Terrein Spekstraat, Heist-op-den-Berg Hallaar (KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar, formerly FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg)
Belgium, province: Antwerp = Antwerpen
Timeline
- 1940 / Foundation of a recreational football club in Hallaar, a hamlet on the outskirts of Heist-op-den-Berg, a town in the Province of Antwerp; the new club is given the name FC Molenzonen, as the founding members, a group of young men on the dole following the German occupation of Belgium, met to form the club in a bicycle repair shop at Molenstraat in Hallaar. For the remainder of 1940 as well as the first half of 1941, FC Molenzonen sticks to playing friendly matches, with home events taking place on a makeshift pitch laid out at the crossroads of Onze-Lieve-Vrouwstraat and modern-day Neerweg.
- 1941 / FC Molenzonen successfully applies for membership of the Belgian Football Association under the adapted name FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg, with the club being accorded registration number 2982. For the 1941-42 season, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg - usually referred to simply as FC Molenzonen - is placed in Regional League 2B (2e Gewestelijke B).
- 1942 / Finishing third from bottom in Antwerp’s Regional League 2B, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg descends into Regional League 3.
- 1946 / Moving away from the pitch at Onze-Lieve-Vrouwstraat, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg settles at Terrein Spekstraat, just a stone's throw away from the old ground. On this new location, the club have been home ever since.
- 1947 / Champions in Antwerp’s Regional League 3F – thus earning the club its first-ever title – FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg wins promotion to Regional League 2.
- 1950 / Finishing bottom of the table in Antwerp’s Regional League 2B, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg drops back into Regional League 3 – renamed Provincial League 3 in 1952, when a Provincial League 1 is introduced as the top of the Antwerp provincial pyramid.
- 1962 / Champions in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3F, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg manages a return to Provincial League 2 after twelve years.
- 1964 / Finishing bottom of the table in Antwerp’s Provincial League 2B, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg drops back into Provincial League 3.
- 1976 / Champions in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3B, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg manages a return to Provincial League 2 after twelve years.
- 1977 / In the best achievement in club history, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg finishes in tenth place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 2B.
- 1978 / Finishing in second-last place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 2B, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg drops back into Provincial League 3.
- 1979 / Finishing as runner-up in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3C, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg wins promotion to Provincial League 2.
- 1982 / Finishing bottom of the table in Antwerp’s Provincial League 2C, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg is retrograded into Provincial League 3 after three years.
- 1984 / Finishing in third-last place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3D, FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg descends into Provincial League 4 for the first time in club history.
- 1988 / FC Molenzonen Heist-op-den-Berg - almost universally referred to simply as FC Molenzonen - officially changes its name to become FC Molenzonen-Hallaar.
- 1991 / Champions in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4D, FC Molenzonen-Hallaar wins promotion to Provincial League 3. Later that year, celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, the club acquires the royal epithet, thus officially becoming Koninklijke Football Club (KFC) Molenzonen-Hallaar - more and more often referred to in subsequent years as KFCM Hallaar.
- 1995 / Finishing bottom of the table in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3C, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar drops back into Provincial League 4.
- 2000 / Champions in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4C, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
- 2001 / Finishing third from bottom in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3C, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar drops back into Provincial League 4.
- 2013 / Finishing in seventh place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4D, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar qualifies for the promotion play-offs, edging past KVV Rauw Sport in R1 (2-1 aggr.), only to be eliminated in the final by K Excelsior Puurs RSK (3-0 aggr.).
- 2015 / Finishing in fourth place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4E, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club has the better of FC Punt-Larum in R1 (4-3 aggr.), going on to knock out Nielse SV in the final (5-3 aggr.). As such, the club wins promotion to Provincial League 3 after an absence of fourteen years at that level.
- 2016 / Finishing in thirteenth place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3B, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar drops back into Provincial League 4 after just one season, along with KSC Mechelen, SK Rita Berlaar, and bottom club Zennester Hombeek.
- 2017 / Champions in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4D, 1 point ahead of closest rivals K Noordstar VV, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar manages an immediate return to Provincial League 3.
- 2018 / Finishing in fifth place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3D in its first season back at this level, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is overpowered in R1 by K Verbroedering Balen (9-2 aggr.).
- 2022 / Finishing in third place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3C, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club eliminates K Wijnegem VC in R1 (3-1 aggr.), only to be knocked out in the final by KSK Wavria (5-3 aggr.).
- 2023 / Finishing in third place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3B, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 following defeat at the hands of K Schelle Sport (4-1).
- 2024 / Finishing in third place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3A, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by KFC Pulle (4-4 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out). Also in 2024, the old shed flanking the clubhouse at Terrein Spekstraat is replaced by a somewhat smaller, two-step covered terrace.
- 2025 / Finishing in third place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3A, KFC Molenzonen-Hallaar qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club draws a bye in R1, going on to suffer elimination at the hands of KFC Brasschaat in the final (2-0).
All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author