Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: K Patro Maasmechelen (2002-2005) / K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen (2005-)

Gemeentelijk Sportparkstadion - Kolenmijn Limburg-Maaslaan, Maasmechelen Eisden (K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen, formerly K Patro Maasmechelen)

Belgium, province: Belgian Limburg

9 X 2010 / K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen - KFC Zwarte Leeuw 1-0 / National Division 4C (= BE level 4)

8 III 2024 / K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen - KRC Genk B 2-2 / 1e klasse B (= BE level 2)

Timeline

1938 / Foundation of a Roman-Catholic football club in Eisden, VV Patro Eisden. Instead of joining the official Belgian Football Association (KBVB), VV Patro Eisden joins the Vlaamsche Voetbalbond (VVB). The club settles at Terrein Kastanjelaan in Eisden-Tuinwijk.
1942 / After four years in the VVB, VV Patro Eisden makes the leap to the official Belgian FA, acquiring registration number 3434. The club is placed in Limburg’s Regional League 2 for the 1942-43 season.
1950 / After eight years in Limburg's regional and provincial divisions, Patro Eisden accedes to Promotion, the third and lowest level of the Belgian national league pyramid.
1957 / Although no complete certainty is to be had, VV Patro Eisden probably changed its name to become Patro Eisden in 1957.
1960 / Patro Eisden reaches the top flight of the Belgian national league pyramid for the first and only time in its history - with relegation following immediately in 1961.
1992 / Upon the fiftieth anniversary of the club’s KBVB membership, Patro acquires the royal epithet, thus officially becoming Koninklijke Patro Eisden.
1998 / In an attempt to widen its appeal to the wider region – and compete with the new merger club KRC Genk – K Patro Eisden changes its name to become K Maasland Maasmechelen.
2001 / K Maasland Maasmechelen changes its name to become K Patro Maasmechelen.
2002 / Abandoning Stadion Kastanjelaan after the 2001-02 season, K Patro Maasmechelen moves into the newly built Gemeentelijk Sportparkstadion (alternatively referred to as Gemeentelijk Sportstadion or Patrostadion) at Kolenmijn Limburg-Maaslaan, with a grandstand and a covered terrace (total capacity 9,600); Stadion Kastanjelaan and the surrounding pitches remain in use as the club’s youth academy ground.
2003 / Coached by former player Nico Claesen, K Patro Maasmechelen finishes last in National Division 2. Thanks to two D1 teams not meeting the licensing requirements and being retrograded to D3 (KV Mechelen and KFC Lommel SK), the club avoids the drop. Also in 2003, upon completion of the last works on the new ground, the Gemeentelijk Sportstadion – meanwhile in use for a full season already – is inaugurated officially on June 6th, 2003, by Maasmechelen’s mayor Wim Terwingen.
2005 / Coached by René Trost, K Patro Maasmechelen finishes second-last in National Division 2, thus dropping back into D3 along with bottom club VC Eendracht Aalst 2002. After being declared technically insolvent and several administrative mistakes by the club’s board, however, the club is retrograded one extra division, thus finding itself in D4. In the summer of 2005, K Patro Maasmechelen changes its name to become K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen.
2011 / Champions in National Division 4C, 14 points ahead of Excelsior Veldwezelt, K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen, coached by Norbert Beuls, manages a return to National Division 3.
2013 / Coached by Eric Eurlings, K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen finishes in third place in National Division 3B. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club defeats K Bocholter VV in R1 (4-1 aggr.) only to be eliminated by KRC Mechelen in R2 (2-1 aggr.).
2014 / Still coached by Eric Eurlings, K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen finishes in third place in D3B for the second year in a row. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club successively defeats K Hoogstraten VV (4-2 aggr.) and R Union Saint-Gilloise (4-1 aggr.) to accede to National Division 2 after an absence of nine years. Also in 2014, K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen qualifies for the round of last 32 of the Belgian Cup after defeating K Sporting Hasselt; drawing a home game against RSC Anderlecht, Patro bows out after extra time (3-5).
2015 / Finishing third from bottom in National Division 2, K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen, coached by Eric Eurlings, stays up thanks to fellow D2 club SC Eendracht Aalst failing to meet the licensing requirements and RAEC Mons going bankrupt. In the 2015-16 season, Patro reaches the round of last 32 in the Belgian Cup, being knocked out in a home game by Club Brugge KV (0-4).
2016 / In a reorganisation of the national league pyramid, the bottom half of National Division 2 is retrograded to the newly created Amateur Division 1; Patro, finishing fifteenth, is one of the unlucky clubs dropping back into this new division.
2018 / Coached by caretaker manager Aziz Redji in the last stages of the season, K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen finishes bottom of the table in Amateur Division 1, thus descending into VFV Amateur Division 2 along with KFC Vigor Wuitens Hamme and K Berchem Sport.
2019 / Clinching the title in VFV Amateur Division 2B, 6 points ahead of closest followers K Sporting Hasselt, K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen – coached by Stijn Stijnen – finds its way back to Amateur Division 1 after just one year.
2020 / As new side pitches are inaugurated at the Gemeentelijk Sportparkstadion, Patro finally abandons its historic ground at Kastanjelaan – which had remained in use as youth academy ground for the past eighteen seasons.
2023 / Still coached by Stijn Stijnen, K Patro Eisden Maasmechelen clinches the title in Amateur Division 1 in the last match of the season, a 3-0 home defeat against KFC Dessel Sport. As such, the club wins promotion to National Division 1B, the second tier of Belgium’s football pyramid, along with numbers 2 and 3 RFC Liège (which had actually won the same number of points as Patro) and Francs Borains.
2024 / In order to meet the requirements for top flight football, a temporary stand of 4,020 seats is put in place behind the western end of the Gemeentelijk Sportparkstadion, thus increasing total capacity of the ground (which had decreased due to seats being added to the covered terrace several years previously) to 8,100. The stand is inaugurated in the home game against KRC Genk B in March 2024. Meanwhile, in National Division 1B, the club has a good season, finishing in sixth position and qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which elimination is suffered in R1 at the hands of KMSK Deinze (6-1 aggr.).

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of two different match visits: pictures 1-11, 13-22, 24-27 & 29 = March 2024 / pictures 12, 23 & 28 = October 2010.