Fortuna Sittard (Dutch pronunciation:[fɔrˈtynaːˈsɪtɑrt]; Limburgish: Fortuna Zitterd[fɔʀˈtyːnaːˈzɪtəʀt])[tone?] is a professional football club from the municipality of Sittard-Geleen, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger of former clubs Fortuna 54 and Sittardia, which merged as the Fortuna Sittardia Combinatie on 1 July 1968.
Fortuna 54 won the KNVB Cup in the 1956–57 season and finished the Eredivisie season in second place behind champions Ajax. Sittardia were less successful and battled against relegation for many seasons. Fortuna 54 won the KNVB Cup again in 1964 before the merging of the two clubs in 1968, due to financial difficulties.
Financial irregularities were discovered, and the team faced bankruptcy over several seasons. In the winter of 2003, two of the club's fans won the Dutch lottery and donated all of the prize money to the club.[4] The club cleared most of its debts by selling off its new stadium, the Wagner & Partners stadium.[5]
On 19 May 2009, the KNVB announced it would withdraw the club's license to play for the 2010–11 season. After going to civil court, this decision was revoked.[6] Despite ongoing financial difficulties, the club gradually began to recover financially in the following years, leading to improved results. In the 2011–12 season, Fortuna Sittard narrowly missed out on qualifying for the playoffs for promotion to Eredivisie, conceding an equaliser in the final seconds of the season in a home match against the Go Ahead Eagles, resulting in the Eagles taking the final playoff spot instead. Although the club qualified for the playoffs in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons, offering them a chance to return to Eredivisie since relegation in 2002, Fortuna was unsuccessful in both first-round matches against De Graafschap.[7][8]
Takeover and Eredivisie (2016–present)
The club again faced financial troubles in 2016, leading to its takeover by Turkish investor Işıtan Gün, who previously served as the chief operating officer of Galatasaray.[9] The 2016–17 season was a tough start for the club, but it managed to avoid relegation after changing coaches and recruiting new players, including some from Galatasaray.[10]
In December 2016, Sunday Oliseh was appointed as the new coach of Fortuna Sittard. During his time as coach, he set two new records for the club, with eight consecutive home victories and the biggest away victory in the club's history, against Telstar by a score of 6–0. In January 2018, the team won a periodetitel after a 2–1 victory over Jong Ajax. However, on 14 February 2018, Oliseh was suspended due to "repeated and culpable actions towards multiple individuals within the organisation over an extended period," according to a statement on the club's website announcing his release.[11] Oliseh posted online that he was suspended due to his "refusal to participate in Illegal activities."[12]
In 2018, after 16 years in the Eerste Divisie, Fortuna won promotion to the Eredivisie again after beating Jong PSV 1–0 to stay clear from NEC and finishing runner-up to champions Jong Ajax, which cannot be promoted.[13]
Fortuna Sittard finished in 16th place during the 2019–20 season. However, because the season was suspended and declared void due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club remained in the Eredivisie for the 2020–21 season.[14] After that reprieve, the club finished in 11th place that season. The following year, Fortuna Sittard finished 15th, just one point clear of the relegation playoff. Since then, the club's results have placed it more comfortably in the mid-table. Fortuna Sittard finished in 13th place in the 2022–23 season and 10th place in the 2023–24 season.
In January 2022, Fortuna announced it was beginning a women's football department.[15] The club started playing in the women's Eredivisie in the 2022–23 season. In its first season, the club finished third out of 11 teams. In the 2023–24 season, Fortuna finished in fourth place out of 12 teams, and forward Tessa Wullaert was the top goal scorer and Player of the Year.[16] However, prior to the 2024–25 season, the club announced it had not generated sufficient revenue from the women's team and cut its player spending, with Wullaert, Alieke Tuin, and other players departing for new clubs.[17]
^The following is a consolidated list of clubs' RKSV Sittardia, Fortuna '54 and Fortuna Sittard, as a result of the merger of the two prior aforementioned clubs in 1968.
1914–15 Koninklijke HFC (3/3)
1915–16 Quick Den Haag (4/4)
1916–17 Ajax (1/19)
1917–18 RHC (1/2)
1918–19 not played
1919–20 CVV
1920–21 Schoten
1921–22 not played
1922–23 not played
1923–24 not played
1924–25 ZFC
1925–26 LONGA
1926–27 VUC Den Haag
1927–28 RHC (2/2)
1928–29 not played
1929–30 Feyenoord (1/13)
1930–31 not played
1931–32 DFC (2/2)
1932–33 not played
1933–34 Velocitas 1897
1934–35 Feyenoord (2/13)
1935–36 Roermond
1936–37 EVV
1937–38 VSV
1938–39 FC Wageningen (1/2)
1939–40 not played
1940–41 not played
1941–42 not played
1942–43 Ajax (2/19)
1943–44 Willem II (1/2)
1944–45 not played
1945–46 not played
1946–47 not played
1947–48 FC Wageningen (2/2)
1948–49 Quick 1888
1949–50 PSV (1/11)
1950–51 not played
1951–52 not played
1952–53 not played
1953–54 not played
1954–55 not played
1955–56 not played
1956–57 Fortuna '54 (1/2)
1957–58 Sparta (1/3)
1958–59 VVV
1959–60 not played
