for Rijsoord.
Starting in the 1937–38 season, the classes of the struggling CNVB were reorganized into regional sections. Henceforth ASW played in section C in the equivalent of a regional class 1, so it went supposedly up two tiers, while there was a stronger quality variance. In its first loss for this season, ASWH was beaten 7–4 by VVE Nieuw Lekkerland, in what the Nieuwsblad voor de Hoeksche Waard en IJselmonde [sic] praised as "a match in which often good soccer could be enjoyed." On Monday, 6 June 1938 ASWH drew 1–1 against ONA Gouda and 0–0 against ZCFC Zaandam – the eventual winners of the 1B division cup – in the Western Tourneer of the Christian Dutch Football Association. In March 1939, ASW played again a strong game against VVE, going 1–0 into recession. In the second half VVE received and utilized a penalty shot. The supporters and players were annoyed by the decision, the referee by their protest, and decided with little reason to quit the game.
1939–1949: KNVB, WWII and first championship In 1939–40, ASWH participated in an emergency competition. The competition was managed by the KNVB by standards set by the CNVB that had collapsed as the season was about to start. Initially, ASWH drew against Oranje Wit Dordrecht, 0–0. On 28 September 1940, "that brave little club" from Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht beat Rijsoord, 2–3, in Rijsoord. In November 1941, ASW led the regional Division B competition unbeaten, beating among others Dordrecht 3–1. In 1942 the Nazis confiscated the field of ASW after which it played on Ido's Football Club grounds on the Nieuwe Bosweg. The last game during World War II was a 1–5 loss against Kinderdijk-side VV De Zwerver in February 1944.
The first game after the war was a 3–0 loss against H.I.-Ambacht partner and rival IFC. Gradually an H for Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht was added to the club name, to avoid confusion with ASW from Dordrecht (merged into SC Reeland in 1997) and ASW from Waddinxveen (continuing under this name). The first section title for ASWH 1, in the highest division of the Dordrecht district of the Royal Dutch Football Association, was won in 1949, after winning all matches. The right for promotion posed a problem: the pitch didn't meet the criteria for admission to the main league system of the KNVB. A new ground on the Pruimendijk in Oostendam was offered by farmer Plaisier, and the club was promoted.
1949–1970: Vierde Klasse and Derde Klasse
During almost the entire 1950s ASWH played in the Vierde Klasse 4C and 4D. It ended 9th in 1954, 8th in 1955 and '56, 7th in 1950, 4th in 1953 and '58, 3rd in 1951 and '57, and runner-up in 1952. In the runner-up year it was supposed to play an important game against Woudrichem, where the referee failed to show up. One of the larger victories during these years was the November 1952 shellacking of of Schiedam at 6–0. In 1959 it won the 4D section championship and promoted to the Derde Klasse.
The first gig in the Derde Klasse B lasted only one year and in the summer of 1960 ASWH went back to the Vierde Klasse from position 9. For an equally short period as in 1961 ASWH secured its second Vierde Klasse section championship. In the decisive game, on Saturday 18 March 1961, it had beaten 2–0 in Ambacht. ASWH thus promoted a second time to the Derde Klasse, this time staying for 2 seasons. In 1963 ASWH returned to the Vierde Klasse for two seasons.
In 1965 it was promoted from the second position in the Vierde Klasse, never to return to the Vierde again. Now a stable Derde Klasse team, it ended 8th in 1966, runner-up in 1967, 5th in 1968, and 6th in 1969.
1970–1996: Tweede Klasse and Eerste Klasse
In 1970 the Ambacht side won its only Derde Klasse championship after it beat RC Leiderdorp 2–0 at home. It promoted to the Tweede Klasse where it would play for the remainder of the 1970s and beyond.
Henk van Osch coached the team for a full five years, from 1979 to 1984, a sign of stability in the club. In 1983, ASWH won its first and only Tweede Klasse championship. According to Het Volk, it secured the title mid-April, through a single goal by Rob Prins against AZVV in Terneuzen. Trouw claimed that the decisive game was a home match against Good Luck, also beating the opponent by a modest 1–0. Trouw did not list the scorer for that game, yet mentions Jaap Kense as the striker behind ASWH's success.
During the remainder of the 1980s, ASWH played in the Eerste Klasse. Henk van Osch was replaced by Cees van de Bosch. After Van den Bosch, ASWH hired the first coach since the 1950s who was a former professional, Gerard Weber, serving from 1986–1988. Weber was let go before the end of his second season, a first for the conservative village club, after which Cees van de Bosch came back to complete the season. During the seasons 1992–1995, ASWH played back in the Tweede Klasse. In 1995 it returned to the Eerste Klasse.
1996–2016: Hoofdklasse and national amateur titles In 1996 ASWH was promoted from the Eerste Klasse to the Hoofdklasse, at that time the third tier and the highest tier of amateur football in the Netherlands. The club was relegated two years later, followed by the title in the Eerste Klasse and automatic promotion back to the Hoofdklasse. The club was placed in the Saturday Hoofdklasse B, where it finished in third place. The next season brought the first Hoofdklasse title in the club's existence. In 2002 ASWH again won the title, this time in the Saturday Hoofdklasse A.
A third Hoofdklasse championship was earned in 2004–05, this time followed by the national title for Saturday amateurs, defeating IJsselmeervogels and Excelsior '31, and the national amateur championship, defeating Mijdrecht-side SV Argon. In 2011, ASWH's second squad won the national amateur title for reserve teams. From Fall 2010 through Spring 2016 ASWH played continuously in Hoofdklasse B. In the 2015–2016 season, ASWH finished third in the Hoofdklasse. Through playoffs, it was promoted for the first time beyond the Hoofdklasse, to the newly coined Derde Divisie.
In the 2016–17 KNVB Cup ASWH beat De Treffers 0–3 in Groesbeek in the first round. In the second round, it won 2–3 over SV Spakenburg in Spakenburg. In the third round it lost 2–0 against AZ Alkmaar in Alkmaar. While ASWH suffered a moderate loss and returned to Ambacht with dignified results against a leading professional team, AZ did not utilize several of its prime players. AZ eventually were runners-up in the national cup.
2016–2026: Derde Divisie and Tweede Divisie 2016–2019: Derde Divisie at last ASWH started its first Derde Divisie season with a series of victories, eventually stopped at a 1–3 defeat against Heemskerk-side ODIN '59 on 25 September 2016. It was a sour loss as ASWH had not been beaten at Sportpark Schildman since November 2015 and controlled the ball 70 percent of the game. Regrouping soon enough, ASWH completed its first Derde Divisie season in 4th position.
The second Derde Divisie season of ASWH started rather weak with defeats against FC Groningen (0–1), Quick Boys (0–1), and FC Volendam (0–5), draws against SV Spakenburg (2–2), DSV Ermelo (0–0), Jong Twente (2–2), VVOG Harderwijk (1–1), and VV Spijkenisse (0–0), and victories against Magreb Utrecht (2–5) and in a regional derby against VV Capelle (0–1). It finished the season in a disappointing 11th position, yet played good enough to remain in the Derde Divisie.
In the 2017–18 KNVB Cup ASWH was out in its first game, against Hoofdklasse-team HSV Hoek, when the Zeelanders beat ASWH 1–3 in Sportpark Schildman. ASWH 2 followed suit; it did not pass the classifying stage of the District Cup after it lost 3–1 against VV De Zwerver. In 2019 the youth department was certified by the KNVB as a regional football academy.
ASWH strengthened throughout its third Derde Divisie season and on 25 May 2019 it secured the championship of the third period (season trimester), placing the club in the promotion playoff. After a 2-1 victory at Sportpark Schildman and 2-2 in Oostzaan, ASWH qualified for a playoff final against FC Lienden. In the finals, it lost the first game at Sportpark Schildman 0–1, then won 2–0 in Lienden, securing the promotion to the Tweede Divisie.
2019–2022: Tweede Divisie and COVID-19