K.F.C. Merelbeke

Last updated
KFC Merelbeke
Full nameKoninklijke Fusieclub Merelbeke
Short nameMerelbeke
Founded1942;82 years ago (1942)
GroundMolenkouterstadion, Merelbeke
ChairmanWilfried Van Keymeulen
Head coachRudy Hofman
League Belgian National Division 1
2023–24 Division 2 VV A, 2nd of 18 (promoted)
Website Club website
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

KFC Merelbeke is a Belgian football club based in the city of Merelbeke, registered with the Belgian FA under matricule 3551. The full name of the club is Koninklijke Fusieclub Merelbeke (Royal Mergerclub Merelbeke) and it has green and blue as club colours. The club will play in Belgian National Division 1 from 2024 to 2025 after promotion from Belgian Division 2 in 2023–24.

Contents

History

The club joined the Belgian FA in 1942 under the name Vlug en Vrij Merelbeke (Quick and Free Merelbeke), receiving matricule number 3551 and choosing yellow and green as club colours. A first titel came in 1954 when VV Merelbeke became champions in the Second Provincial Division, but was relegated immediately the season after, where the club would play until 1973, when it dropped for to the Third Provincial Division. With the exception of the 1974–75 season (Second Provincial Division) the club remained at this level until the merger in 1988 when the club merged with neighbouring clubs Union Merelbeke and Sporting Merelbeke to form FC Merelbeke. At the point the colours were changed to yellow and blue and the new club played at the stadium of VV Merelbeke.

After the merger, it took four mour seasons until 1992 before the promotion to the Second Provincial Division was won, at which point the name was changed to the current KFC Merelbeke. From 1992 until 2015, the club played most of its seasons at this level, occasionally interspersed with periods at the highest provincial level which became longer over time: only one season in 1993–94, then two seasons from 2002 to 2004, four seasons from 2010 to 2014. Then the climb upwards started as the club has never been relegated since and has promoted to the First Provincial Level in 2015, to the Third Amateur Division in 2016, to the Second Amateur Division in 2019 and to the Belgian National Division 1 in 2024.

Honours

Related Research Articles

K.F.C. Verbroedering Geel was a Belgian association football club from the city of Geel in Antwerp (province).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Football in Belgium</span> Association football in Belgium

Association football is the most popular sport in Belgium, which has been played since the end of the 19th century. The national association was founded in 1895 with the intention of bringing some order and organization to the sport. The first match of the Belgium national team was played on 1 May 1904, a 3–3 draw against France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lommel S.K.</span> Belgian football club

Lommel SK is a Belgian association football club based in the city of Lommel, Limburg, that competes in the Challenger Pro League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K.F.C. Diest</span> Belgian football club

Koninklijke Football Club Diest is a Belgian association football club from the town of Diest, Flemish Brabant. It played two spells in the first division: from 1961–62 to 1964–65 and from 1970–71 to 1974–75, finishing 7th in 1964.

Koninklijke Football Club Lommelse Sportkring was a Belgian football club that existed between 1932 and 2003. It played two spells at the highest level in the Belgian football league system: from 1992 to 2000 and from 2001 to 2003. Its best ranking was reached in 1997 when it finished 5th.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAAL La Louvière</span> Belgian football club

Royal Association Athlétique Louviéroise La Louvière is a Belgian professional football club based in La Louvière, in the province of Hainaut. The club founded in 2009 out of a merger, competes in Challenger Pro League from 2024 to 2025, the second tier of Belgian football after promotion from Belgian National Division 1 in 2023–24.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francs Borains</span> Belgian football club

Royal Francs Borains is a football club based in Boussu, Hainaut Province, Belgium. It was founded in 1949 and its home ground is Stade Robert Urbain, which has a capacity of 6,000. The club is affiliated to the Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) with matricule 5192 and has green and white as club colours. They compete in the Challenger Pro League from 2023 to 2024, the second tier in Belgian football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A.S. Verbroedering Geel</span> Belgian football club

AS Verbroedering Geel is a Belgian association football club based in Geel, province of Antwerp. Currently, they play in the Belgian Provincial Leagues.

KFC Olympic Burst is a Belgian association football club based in Burst, East Flanders. The club has matricule number 3901 and the club's colours are black and blue. They currently play in East Flanders Division Three in the Belgian Provincial leagues. They play their home games at the Complex Oudendijk in Burst.

KFC Zwarte Leeuw is a Belgian football club from Rijkevorsel. The club was founded on April 25, 1926, and is affiliated to the Royal Belgian Football Association with base number 1124. The club's club colours are yellow-black. Until the 1974/75 season, Black Lion played in the Provincial Divisions. Since then, with the exception of three seasons in the First Provincial Division, the club has played in the national series, culminating in four seasons in the Second Division, between 1989 and 1994. In the 2023/24 season, the club plays in the Third Division, the third national amateur level.

The Belgian Division 2, commonly referred to as simply Tweede Afdeling or Division 2 is the fourth-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian National Division 1. It was created by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 2016, replacing the Belgian Third Division and named Belgian Second Amateur Division until the 2019–20 before it was renamed due to the negative connotation of the word amateur. The division consists of three separate leagues with 16 teams each, two of these leagues consist of teams playing with a license from the Voetbalfederatie Vlaanderen and one with teams with a license from the Association des Clubs Francophones de Football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K.S.C. Lokeren-Temse</span> Belgian football club

Koninklijke Sporting Club Lokeren Temse often simply called Lokeren-Temse or Lokeren) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Lokeren, in the province of East Flanders. The club was originally founded in 1945 as KSV Temse in the neighbouring town of Temse but following the bankruptcy of K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen in 2020 both clubs merged to form K.S.C. Lokeren-Temse. The club set to plays in Challenger Pro League from 2024–25, the second tier of Belgian football after promotion from Belgian National Division 1 in 2023–24.

Olsa Brakel is a Belgian football club based in the town of Brakel, registered with the Belgian FA under matricule 5553. The full name of the club is Koninklijke Oud Leerlingenverbond Sint-Augustinus Brakel and it has yellow and black as club colours. Both the men's and women's team play at the national level of Belgian football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K.V.K. Ninove</span> Association football club in Brakel, Belgium

KVK Ninove is a Belgian football club based in the city of Ninove, registered with the Belgian FA under matricule 2373. The full name of the club is Koninklijke Voetbal Klub Ninove and it has green and black as club colours. The club has played for over three decades at the national level. The club set to play in Belgian National Division 1 from 2024–25 after promotion from Belgian Division 2 in 2023–24.

K.O.S.C. Wijgmaal is a Belgian football club based in the town of Wijgmaal, registered with the Belgian FA under matricule 1349. The full name of the club is Koninklijke Olympia Sportkring Club Wijgmaal and it has blue and white as club colours. The club has played for over three decades at the national level.

K. Bocholter V.V. is a Belgian football club based in the municipality of Bocholt, registered with the Belgian FA under matricule 595. The full name of the club is Koninklijke Bocholter Voetbalvereniging and it has white and black as club colours. The club has played most of its time in the Belgian Provincial Leagues, but managed to climb up to the national level towards the end of the 20th century.

K.F.C. Sparta Petegem is a Belgian professional football club based in Petegem-aan-de-Leie, registered with the Belgian FA under matricule 3821. The club's full name is Koninklijke Football Club Sparta Petegemlit.'(Royal Football Club Sparta Petegem') and it has green and black as club colours.

The 2022–23 Belgian Division 2 is the seventh season of the division in its current format, placed at the fourth-tier of football in Belgium.

Sportvereniging Belisia Bilzen is a football club based in Bilzen, Limburg, Belgium. The club is affiliated to the Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) with matricule 5775 and has sky blue as club colour. The club currently play in Belgian National Division 1 from 2024 to 2025, Belgian third tier of football after promotion from Belgian Division 2.

Eendracht Elene Grotenberge is a Belgian association football club based in Zottegem, East Flanders. The club has matricule number 3861 and the club's colors are blue and white. They currently play in the Belgian Division 3, and play their home games at Breivelde in Zottegem.

References