Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: FC Nieuwkerken (1992-2003) / FCN Sint-Niklaas (2003-2010) / SK Sint-Niklaas (2010-2018) / SKN Sint-Niklaas (2018-2026)

Stedelijk Sportcentrum Meesterstraat, Nieuwkerken-Waas = Nieukerken-Waes (formerly FC Nieuwkerken / FCN Sint-Niklaas / SK Sint-Niklaas / SKN Sint-Niklaas)

Belgium, province: East Flanders

22 V 2011 / SK Sint-Niklaas - KV Turnhout 3-3 A.E.T. / National Divisions 2 & 3 - promotion-relegation play-off (= BE levels 2 & 3)

Timeline

1932 / For the first time, a football club in Nieuwkerken-Waas, a village on the northern outskirts of Sint-Niklaas (Saint-Nicolas) in East Flanders, joins the Belgian FA (URBSFA / KBVB). The club takes on the name Sportkring (SK) FC Nieukerken-Waes – thereby preferring the French name of the locality over the Dutch spelling. Upon applying for membership of Belgium’s FA (URBSFA / KBVB), SK FC Nieukerken-Waes acquires registration number 1956; the club’s foundation must have gone back further than 1932, though, given that the royal epithet was already acquired in 1956. During most of the pre-war years, we find SK FC Nieukerken-Waes competing in East Flanders’ Regional League 2 (2e Gewestelijke). There is no proof that the club played on the pitch at Meesterstraat from the outset; it is clear, though, that the location of the pitch used by the club after World War II more or less corresponded with modern-day Pitch / Terrein 2 of Stedelijk Sportcomplex Meesterstraat.
1936 / Another club sees the daylight in Nieuwkerken-Waas, FC Red Star Nieuwkerken-Waas. Instead of joining the Belgian FA, this club took its place in the divisions of the so-called Vlaamsche Voetbalbond (VVB), a rival football federation. FC Red Star most probably played its football at Pastoor Copstraat from the outset – the address of the future Robert Waterschootstadion.
1944 / FC Red Star Nieuwkerken-Waas takes on the new name FC Red Star Haesdonck in the year of the club abandoning the VVB and joining the regular Belgian FA with registration number 4068. In the following decades, this club would undergo multiple name changes (2002: KFC Red Star Waasland, 2007: KV Red Star Waasland, 2010: KV Red Star Waasland-SK Beveren, 2022: SK Beveren), successively playing its football at the Puyenbekestadion in Belsele and later the Freethielstadion in Beveren.
1950 / Finishing bottom of the table in East Flanders’ Regional League 2B, SK FC Nieukerken-Waes descends into Regional League 3 – renamed Provincial League 3 in 1952.
1953 / Champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3F, SK FC Nieukerken-Waes wins promotion to Provincial League 2.
1956 / Acquiring the royal epithet, SK FC Nieukerken-Waes takes on the adapted name Koninklijke Sportkring (KSK) Nieuwkerken-Waas (also note the changed orthography).
1958 / Having managed an eighth place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2B in the 1957-58 season, KSK Nieuwkerken-Waas folds, ceasing all activities after an existence of 25 years. In the following decades, the pitch at Meesterstraat seems to have remained in use by recreational football clubs, competing in Walivo and other leagues not affiliated to the Belgian FA.
1992 / Under the leadership of a local entrepreneur, printing-house owner Guido Van Lijsebetten, a new football club is formed in Nieuwkerken-Waas, which takes on the straightforward name FC Nieuwkerken. Settling on a newly laid-out pitch at Meesterstraat – right beside the pitch formerly used by KSK Nieuwkerken-Waas in the 1950s, which had meanwhile fallen into disuse – the club plays its first season in the ranks of a recreational football association.
1993 / After one year as a recreational club, FC Nieuwkerken joins the regular Belgian FA, receiving registration number 9264. Guido Van Lijsebetten is the chairman of the new Provincial League 4 competitor. By this time, the ground at Meesterstraat consists of three pitches, with a small covered stand and a clubhouse having been constructed alongside the main pitch.
1994 / Clinching the title in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4F in its first season as a competitive club, FC Nieuwkerken wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
1995 / Champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3F, FC Nieuwkerken wins back-to-back promotions, acceding to Provincial League 2.
1996 / Clinching the title in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2C, 4 points ahead of closest rivals KVK Svelta Melsele, FC Nieuwkerken wins promotion to Provincial League 1 – the third title and the third promotion in a row for the club.
1998 / FC Nieuwkerken finishes as runner-up in East Flanders’ Provincial League 1, 10 points behind runaway champions KSK Maldegem.
2001 / Champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 1, 6 points ahead of closest followers Eendracht Opstal, FC Nieuwkerken wins promotion to national league football for the first time in the club’s young history, being placed in National Division 4, the lowest tier of the national league pyramid.
2002 / Finishing in ninth place in its first season in National Division 4B, FC Nieuwkerken qualifies for the promotion play-offs thanks to gathering most points in the last quarter of the season. Edging past K Standaard Wetteren in R1 (0-0 & penalty shoot-out), the club goes on to defeat Racing Jet Wavre in R2 (5-1). Thus qualifying for the final, the club suffers defeat against TK Meldert (2-1) as well as in the lucky loser final against R Spa FC (1-0). Nevertheless, the club is placed in National Division 3 due to extra promotion places being available. With the club thus climbing further and further up the league ladder, chairman Guido Van Lijsebetten puts in an extra sum of money to have a huge all-seater stand erected to replace the small covered stand which had been in place since the early 1990s; on the side facing this new main stand, a much smaller covered terrace is added. The old main stand is rebuilt alongside the side-pitch to the southeast of the stadium proper, which is now renamed the Stedelijk Sportcentrum Meesterstraat.
2003 / In an attempt to broaden its appeal to the wider Sint-Niklaas region following the demise of K Sint-Niklase SK, which had been absorbed into KSC Lokeren three years previously, FC Nieuwkerken changes its name to become FC Nieuwkerken Sint-Niklaas, commonly abbreviated as FCN Sint-Niklaas.
2004 / Finishing in fourth place in National Division 3A, FCN Sint-Niklaas qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by KV Kortrijk (3-2 aggr.).
2005 / On the site of the former pitch of KSK Nieuwkerken-Waas from the 1950s, later used by recreational teams but having fallen into disuse by the early 1990s, a fourth match pitch is added to the set-up at Stedelijk Sportcentrum Meesterstraat. This pitch, situated at the back of the main stand, is laid out with a synthetic surface. Confusingly, the new pitch is given the name Pitch / Veld F – sometimes even Pitch / Veld 10. Two years later, one of the other pitches on the park is equipped with a synthetic surface as well.
2010 / Mere days after KV Red Star Waasland, heir of the registration number of the original FC Red Star Haesdonck which had been founded in Nieuwkerken-Waas in the mid-1940s, concluded its officious merger with KSK Beveren to form KV Red Star Waasland-SK Beveren, FCN Sint-Niklaas filed for a new name change, becoming Sportkring (SK) Sint-Niklaas – as an even clearer reference to the former K Sint-Niklase SK.
2011 / Finishing in seventh place in National Division 3A, SK Sint-Niklaas qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out Hoogstraten VV in R1 (5-4 aggr.) and KV Turnhout in R2 (5-4 aggr. A.E.T., cp. photos below), going on to have the better of KV Woluwe-Zaventem in the final (2-1). As such, the club achieves promotion to National Division 2, barely eighteen years after having acceded to the Belgian FA. To allow more spectators to attend matches, two uncovered terraces are constructed behind both ends of the stadium at Stedelijk Sportcentrum Meesterstraat in the summer of 2011.
2012 / In what is the best result in club history, SK Sint-Niklaas finishes in fifteenth place in National Division 2, 1 point above KVK Tienen and FCV Dender EH, both of whom suffer relegation into Division 3.
2013 / Finishing bottom of the table in National Division 2, SK Sint-Niklaas descends into Division 3 along with the club in second-last place, KSV Oudenaarde.
2014 / Finishing in second-last place in National Division 3A, SK Sint-Niklaas suffers its second relegation in a row, descending into National Division 4, alongside bottom club K Standaard Wetteren.
2015 / Runner-up in National Division 4A, 3 points behind champions KFC Sparta Petegem, SK Sint-Niklaas qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Knocking out OMS Ingelmunster in R1 (2-0) and KOSC Wijgmaal in R2 (5-1), the club goes on to defeat RES Acrenoise in the final (1-3). As a result, SK Sint-Niklaas manages a return to National Division 3 after two years.
2016 / In a reorganisation of Belgium’s league pyramid, SK Sint-Niklaas is placed in VFV Amateur Division 2, the fourth and second-lowest tier of the national league system, due to the club finishing in the bottom half of the table in National Division 3A.
2018 / After a presidency of 25 years, Guido Van Lijsebetten steps down as chairman of SK Sint-Niklaas, leaving the club to an investor from Brussels, Gylles Peemans; to mark the new start and in an attempt to reinforce its local ties, the club changes its name to become Sportkring Nieuwkerken Sint-Niklaas, commonly abbreviated to SKN Sint-Niklaas.
2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short in March 2020 due to the first COVID lockdown, SKN Sint-Niklaas finds itself in second-last place in VFV Amateur Division 2A, resulting in relegation into Amateur Division 3 alongside bottom club KFC Vigor Wuitens Hamme.
2022 / With the club meanwhile being in grave financial difficulties due to the lack of investments after the departure of Mr Van Lijsebetten, SKN Sint-Niklaas proves unable to stop the rot, finishing in second-last place in VFV Amateur Division 3A. As a result, an uninterrupted spell of 21 years of national league football comes to an end, with the club descending into Provincial League 1 along with KVK Svelta Melsele and bottom side KFC Rhodienne-De Hoek.
2023 / Finishing bottom of the table in East Flanders’ Provincial League 1 without a single point picked up all season, SKN Sint-Niklaas suffers its second relegation in a row, descending into Provincial League 2, alongside KFC Heikant Zele, KSK Grembergen, and KSC Excelsior Mariakerke.
2024 / Finishing in second-last place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2C, SKN Sint-Niklaas suffers its third relegation in a row, descending into Provincial League 3 along with derby rivals VK White Boys Sint-Niklaas and bottom club KV Sint-Gillis.
2025 / Finishing in second-last place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3E, SKN Sint-Niklaas suffers its fourth relegation in a row, descending into Provincial League 4 alongside bottom club FC Herleving Sint-Pauwels. This relegation concludes the meteoric journey the club had, beginning from Provincial League 4 all the way up to National Division 2, and eventually down again to the very bottom of the league ladder.
2026 / With bankruptcy being declared in February 2026, SKN Sint-Niklaas withdraws all of its remaining teams from their respective leagues midway through the season, including the first team and the B side, both competing in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4. In April 2026, a phoenix club sees the daylight, Excelsior Nieuwkerken, which joins the Belgian FA with registration number 9877 and taking over Stedelijk Sportcentrum Meesterstraat, Excelsior Nieuwkerken. However, due to a lack of maintenance on the natural grass pitch of the stadium proper, the club plays its first team football in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4 on Pitch / Terrein 2, the synthetic side-pitch of the ground (formerly known as Veld F / Veld 10).

Note 1 – Thanks to former FC Nieuwkerken chairman Guido Van Lijsebetten for adding essential parts of information used in the article above.

Note 2 – Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-15 = match visit, May 2011 / pictures 16-28 = non-matchday visit, September 2026.