| Clubname: | Fortuna Sittard |
| Fullname: | Fortuna Sittard |
| Nickname: | Fortuna, Fortunezen |
| Ground: | Fortuna Sittard Stadion |
| Capacity: | 12,500 |
| Owner: | Principion Holding 65% Özgür Işıtan Gün 20% Fortuna Sittard 10% STAK 5%[1] [2] |
| Chairman: | Özgür Işıtan Gün |
| Mgrtitle: | Head coach |
| Manager: | Danny Buijs |
| Current: | 2023–24 Fortuna Sittard season |
| Pattern La1: | _fortunasittard2021h |
| Pattern B1: | _fortunasittard2021h |
| Pattern Ra1: | _fortunasittard2021h |
| Leftarm1: | FFFF00 |
| Body1: | FFFF00 |
| Rightarm1: | FFFF00 |
| Shorts1: | 00684B |
| Socks1: | FFFF00 |
| Pattern La2: | _fortunasittard2021a |
| Pattern B2: | _fortunasittard2021a |
| Pattern Ra2: | _fortunasittard2021a |
| Leftarm2: | 182E63 |
| Body2: | 182E63 |
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| Shorts2: | F37029 |
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Fortuna Sittard (pronounced as /nl/; li|Fortuna Zitterd pronounced as /li/) 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.
The club experienced mixed fortunes throughout its history, although it was a regular fixture in the Eredivisie in the 1990s, with players such as Kevin Hofland, Mark van Bommel and Fernando Ricksen emerging from its youth system. These players later joined PSV Eindhoven and Rangers and played for the Netherlands national team. The team also signed Wilfred Bouma and Patrick Paauwe from the youth setup of PSV. Both players developed under manager Bert van Marwijk before joining the Dutch national side and moving to bigger clubs.
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.
At the end of the 1999–2000 season, manager Bert van Marwijk left to join Feyenoord, and the team was relegated to the Eerste Divisie in the 2001–02 season.[3]
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]
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.
| Competition | Participations | Games | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals scored | Goals conceded | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | |
| Total | 2 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 13 |
PlotData= bar:Position width:15 color:white align:center
from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1991 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/01/1991 till:01/01/1992 shift:(0,-4) text:14 from:01/01/1992 till:01/01/1993 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1994 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1995 shift:(0,-4) text:1 from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1996 shift:(0,-4) text:13 from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/1997 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/1998 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/1999 shift:(0,-4) text:10 from:01/01/1999 till:01/01/2000 shift:(0,-4) text:12 from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2001 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2002 shift:(0,-4) text:18 from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2003 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2004 shift:(0,-4) text:19 from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2005 shift:(0,-4) text:19 from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2006 shift:(0,-4) text:20 from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2007 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2007 till:01/01/2008 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2009 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2010 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2010 till:01/01/2011 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2012 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2013 shift:(0,-4) text:7 from:01/01/2013 till:01/01/2014 shift:(0,-4) text:8 from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2015 shift:(0,-4) text:19 from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2016 shift:(0,-4) text:16 from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 shift:(0,-4) text:17 from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 shift:(0,-4) text:2 from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2019 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2019 till:01/01/2020 shift:(0,-4) text:- from:01/01/2020 till:01/01/2021 shift:(0,-4) text:11 from:01/01/2021 till:01/01/2022 shift:(0,-4) text:15 from:01/01/2022 till:01/01/2023 shift:(0,-4) text:13
from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1993 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "Eredivisie" from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1995 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Eerste Divisie" from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2002 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "Eredivisie" from:01/01/2002 till:01/01/2018 color:bl1 shift:(0,13) text: "Eerste Divisie" from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2023 color:bl2 shift:(0,13) text: "Eredivisie"
Below is a table with Fortuna Sittard's domestic results since the introduction of professional football in 1956.
| Domestic Results since 1956 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic league | League result | Qualification to | KNVB Cup season | Cup result |
| 2022–23 Eredivisie | 13th | – | 2022–23 | first round |
| 2021–22 Eredivisie | 15th | – | 2021–22 | second round |
| 2020–21 Eredivisie | 11th | – | 2020–21 | round of 16 |
| 2019–20 Eredivisie | 16th | No relegation due to COVID-19 | 2019–20 | round of 16 |
| 2018–19 Eredivisie | 15th | – | 2018–19 | quarter-final |
| 2017–18 Eerste Divisie | 2nd | Eredivisie (promotion) | 2017–18 | round of 16 |
| 2016–17 Eerste Divisie | 17th | – | 2016–17 | first round |
| 2015–16 Eerste Divisie | 16th | – | 2015–16 | second round |
| 2014–15 Eerste Divisie | 19th | – | 2014–15 | third round |
| 2013–14 Eerste Divisie | 8th | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 2013–14 | second round |
| 2012–13 Eerste Divisie | 7th | promotion/relegation play-offs: no promotion | 2012–13 | second round |
| 2011–12 Eerste Divisie | 11th | – | 2011–12 | second round |
| 2010–11 Eerste Divisie | 16th | – | 2010–11 | third round |
| 2009–10 Eerste Divisie | 17th | – | 2009–10 | second round |
| 2008–09 Eerste Divisie | 15th | – | 2008–09 | third round |
| 2007–08 Eerste Divisie | 16th | – | 2007–08 | third round |
| 2006–07 Eerste Divisie | 15th | – | 2006–07 | second round |
| 2005–06 Eerste Divisie | 20th | – | 2005–06 | second round |
| 2004–05 Eerste Divisie | 19th | – | 2004–05 | second round |
| 2003–04 Eerste Divisie | 19th | – | 2003–04 | second round |
| 2002–03 Eerste Divisie | 15th | – | 2002–03 | group stage |
| 2001–02 Eredivisie | 18th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 2001–02 | round of 16 |
| 2000–01 Eredivisie | 16th | – (surviving prom./releg. play-offs) | 2000–01 | round of 16 |
| 1999–2000 Eredivisie | 12th | – | 1999–2000 | third round |
| 1998–99 Eredivisie | 10th | – | 1998–99 | final |
| 1997–98 Eredivisie | 7th | Intertoto Cup (R3) | 1997–98 | quarter-final |
| 1996–97 Eredivisie | 11th | – | 1996–97 | second round |
| 1995–96 Eredivisie | 13th | – | 1995–96 | round of 16 |
| 1994–95 Eerste Divisie | 1st | Eredivisie (promotion) | 1994–95 | group stage |
| 1993–94 Eerste Divisie | 10th | – | 1993–94 | third round |
| 1992–93 Eredivisie | 16th | Eerste Divisie (losing prom./releg. play-off) | 1992–93 | round of 16 |
| 1991–92 Eredivisie | 14th | – | 1991–92 | second round |
| 1990–91 Eredivisie | 12th | – | 1990–91 | second round |
| 1989–90 Eredivisie | 7th | – | 1989–90 | quarter-final |
| 1988–89 Eredivisie | 8th | – | 1988–89 | round of 16 |
| 1987–88 Eredivisie | 8th | – | 1987–88 | round of 16 |
| 1986–87 Eredivisie | 9th | – | 1986–87 | quarter-final |
| 1985–86 Eredivisie | 8th | – | 1985–86 | quarter-final |
| 1984–85 Eredivisie | 7th | – | 1984–85 | round of 16 |
| 1983–84 Eredivisie | 12th | Cup Winners' Cup | 1983–84 | final |
| 1982–83 Eredivisie | 8th | – | 1982–83 | second round |
| 1981–82 Eerste Divisie | 2nd | Eredivisie (promotion) | 1981–82 | first round |
| 1980–81 Eerste Divisie | 4th | – | 1980–81 | second round |
| 1979–80 Eerste Divisie | 7th | – | 1979–80 | second round |
| 1978–79 Eerste Divisie | 4th | promotion competition: no promotion | 1978–79 | quarter-final |
| 1977–78 Eerste Divisie | 5th | – | 1977–78 | second round |
| 1976–77 Eerste Divisie | 7th | – | 1976–77 | second round |
| 1975–76 Eerste Divisie | 7th | promotion competition: no promotion | 1975–76 | first round |
| 1974–75 Eerste Divisie | 9th | – | 1974–75 | second round |
| 1973–74 Eerste Divisie | 5th | promotion competition: no promotion | 1973–74 | second round |
| 1972–73 Eerste Divisie | 9th | – | 1972–73 | first round |
| 1971–72 Eerste Divisie | 13th | – | 1971–72 | quarter-final |
| 1970–71 Eerste Divisie | 10th | – | 1970–71 | semi-final |
| 1969–70 Eerste Divisie | 14th | – | 1969–70 | first round |
| 1968–69 Eredivisie | 18th | Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1968–69 | first round |
| 1967–68 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54... ...and Sittardia) | 17th 18th | Merger into Fortuna SC | 1967–68 | group stage round of 16 |
| 1966–67 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54... ...and Sittardia) | 14th 7th | – | 1966–67 | first round |
| 1965–66 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54) 1965–66 Eerste Divisie (as Sittardia) | 9th 1st | – Eredivisie (promotion) | 1965–66 | group stage |
| 1964–65 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54... ...and Sittardia) | 6th 15th | – Eerste Divisie (relegation) | 1964–65 | first round round of 16 |
| 1963–64 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54) 1963–64 Eerste Divisie (as Sittardia) | 7th 1st | Cup Winners' Cup Eredivisie (promotion) | 1963–64 | winner first round |
| 1962–63 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54) 1962–63 Eerste Divisie (as Sittardia) | 12th | – | 1962–63 | round of 16 third round |
| 1961–62 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54) 1961–62 Eerste Divisie (as Sittardia) | 12th 3rd | – | 1961–62 | ? |
| 1960–61 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54) 1960–61 Eerste Divisie (as Sittardia) | 15th 5th (group B) | – | 1960–61 | ? |
| 1959–60 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54... ...and Sittardia) | 14th 18th | – Eerste Divisie (relegation) | not held | not held |
| 1958–59 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54) 1958–59 Eerste Divisie (as Sittardia) | 3rd 1st (group B) | – Eredivisie (promotion) | 1958–59 | ? |
| 1957–58 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54) 1957–58 Eerste Divisie (as Sittardia) | 4th 4th (group B) | – | 1957–58 | ? |
| 1956–57 Eredivisie (as Fortuna '54) 1956–57 Eerste Divisie (as Sittardia) | 2nd 6th (group B) | – | 1956–57 | winner ? |
The following players were called up to represent their national teams in international football and received caps during their tenure with Fortuna Sittard:[15]
Deroy Duarte (2021–2024) Lisandro Semedo (2017–2022)
Rasmus Karjalainen (2019–2021)
Lazaros Rota (2020–2021)
Antoine Kohn (1959–1963; 1964–1965)
Henk Angenent (1954–1962) Bram Appel (1948–1949; 1955–1960) Bart Carlier (1955–1958; 1964–1965) Willy Dullens (1963–1969) Gerard Gruisen (1951–1969) Cor van der Hart (1954–1966) Wim Koevermans (1980–1988) Frans de Munck (1954–1957) Jan Notermans (1955–1965) Willy Quaedackers (1961–1966) Wilbert Suvrijn (1981–1986) Faas Wilkes (1959–1962)
Fred de Jong (1990–1993)
Branislav Niňaj (2018–2021)
Justin Lonwijk (2024) Gavin Vlijter (2015–2019)
Tesfaldet Tekie (2019–2022)
Sadik Fofana (2023–2024)
Burak Yılmaz (2022–2023)Member associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former Fortuna Sittard players represented Internationally
| Confederation | Total | (Nation) Association | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC | 0 | ||
| CAF | 4 | Cape Verde (2), DR Congo (1), Togo (1) | |
| CONCACAF | 2 | Suriname (2) | |
| CONMEBOL | 0 | ||
| OFC | 1 | New Zealand (1) | |
| UEFA | 22 | Netherlands (12), Moldova (2), Finland (1), Greece (1), Luxembourg (1), North Macedonia (1), Northern Ireland (1), Slovakia (1), Sweden (1), Turkey (1) |
The following is a list of Fortuna Sittard players who have competed in international tournaments, including the Africa Cup of Nations. To this date no Fortuna Sittard players have participated in the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, CONCACAF Gold Cup, AFC Asian Cup, Copa América or the OFC Nations Cup while playing for Fortuna Sittard.
| Cup | Players |
|---|---|
| 2021 Africa Cup of Nations | Lisandro Semedo |
| 2023 Africa Cup of Nations | Deroy Duarte |
| Position | Staff | |
|---|---|---|
| Head Coach | Danny Buijs | |
| Assistant Head Coach | Adrie Poldervaart Stijn Kuijpers Roy de Decker | |
| Striker's Coach | Toon Oijstra | |
| Physiotherapist | Jeroen Dieteren Martijn Smeets | |
| Team Manager | Danny van der Weerden | |
| Club doctor | Robert van Gool | |
| Materialman | Ronald Ronken | |
| Video Analyst | Tjerk van Eggelen |
Friedrich Donenfeld (vice champion, cup winner) Bram Appel Harry Verhardt Friedrich Donenfeld Jung Schlangen Wim Latten (cup winner 1964)
Max Schirschin Karl-Heinz Marotzke Bram Appel Frans Debruyn Frans Debruyn (1968) Frans Debruyn (1968–69) Henk Reuvers (1969–70) Evert Teunissen (1970–72) Cor Brom (1972–76) Cor van der Hart (1976–77) Joop Castenmiller (1977–80) Frans Körver (1980–84) Bert Jacobs (1984–87) Hans van Doorneveld (1987–89) Han Berger (1989–91) Georg Keßler (1991–92) Chris Dekker (1992–94) Pim Verbeek (1994–97) Bert van Marwijk (1997–00) Henk Duut (2000–01) Frans Thijssen (2000–01) Hans Verèl (2001) Hans de Koning (2001–04) Chris Dekker (2004–06) Frans Körver (2006–07) Henk Wisman (2007) Roger Reijners (2007–10) Wim Dusseldorp (2010–11) Tini Ruys (2011–12) Willy Boessen (2012–14) Peter van Vossen (2014–15) Ben van Dael (2015–16)
Sunday Oliseh (2017–18)
Claudio Braga (a.i.) (2018) René Eijer (2018–19) Sjors Ultee (2019–20) Kevin Hofland (2020) Sjors Ultee (2020–2022)
Julio Velazquez (2022–2023) Danny Buijs (2023–Present)In January 2022, Fortuna announced it was beginning a women's football department.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18]