KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk

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KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk
KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk logo.png
Full nameKoninklijke Football Club Olympia Beerschot Wilrijk
Nickname(s)de Kielse Ratten
de Mannekes
Purple White Army'
Founded1921
2013 (renamed to KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk)
Ground Olympisch Stadion
Capacity12,500 [1]
Chairman Eric Roef
Manager Stijn Vreven
League First Division B (Second Division)
Website Club website

KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk, is a Belgian professional football club, located in Wilrijk, Antwerp, that competes in the First Division B. The club is affiliated with the Royal Belgian Football Association since 1899 and has been allocated association number 155. In 2013, KFCO Wilrijk decided to integrate the identity of Beerschot AC when they were relegated in the 2012–13 season, not only through their league position but also due to losing their professional license through financial issues, being officially declared bankrupt on 21 May 2013 and folding shortly afterwards. Being the proud owners of the colours: purple, white, yellow and blue they play their games on the club's home ground the Olympic Stadium often referred to as 't Kiel.

Wilrijk Place in Flemish Region, Belgium

Wilrijk is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp was decentralized in 2000 and Wilrijk became one of the city's nine districts.

Antwerp Municipality in Flemish Community, Belgium

Antwerp is a city in Belgium, and is the capital of Antwerp province in Flanders. With a population of 520,504, it is the most populous city proper in Belgium, and with 1,200,000 the second largest metropolitan region after Brussels.

Belgian First Division B second level of mens association football in Belgium

The Belgian First Division B is the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian First Division A. It was created by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 2016, replacing the Belgian Second Division.

Contents

History

KFCO Wilrijk

The club was founded in 1921 as Football Club Wilrijk and joined The Belgian football association.

As a result of the introduction of a national third division in 1926, the club played national football for the first time in their then short existence. Unfortunately the club ended third last, leading to their relegation after just one season. In 1931 the number of participants in the divisions was increased, causing FC Wilrijk to be included on the national level for the second time. FC Wilrijk lasted two seasons before being relegated again.

In 1935 the club was promoted once more. Unlike their previous third division stays, FC Wilrijk showcased dominant football. This resulted in a 3rd position in the 1935–36 season and even becoming third division champions in the 1936–37 season. After winning their division the club was promoted to the second division lasting two seasons before being relegated in 1939. After a lengthy stay in the third division, FC Wilrijk was relegated to the Provincial division in 1949 which set a trend for the following decades.

In 1993 KFC Wilrijk merged with Olympia Wilrijk 72. This other Wilrijk-based club, was founded in 1972 and part of the Royal Belgian Football Association, being assigned the association number 7727. Both clubs shared forces as KFC Olympia Wilrijk and continued under KFC Wilrijks association number 155.

In 1994, the club reached the 4th division, playing national football for the first time in 45 years. In the 1995–96 season KFCO Olympia Wilrijk came in 3rd only two points short of standing victorious in their division. After eight years KFC Olympia Wilrijk ended third last, which led to being relegated. Their absence was short-lived however, as KFC Olympia Wilrijk was promoted the following year resulting in a three-year stay before being relegated. In 2008 the club was promoted again, only to be relegated in 2010.

FCO Beerschot Wilrijk

After Beerschot AC's bankruptcy in 2013, KFCO Wilrijk decided to harbour its fans. KFCO Wilrijk followed up by incorporating the name Beerschot and their respective colours in their own identity. The KBVB however decided that due to the name change, the club was no longer eligible to use the handle "royal" in their club name. Hence the club's name is FCO Beerschot Wilrijk rather than KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk. In order to retrieve their "royal" status, FCO Beerschot Wilrijk filed a successful application in June 2017.

Royal Belgian Football Association governing body of association football in Belgium

The Royal Belgian Football Association is the governing body of football in Brussels, Belgium. It was a founding member of FIFA in 1904 and UEFA in 1954 and is based in Brussels, not far from the King Baudouin Stadium. Its chairman is Gérard Linard.

FCO Beerschot Wilrijk, became an instant success. Their season opener against Ternesse VV was attended by 8500 fans, which was a record for the Belgian provincial division at the time. This record was broken on 15 February 2014 during their game against fierce title contender FC De Kempen which was attended by 8982 fans and topped again, during their title game against KFC Katelijne-Waver on 22 March. This game was attended by almost 12000 fans and won by 5–0, gaining the club mathematic certainty about crowning themselves 2013–14 division champions.

Due to the club's high attendance – weekly attendance that tops several first division teams – KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk is required to play their home games at the Olympisch Stadion (city of Antwerp) to guarantee the safety of their fans. This is the home ground of the fallen Beerschot VAC. The club reached an average of 7000 fans at home games during its first season in the 1st division of the province of Antwerp, which is quite a feat. This reputation was upheld during away games by bringing on average over 1500 fans, whom took pride in causing friendly banter in the most obscurely hidden cities and stadiums that the province of Antwerp holds. The club's success and vibe often lead to opponents renting bigger stadiums because the prospected attendance exceeds their own stadium capacity.

Olympisch Stadion (Antwerp) stadium at Antwerp, Belgium

The Olympisch Stadion or Kielstadion[ˈkilstaːdijɔn]) was built as the main stadium for the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. For those games, it hosted the athletics, equestrian, field hockey, football, gymnastics, modern pentathlon, rugby union, tug of war, weightlifting and korfball (demonstration) events. Following the Olympics it was converted to a football stadium. Its current tenant is FCO Beerschot Wilrijk, a Belgian football club. There are no remnants of the Olympic athletics track.

For the 2014–15 season, FCO Beerschot Wilrijk was promoted to the 4th division in Belgian national football. In mid-March 2015, they held a 10-point lead over their closest rival. [2] They were promoted to third division as champions of their group. In 2015–2016 they became champions of the third division after a sensational winning goal in the last minute of their last game. In 2016–2017 they became the first champion of the new '1st Amateur League' and gained promotion to the Proximus League, the second tier of Belgian football.

In February 2018, Saudi prince Abdullah bin Musa'ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who already owns a 50 percent stake in English Championship side Sheffield United, announced his investment in Beerschot alongside Belgian construction company DCA. [3]

Abdullah bin Musaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Saudi royal

Abdullah bin Musa'ad bin Abdul Aziz is a Saudi prince and businessman. He is a son of Prince Musa'id bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and was appointed Saudi Arabia's General President of Youth Welfare in 2014. He has various business interests including paper manufacturing in his homeland, along with various sporting franchises. He is also the Chairman of Sheffield United Football Club.

EFL Championship Second tier of the football pyramid of professional football league in England

The English Football League Championship is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the English football league system, after the Premier League.

Sheffield United F.C. Association football club

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Championship, the second tier of English football, and have gained promotion to the Premier League for the 2019–20 season. The football club was formed in 1889 as an offshoot of Sheffield United Cricket Club, and are nicknamed The Blades due to Sheffield's history of steel production. The club have played their home games at Bramall Lane since their formation in 1889. Bramall Lane is an all-seater ground with a capacity of 32,609.

Results

SeasonLeagueDivisionPointsRemarksBelgian Cup
  I II III IV P.I P.II P.III P.IV     
2013/14    1     First Provincial League 70  Promotion. 
2014/15   1      Fourth Division C 71  Promotion. 5th round
2015/16  1       Third Division B 71  Promotion. 3rd round
Reformation of the Belgian football league system*
  IA IB IAm IIAm IIIAm P.I P.II P.III P.IV     
2016/17  1       First Amateur Division 53  Promotion. After the regular season KFCO BW was ranked first with 80 points. 5th round
2017/18 3        First Division B 46  Winner of the first period title with 29 points. 1/16
2018/19 2        First Division B 54  Winner of the second period title with 30 points. 1/8

Squad 2018/19

[4] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

FIFA's eligibility rules also demand that in men's competitions, only men are eligible to play, and that in women's competitions, only women are eligible to play.

No.PositionPlayer
2 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg DF Jan Van den Bergh
3 Flag of Ukraine.svg DF Denis Prychynenko
4 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg MF Jorn Vancamp
5 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg DF Joren Dom
6 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg DF Ayrton Mboko
7 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg MF Tom Van Hyfte
8 Flag of North Macedonia.svg FW Emil Abaz
9 Flag of Cameroon.svg FW Marius Noubissi
10 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg MF Alexander Maes
11 Flag of Togo.svg FW Euloge Placca
13 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg FW Dante Vanzeir (on loan from Genk)
15 Flag of France.svg DF Pierre Bourdin
16 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg MF Tom Pietermaat
17 Flag of France.svg DF Emeric Dudouit
No.PositionPlayer
19 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg MF Mohamed Messoudi
20 Flag of Sweden.svg MF Diego Montiel
21 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg MF Gertjan De Mets
22 Flag of Georgia.svg MF Irakli Bugridze
26 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg MF Loris Brogno
27 Flag of Austria.svg FW Erwin Hoffer
28 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg DF Jimmy De Jonghe
30 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg GK Jordi Nolle
31 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg GK Mike Vanhamel
34 Flag of Morocco.svg FW Tarik Tissoudali
72 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg GK Antoine Lejoly
89 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg DF Grégory Grisez
99 Flag of Austria.svg FW Rubin Okotie

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.PositionPlayer
6 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg MF Dani Wilms(at Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Rupel Boom)
No.PositionPlayer
Flag of Turkey.svg DF Gökhan Kardeş (at Flag of Turkey.svg Afjet Afyonspor)

Managers

SeasonManager
2013–2014 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Urbain Spaenhoven
2014–2015 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Urbain Spaenhoven
2015–2016 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Urbain Spaenhoven/ Flag of the Netherlands.svg Dennis van Wijk
2016–2017 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Marc Brys
2017–2018 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Marc Brys
2018–present Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Stijn Vreven

Club captains

SeasonPlayer
2013–2014 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Davy De Smedt
2014–2015 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Davy De Smedt
2015–2016 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Davy De Smedt/Hannes Meeus
2016–2017 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Jaric Schaessens

Top scorers

SeasonPlayerGoals scored
2013–2014 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Peter Nijs 28
2014–2015 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Dyron Daal 18
2015–2016 Flag of Argentina.svg Hernán Losada 10
2016–2017 Flag of Argentina.svg Hernán Losada 15
2017–2018 Flag of Argentina.svg Hernán Losada 10

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References

  1. ↑ Het Olympisch Stadion op het Kiel kfco.ibiscommunications.be (last check 30/03/2018)
  2. ↑ Hellemans, Koen. "Beerschot-Wilrijk wint voor 11.500 fans met 4–0 topper en is op weg naar derde". hln.be. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Saudische prins investeert in Beerschot Wilrijk - GVA (in Dutch)
  4. ↑ http://www.beerschotwilrijk.be/nl/2017-2018
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