Sportclub Telstar (), commonly known simply as Telstar, is a Dutch professional football club based in IJmuiden, North Holland. Nicknamed the Witte Leeuwen ("White Lions") for their all‑white home strip, the team competes in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of the Dutch football league system, having secured promotion via the 2024–25 play‑offs—their first top‑flight appearance since 1978.
Founded on 17 July 1963 through the merger of the professional sections of local rivals VSV and Stormvogels, the new club was named after the recently launched communications satellite Telstar 1. Telstar play their home matches at Sportpark Schoonenberg, branded the BUKO Stadion for sponsorship purposes, a compact all‑seater ground that has a capacity of 6,000. Since formation the team have taken to the field to the Tornados' instrumental "Telstar", a tradition that underlines their link with the satellite and remains a distinctive feature of match days.
History When professional football was introduced in the Netherlands, both and their neighbouring club, VSV, played in the professional leagues. VSV won the KNVB Cup in 1938. Due to financial difficulties at both clubs, their professional teams were merged on 17 July 1963. The new club was named Telstar, after the Telstar communication satellite launched that year. Both Stormvogels and VSV continued separately as amateur clubs.
Telstar was immediately promoted to the Eredivisie following the 1963–64 season and remained in the top flight for 14 consecutive years. The mid-1970s marked the club's most successful era, with top-flight finishes of sixth in 1973–74, seventh in 1974–75, and ninth in 1975–76. However, performances declined thereafter. The club finished 14th in 1976–77, and in the 1977–78 season, placed 18th and last, resulting in relegation to the Eerste Divisie. The squad during that season included future Bayern Munich and Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal.
Since 1978, Telstar competed in the Eerste Divisie and did not return to the top flight for nearly five decades. The club reached the promotion play-offs in 1978–79 and again in 1981–82, when it recorded its highest post-relegation finish of fourth place. In the mid-1980s, Telstar entered into a partnership with Ajax and functioned informally as a satellite club. During this period, Michel van Oostrum joined from Ajax, and former Ajax assistant coach Cor van der Hart took over as Telstar manager for the 1987–88 season. In 1991–92, the club made its best-ever run in the KNVB Cup, reaching the semi-finals before losing 3–0 to Roda JC.
Telstar made a strong push for promotion in the 1993–94 season, finishing fifth and narrowly missing out by a single point to RKC Waalwijk. Further top-half finishes came in 1991–92 and 2001–02, with the club ending both seasons in seventh place. In 2000–01 and 2004–05, Telstar again participated in the promotion play-offs but failed to advance.
In 2001, Telstar and Stormvogels entered into a renewed partnership, forming Stormvogels Telstar. The merger was intended to strengthen the club's youth development system and benefit from training compensation mechanisms. However, the partnership did not yield the expected results. Few players from the youth academy advanced to the professional first team, and the anticipated financial returns from development fees failed to materialise. As a result, the collaboration was discontinued on 1 July 2008, and the club reverted to its original name, Telstar.
In 2008–09, Telstar reached the play-offs once more as winners of the third period title but were eliminated in the first round by MVV. A resurgence came in the 2017–18 season under head coach Mike Snoei, with Telstar finishing sixth—its highest league position since 1993–94—and reaching the quarter-finals of the KNVB Cup, where they were defeated by Feyenoord.
In 2018–19, the club finished 14th but made another notable KNVB Cup run, reaching the round of 16 before a narrow 4–3 loss to Ajax.
At the end of the 2024–25 season, Telstar finished seventh in the Eerste Divisie, earning a place in the promotion play-offs. In the first round, the club defeated ADO Den Haag 3–0 on aggregate to advance to the semi-finals, where they faced Den Bosch. After a 1–1 draw over two legs, Telstar secured a 2–1 aggregate victory with a 109th-minute goal in extra time from Danny Bakker. In the final, Telstar faced Willem II, which had finished 16th in the Eredivisie after winning the Eerste Divisie the previous season. Following a 2–2 draw in the first leg in Velsen, Telstar won the second leg 3–1 at the Koning Willem II Stadion, securing promotion to the Eredivisie for the first time since 1978 under head coach Anthony Correia.
On its return to the top flight, Telstar secured survival on the final day of the 2025–26 season with a 2–1 away win over fellow promoted side and direct rival Volendam, finishing 14th with 37 points, five clear of the relegation play-off places. Correia left the club at the end of the season.
Stadium Telstar's home stadium is the 5,338 seater Sportpark Schoonenberg, named BUKO Stadion for sponsorship reasons. The stadium opened in 1948 and has undergone several renovations throughout the years. It is located in IJmuiden, near the city of Haarlem, and is easily accessible by car and public transport.
Honours Eerste Divisie Promotion: 1963–64, 2024–25
Club names 1963–2001: Telstar 2001–2008: Stormvogels Telstar 2008–present: Telstar
Results Below is a table with Telstar's domestic results since 1963.
Domestic Results since 1963Domestic leagueLeague resultQualification toKNVB Cup seasonCup result2025–26 Eredivisie14th –2025–26semi-finals2024–25 Eerste Divisie7thEredivisie (winning promotion/releg. play-offs)2024–25second round2023–24 Eerste Divisie17th –2023–24first round2022–23 Eerste Divisie9th –2022–23second round2021–22 Eerste Divisie19th –2021–22third round2020–21 Eerste Divisie13th –2020–21first round2019–20 Eerste Divisie10th –2019–20second round2018–19 Eerste Divisie15th –2018–19first round2017–18 Eerste Divisie6thpromotion/relegation play-off: no promotion2017–18first round2016–17 Eerste Divisie16th –2016–17second round2015–16 Eerste Divisie12th –2015–16third round2014–15 Eerste Divisie15th –2014–15second round2013–14 Eerste Divisie15th –2013–14second round2012–13 Eerste Divisie14th –2012–13third round2011–12 Eerste Divisie15th –2011–12second round2010–11 Eerste Divisie14th –2010–11round of 162009–10 Eerste Divisie18th –2009–10second round2008–09 Eerste Divisie17thpromotion/relegation play-off: no promotion2008–09third round2007–08 Eerste Divisie14th –2007–08second round2006–07 Eerste Divisie10th –2006–07third round2005–06 Eerste Divisie16th –2005–06first round2004–05 Eerste Divisie7thpromotion/relegation play-off: no promotion2004–05third round2003–04 Eerste Divisie12th –2003–04third round2002–03 Eerste Divisie12th –2002–03round of 162001–02 Eerste Divisie9th –2001–02quarter-finals2000–01 Eerste Divisie7thpromotion/relegation play-off: no promotion2000–01group stage1999–2000 Eerste Divisie13th –1999–2000second round1998–99 Eerste Divisie18th –1998–99group stage1997–98 Eerste Divisie13th –1997–98round of 161996–97 Eerste Divisie16th –1996–97second round1995–96 Eerste Divisie9th –1995–96second round1994–95 Eerste Divisie11th –1994–95second round1993–94 Eerste Divisie5thpromotion/relegation play-off: no promotion1993–94round of 161992–93 Eerste Divisie18th –1992–93third round1991–92 Eerste Divisie7th –1991–92semi-finals1990–91 Eerste Divisie13th –1990–91second round1989–90 Eerste Divisie18th –1989–90second round1988–89 Eerste Divisie14th –1988–89round of 161987–88 Eerste Divisie13th –1987–88first round1986–87 Eerste Divisie19th –1986–87first round1985–86 Eerste Divisie6th –1985–86round of 161984–85 Eerste Divisie15th –1984–85first round1983–84 Eerste Divisie5th –1983–84first round1982–83 Eerste Divisie15th –1982–83second round1981–82 Eerste Divisie4th – (losing in promotion group)1981–82second round1980–81 Eerste Divisie11th –1980–81second round1979–80 Eerste Divisie13th –1979–80second round1978–79 Eerste Divisie10th – (losing in promotion group)1978–79first round1977–78 Eredivisie18thEerste Divisie (relegation)1977–78second round1976–77 Eredivisie14th –1976–77round of 161975–76 Eredivisie9th –1975–76round of 161974–75 Eredivisie7th –1974–75round of 161973–74 Eredivisie6th –1973–74round of 161972–73 Eredivisie12th –1972–73second round1971–72 Eredivisie11th –1971–72first round1970–71 Eredivisie11th –1970–71first round1969–70 Eredivisie14th –1969–70round of 16 1968–69 Eredivisie14th –1968–69first round 1967–68 Eredivisie11th –1967–68round of 16 1966–67 Eredivisie16th –1966–67round of 16 1965–66 Eredivisie13th –1965–66quarter-finals 1964–65 Eredivisie10th –1964–65second round 1963–64 Eerste Divisie2ndEredivisie (promotion)1963–64second round
Players First-team squad
Retired numbers 22: Luciano van den Berg, defender (2004–2005)—posthumous honour.
Former players
National team players The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with SC Telstar:The following is a consolidated list of clubs' IJVV Stormvogels, VSV and SC Telstar, as a result of the merger of the two prior aforementioned clubs in 1963.
Afghanistan Hossein Zamani (2021) Cape Verde Elso Brito (2017–2019) Central African Republic Peter Guinari (2024) Curaçao Tyrick Bodak (2024–2026) Tyrese Noslin (2024–2026) Guyana Terell Ondaan (2013; 2018–2019)
Indonesia Stefano Lilipaly (2015–2017) Luxembourg Gerson Rodrigues (2017) Netherlands Piet Kraak (1939–1954) Piet van der Kuil (1947–1955; 1964–1966) Niek Michel (1933–1944; 1947)
Netherlands (continued) Kees Oldenburg (192?–19??) Gerrit Visser (1924–1925) Ab de Vries (1931–1933; 1933–1951) Suriname Jayden Turfkruier (2024–2025) Roscello Vlijter (2019–2022)
Players in bold actively play for SC Telstar and for their respective national teams. Years in brackets indicate careerspan with SC Telstar.
National team players by Confederation Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former SC Telstar players represented Internationally + Total national team players by confederation Confederation Total (Nation) Association AFC 2 Afghanistan (1), Indonesia (1) CAF 2 Cape Verde (1), Central African Republic (1) CONCACAF 5 Curaçao (2), Suriname (2), Guyana (1) CONMEBOL 0 OFC 0 UEFA 7 Netherlands (6), Luxembourg (1)
Players in international tournaments The following is a list of Telstar players who have competed in international tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. To date, no Telstar players have participated in the UEFA European Championship, Copa América, Africa Cup of Nations, AFC Asian Cup, or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for the club.
CupPlayers 1938 FIFA World Cup Niek Michel 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup Terell Ondaan 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup Tyrick Bodak Jayden Turfkruier 2026 FIFA World Cup Tyrick Bodak Tyrese Noslin
Coaching staff Position Staff Head coach Henk Brugge Assistant Coach Marcel Groninger Wilko Braam Goalkeeping Coach Harmen Kuperus Medical Staff First-Team Doctor: Ron Peters Pim GraaflandFirst-Team Physiotherapists: Rens Teeuwen Paul de Vlugt Bob KooningPhysio Assistant: Clement Uittenbogaard Equipment Manager Dirk van der Lugt Performance Coaches Niels Bunink Pieter van Roode Video Analyst Pieter van der Slikke Team Manager Jordi van Ewijk
Historic facts All-time leading goalscorers Pos. Name Birth Nationality Goals 1 Glynor Plet 30 January 1987 90 2 Sander Oostrom 14 July 1967 87 3 Melvin Holwijn 2 January 1980 60 4 Ronald Hoop 4 April 1967 52 5 Cees van Kooten 20 August 1948 45 6 Rini van Roon 24 January 1961 437 Co Stout 7 September 1948 41 Ron de Roode 20 March 1965 41 9 Dick Bond 27 December 1943 38 10 Jan Bruin 30 September 1969 37
Most appearances