Lommel S.K.

Last updated

Lommel
Lommel SK badge.png
Full nameLommel Sportkring
Founded1932;93 years ago (1932)
GroundSoevereinstadion, Lommel
Capacity8,000 [1]
Owner City Football Group
Chairman Harm van Veldhoven
Head coach Ryan Garry (caretaker)
League Challenger Pro League
2023–24 Challenger Pro League, 4th of 16
Website www.lommelsk.be

Lommel SK is a Belgian association football club based in the city of Lommel, Limburg, that competes in the Challenger Pro League. [2]

Contents

History

The roots of the club date back to the 1920s when the club Vlug & Vrij Overpelt-Usines (Fast & Free Overpelt-Factories) was founded, registering as an official club with the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1927 to receive matricule 1064. The club dissolved in 1933 only to be re-established in 1937 as Vlug & Vrij Overpelt (Fast & Free Overpelt) with matricule 2554 and played at stadium De Leukens in Overpelt. It was commonly known as Overpelt Fabriek (Overpelt Factory), named after the Overpelt district in which the zinc factory was situated and was a club for the local factory workers.

In 1954, the club reached the national football levels, that time at the fourth level of the Belgian football pyramid, and continued to the Belgian Third Division in 1957. Near the end of the 1950s, the name was changed again, now to Vlug en Vrij Overpelt-Fabriek (Fast and Free Overpelt-Factory).

In 1982, the club was promoted to the Belgian Second Division where it remained for three seasons before being relegated again and starting an up and down movement between the second and fourth divisions. In 1987 the club obtained the royal designation, thus changing the name in 1988 to Koninklijke Vlug en Vrij Overpelt-Fabriek (Royal Fast and Free Overpelt-Factory). Midway the 1990s the club played three more seasons in the second division but promotion to the highest level would never be obtained. In 2003 neighbours K.F.C. Lommel S.K. dissolved following bankruptcy. Lommel had been founded in 1932 and its biggest achievements included playing the 2001 Belgian Cup Final and playing in both the 1997 and 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Overpelt-Fabriek and Lommel merged into K.V.S.K. United Overpelt-Lommel, often referred to as KVSK United, with KVSK an abbreviation standing for Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging en Sportkring (Royal Footballassociation and Sportscircle). It continued with the matricule 2554 of Overpelt-Fabriek but moved from De Leukens to the Soevereinstadion in Lommel. The club colours became a combination of those of Lommel (green & white) and Overpelt-Fabriek (red & blue). The new club started the 2003–04 season in the third division and only narrowly missed out on promotion. The following season the team became champions undefeated throughout the whole season (30 matches) and was promoted to the second division. During the 2005–06 season the team came close to promotion to the highest level as it led the table before the last match but lost away to Oud-Heverlee Leuven and saw the title and promotion move to Mons. The following promotion playoffs were lost to Lierse.

In 2010, the club merged with third division team KFC Racing Mol-Wezel and changed its name to Lommel United and started two very successful seasons, ending second in both 2009–10 and 2010–11. This however was a turning point, as almost all starting players decided to leave the club after those two seasons, forcing Lommel United to rebuild the team with many youngsters. A highlight was the 2014–15 season in which Lommel United again finished second. After that, the team only narrowly managed to obtain a place in the new second-level league called Belgian First Division B, but during the 2016–17 season the team started with only 3 wins out of 28 matches and despite a strong finish, the team was relegated to the Belgian First Amateur Division, thereby losing its professional status. Following that season, the team changed its name to Lommel SK.

In May 2020, it was announced that City Football Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, had purchased Lommel SK, making it the ninth club to join their stable. [3]

Current squad

As of 26 January 2025 [4]

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

No.Pos.NationPlayer
1 GK Flag of Montenegro.svg  MNE Nikola Ivezić
2 DF Flag of Peru (state).svg  PER Kluiverth Aguilar
4 DF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Stijn Wuytens
5 DF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Dries Wouters
6 MF Flag of the Netherlands.svg  NED Joey Pelupessy
7 MF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Théo Mununga
8 MF Flag of Mali.svg  MLI Ibrahima Kébé (on loan from Girona)
9 FW Flag of the Netherlands.svg  NED Jason van Duiven
10 FW Flag of Angola.svg  ANG Igor Vetokele
11 DF Flag of Spain.svg  ESP Álvaro Santos
13 DF Flag of Colombia.svg  COL Jhon Banguera
14 DF Flag of Sweden.svg  SWE Jesper Tolinsson
15 MF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Lucas Schoofs
18 MF Flag of Ireland.svg  IRL Daniel McGrath
23 GK Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Matthias Pieklak
27 MF Flag of Croatia.svg  CRO Leon Lalić
No.Pos.NationPlayer
31 GK Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Rik Vercauteren
33 MF Flag of Brazil.svg  BRA Diego Rosa (on loan from Bahia)
34 DF Flag of Ghana.svg  GHA Henry Oware
38 DF Flag of Ghana.svg  GHA Yeboah Amankwah
44 DF Flag of France.svg  FRA Yvann Titi (on loan from Troyes)
56 DF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Josias Lama
57 DF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Filip Kujovic
64 MF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Tsoanelo Letsosa
66 MF Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Toon Franssen
77 FW Flag of Norway.svg  NOR Faniel Tewelde
79 DF Flag of the Netherlands.svg  NED Sam De Grand
80 FW Flag of Serbia.svg  SRB Filip Stevanović
98 FW Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  BEL Mo Salah
99 FW Flag of Mexico.svg  MEX Hugo Weckmann
FW Flag of Uruguay.svg  URU Nicolás Siri (on loan from Montevideo City)
FW Flag of Colombia.svg  COL John Edwin Montaño

Out on loan

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

No.Pos.NationPlayer
MF Flag of Togo (3-2).svg  TOG Karim Dermane (at Kortrijk until 30 June 2025)
MF Flag of Japan.svg  JPN Koki Saito (at QPR until 30 June 2025)
MF Flag of Bulgaria.svg  BUL Filip Krastev (at Zwolle until 30 June 2025)
No.Pos.NationPlayer
MF Flag of Finland.svg  FIN Juho Talvitie (at Heracles Almelo until 30 June 2025)
MF Flag of Serbia.svg  SRB Djordje Gordic (at Radomlje until 30 June 2025)
FW Flag of Hungary.svg  HUN Zalán Vancsa (at Roda JC until 30 June 2025)

Coaching staff

PositionName
President Flag of the Netherlands.svg Harm Van Veldhoven
CEO Flag of England.svg Mike Green
Sporting Director Flag of England.svg James McCarron
Head coach Flag of England.svg Ryan Garry
Goalkeeper coach Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Nicolas Nerinckx
Head of Science and Medicine Flag of the Netherlands.svg Sjoerd Den Dekker
Head of Team & Player Development Flag of Belgium (civil).svg David Gibas
Sports Scientist Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Stefan Winters
Team Manager Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Daan Deboutte
Clubs owned by CFG
Listed in order of acquisition/foundation.
Bold indicates the club was founded by CFG.
* indicates the club was acquired by CFG.
§ indicates the club is co-owned.
2008 Manchester City F.C.*
2009–2012
2013 New York City FC §
2014 Melbourne City FC*
Yokohama F. Marinos*§
2015–2016
2017 Montevideo City Torque*
Girona FC*§
2018
2019 Shenzhen Peng City F.C.*§
Mumbai City FC*§
2020 Lommel S.K.*
ES Troyes AC*
2021
2022 Palermo F.C.*§
2023 Bahia*§

References

  1. stadion Archived 8 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine , lommelunited.be (last check 30 March 2018)
  2. "Apuia Ralte to travel to Belgium for Lommel SK training stint". www.mumbaicityfc.com. Mumbai, Maharashtra: Mumbai City Football Club. 3 September 2022. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  3. Jackson, Jamie (11 May 2020). "Manchester City parent company add Belgian team to their stable". Guardian Uk. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  4. "Spelers" (in Dutch). Lommel S.K. Retrieved 1 January 2025.