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.
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