Sparta Rotterdam
 |
|
| Full name | Sparta Rotterdam |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
De Kasteelheren (The Castle Lords) De Rood-Witte Gladiatoren (The Red-White Gladiators) |
| Founded | April 1, 1888 |
| Ground |
Het Kasteel (The Castle) Rotterdam |
| Capacity | 11,926 |
| Chairman |
 Rob Westerhof |
| Manager |
Alex Pastoor
|
| League | Eredivisie |
| 2015–16 | 1st, promoted |
| Website | Club home page |
Sparta Rotterdam (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈspɑrtaː ˌrɔtərˈdɑm]) is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands.
In the 2016–17 season, Sparta will play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch professional football. The club is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior (est. 1902) and Feyenoord (1908).
On 1 April 1888, several students from Rotterdam founded a cricket club called Sparta. In July 1888, a football branch of the club was established. In 1890, Sparta played its first real football match, and in 1892 Sparta disbanded the cricket branch. Sparta was promoted to the highest league of Dutch football on 23 April 1893. In 1897, Sparta withdrew from the competition after continuous dubious arbitration of Sparta matches. The club continued to exist, however, and in 1899 the board of Sparta visited a match of Sunderland. Impressed with the red-and-white jersey of the English club, the board decided that Sunderland's colours (red-white striped jersey, black shorts) would henceforth be the colours of Sparta.
In 1905, Sparta initiated and organised the first home match of the Netherlands national team, against Belgium. The match, won 4–0 by the Netherlands, was a rematch of a game two weeks prior, when the Netherlands beat Belgium 4–1 in Antwerp, Belgium.
The first match at Sparta's new stadium, Het Kasteel (The Castle), in the Spangen area of west Rotterdam, was played on 14 October 1916. The stadium was renovated in 1999 and is still Sparta's stadium.
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