Sport is sometimes called the mirror of society and rightly so. All kinds of social relationships and developments can be found in the sports world of a country. The database Sporting organisations, sports clubs and sporting periodicals in the Netherlands until 1940 contains data on thousands of existing and past associations and clubs for six prominent sports: gymnastics, hockey, korfball, chess, tennis and football. This article shows how political relationships and philosophical differences had a major influence on the development of sports in the Netherlands until 1940. The article also deals with the naming of clubs, the background of their members and their size.
Keywords: sport databank; social relationships; leisure activities; sports practice; use of club names
