The right side of this spread features the “Speelschema seizoen 2012/2013” (Fixture list for the 2012/2013 season). It is a meticulous, match-by-match record of the entire campaign, leading right up to the final regular-season game against Ajax on May 12, 2013. However, for anyone paying close attention, the bottom of this page delivers the ultimate editorial punchline of this specific matchday programme.
Under the “PLAY-OFFS” header, the dates for the crucial upcoming European qualification matches are listed. But the dates printed are: 16-05-2012, 19-05-2012, 23-05-2012, and 26-05-2012. The editors, likely exhausted at the end of a long, grueling season, simply copy-pasted the playoff schedule block from the previous year’s template and completely forgot to update the year to 2013.
What makes this so incredibly funny for a football archivist is that this is the third major copy-paste error we have found in this single May 2013 edition (alongside listing ADO Den Haag instead of Ajax in the head-to-head stats, and printing the Ajax squad under an ADO Den Haag header). It paints a vivid, highly relatable picture of a stressed media department rushing to send the final files to the printer before the deadline.
A Look into the Future
In the digital-first world of 2026, fixture lists are dynamic. They are synced to our calendars, updated live on the club app, and instantly corrected if a typo occurs. The permanence of print is what makes physical matchday programmes so charming. This specific booklet will forever insist that FC Groningen was scheduled to travel back in time a full year to play their 2013 playoff matches. It is a permanent, endearing monument to human error in the analog age.