BELGIUM: K Wolvertem SC (2000-2016) / K Hoger Op Wolvertem-Merchtem (2016-)

Frans Lathouwersstadion, Wolvertem (K Hoger Op Wolvertem-Merchtem, formerly K Wolvertem SC)

Belgium, province: Flemish Brabant

29 IV 2010 / K Wolvertem SC - R Léopold Uccle FC 0-2 / Brabant, Provincial League 1 (= BE level 5)

23 X 2021 / KHO Wolvertem-Merchtem - Erpe-Mere United 0-0 / VFV Division 3A (= BE level 5)

Note 1: Sport Na Arbeid Wolvertem, founded in 1939, changed their name to become Wolvertem Sporting Club two years later. In 2000, the club abandoned their old ground in Wolvertem's town centre in favour of the newly built Frans Lathouwersstadion. Frans Lathouwers, town councillor in Meise who died shortly before the ground's inauguration, had been the driving force behind the construction of the stadium. During the 2000 European Football Championships, the pitch was used by Romania's national team as their training ground. In 2016, K Wolvertem SC merged with local rivals FC Merchtem 2000, becoming K Hoger Op Wolvertem-Merchtem (often referred to by the acronym KHOWM). Retaining Wolvertem's matricule (3155), the new club's first team have since played their matches in Wolvertem, while Merchtem's Sportcomplex Dooren has remained in use for lower team football and training purposes. From the 2021/2022 season onwards, the stadium in Wolvertem is also used by RSC Anderlecht for their U21 home matches.

Note 2: Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 3-4 = match visit, April 2010 / pictures 1-2 & 5-20 = match visit, October 2021.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

BELGIUM: K Willebroekse SV (1984-2000) / KVC Willebroek-Meerhof (2000-2011)

Stadion De Schalk, Willebroek = Willebroeck (formerly K Willebroekse SV & KVC Willebroek-Meerhof)

Belgium, province: Antwerp

28 IV 2010 / KVC Willebroek-Meerhof - R Cappellen FC 1-2 / National Division 3A (= BE level 3)

Timeline

• 1907 / First attempt at the foundation of a football club in Willebroek fails due to the lack of a suitable ground being available. Even though Willebroek's town council pays lip service to the initiative, further efforts in the following years prove equally unfruitful.
• 1919 / Finally, in the wake of World War I, Willebroeckse Sportvereeniging is founded by eight men, including Henri Pickery, who is subsequently elected as the new club's first chairman. The first ground, 't Sas, is situated on an open field behind the local ironworks, 'Den IJzeren' - or, as the mill is officially called, S.A. de Construction et des Ateliers de Willebroeck.
• 1926 / Belgium's Football Association introduces the matricule system, with Willebroeckse SV obtaining matricule 85.
• 1931 / Due to a conflict with Den IJzeren over the rent for its playing field, Willebroeckse sees no other option but to move. A new ground is built at Appeldonkstraat. The inaugural match takes place on January 11th, 1931.
• 1936 / For the first time, Willebroeckse SV manages to win promotion to the national leagues, holding out for three seasons in 'Bevordering', the third and - at the time - lowest lewel in Belgium's nationwide pyramid.
• 1941 / A new promotion to the national level; in the following decades, the club is a regular in the third and fourth divisions of the national league.
• 1951 / The club obtains the royal epithet, becoming K Willebroekse SV - or in full: Koninklijke Willebroekse Sportvereniging (note the modernised orthography).
• 1964 / Highlight in Willebroekse's history as R Standard de Liège are knocked out of the Belgian Cup after a penalty shoot-out.
• 1965 / K Willebroekse SV wins the league title in National Division 3A, acceding to National Division 2. The club maintains itself at that level - the highest ever attained in club history - for two seasons.
• 1969 / At Willebroekse's 50th anniversary, the ground at Appeldonkstraat is renamed Henri Pickery-Stadion in honour of the club's co-founder and first chairman.
• 1984 / After 53 years, the stadium at Appeldonkstraat is abandoned in favour of the newly built Stadion De Schalk, which has a staggering capacity of 9,971 places (covered seating: 1,114; covered standing: 1,500 / open standing: 7,357). The new ground is inaugurated on June 16th, 1984, with a gala match against KV Mechelen (result - 1-3).
• 1990 / After 49 consecutive seasons in the national leagues, Willebroekse is condemned to relegation to Antwerp's Provincial League 1.
• 2000 / Following a decade of mixed results, with the club alternating short spells in Provincial League 1 and National Division 4, K Willebroekse SV concludes a merger with their more modest town rivals FC Meerhof Willebroek (matricule 7587), the result being the foundation of KVC (Koninklijke Voetbalclub) Willebroek-Meerhof under Willebroekse's matricule 85. Henceforth, first team football is played at Stadion De Schalk, while Meerhof's ground at Breendonkstraat remains in use as the new club's youth academy.
• 2011 / After eleven more years of national league football (five seasons in Division 3 and six in Division 4), KVC Willebroek-Meerhof, bogged down in financial difficulties, is forced to cease all activities; matricule 85 is erased from the Belgian FA's official lists. The initiative is taken to found a successor club rightaway, which adopts an old and familiar name: Willebroekse SV. This new club (matricule 9574), settles down at Breendonkstraat. At the behest of Willebroek's town council, Stadion De Schalk is abandoned.
• 2018 / Stadion De Schalk is demolished after seven years of decay and vandalisation.

Note: Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-12 = match visit, April 2010 / pictures 13-23 = non-matchday (ruin) visit, February 2015.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

BELGIUM: Borgerhoutsche SK (19??-1933) / KRC Borgerhout (1933-1960) / Tubantia FAC (±1941-1944) / K Tubantia Borgerhout FC (1960-1971) / K Tubantia Borgerhout VK (1971-2020)

Stadion Rivierenhof, Antwerp = Antwerpen = Anvers Deurne (formerly Borgerhoutsche SK / KRC Borgerhout / K Tubantia Borgerhout FC / K Tubantia Borgerhout VK)

Belgium, province: Antwerp

25 IV 2010 / K Tubantia Borgerhout VK - KFC Zandvliet Sport 0-3 / Antwerp, Provincial League 1 (= BE level 5)

Note 1: The year in which football was first played in Stadion Rivierenhof cannot be determined with the sources which are at my disposal, but it was home to KRC Borgerhout from 1933 onwards and probably also to its predecessor Borgerhoutsche SK (which merged with RC Anvers-Deurne in 1933 to become Racing Club Borgerhout). In the war years, when the stadium of Tubantia FAC, 'De Put', also situated in the Ter Rivierenhof public park, was commandeered by the German oppressor, this club moved to Stadion Rivierenhof of their neighbours KRC Borgerhout, only to return to their old ground upon liberation. Both clubs concluded a merger in 1960, becoming K Tubantia Borgerhout FC, flemicised to K Tubantia Borgerhout VK (Voetbalkring) in 1971. From the merger onwards, first team football moved to KRC Borgerhout's ground. The all-seater stand featuring in the photos below was inaugurated in 1974. Due to its ongoing dilapidation, it was knocked down in 2013. In 2020, "Den Tuub" abandoned the ground, henceforth playing their football at the nearby Park Groot Schijn with their youth teams moving to the nearby Stabelino ground. Following Tubantia's departure, Stadion Rivierenhof was knocked down (cp. picture 19 below).

Note 2: Below, a compilation of photos of three different visits: pictures 1 & 18 = non-matchday visit, February 2010 / pictures 2-17 = match visit, April 2010 / picture 19 = non-matchday visit (location), April 2022.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker (co-edited by J.C. te Boekhorst) / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author