Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: K Lutlommel VV (1970-2023) / K Lutlommel VV (B) (2023-)

Terrein De Konijnenpijp terr. 1, Lommel Lutlommel (B pitch of K Lutlommel VV, formerly A pitch of K Lutlommel VV)

Belgium, province: Limburg

17 IV 2013 / K Lutlommel VV - KFC Katelijne 2-1 / National Division 4C (= BE level 4)

Timeline

1938 / Foundation of a football club in Lutlommel, a hamlet on the eastern outskirts of Lommel in Belgian Limburg. The new club, Lutlommel Voetbalvereniging (VV), joins the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB) with registration number 2770. The club’s first pitch is situated at Torenstraat, at the back of a local primary school.
1941 / After three years as an ‘aspirant club’, Lutlommel VV is now placed in Limburg’s Regional League 2 (2e Gewestelijke).
1945 / Moving away from Terrein Torenstraat, Lutlommel VV settles at a pitch laid out at the back of Café De Lindeboom, owned by Plien Van de Witte, at Molenberg.
1947 / Finishing in fifteenth place in Regional League 2, resulting in relegation to Regional League 3, Lutlommel VV withdraws from first team football for one season, returning to Regional League 3 in 1948.
1948 / After three years at Terrein Molenberg, Lutlommel VV moves to Terrein Vredestraat, owned by the Sevens family - Sevens being a local beer merchant and the club's sponsor. The pitch is situated in the Sevens family's garden, hemmed in between Vredestraat, Kiezel, and Het Sept (Septakkers), and only accessible via footpaths.
1951 / Champions in Regional League 3D, Lutlommel VV wins promotion to Regional League 2 (renamed Provincial League 2 in 1952).
1952 / The club manages its largest victory in an official first team match, 28-1 (the name of the adversary club has not been preserved).
1954 / Champions in Provincial League 2A, Lutlommel VV wins promotion to Limburg’s Provincial League 1 for the first time – managing a respectable fifth place in its first season at that level.
1959 / Finishing in thirteenth place in Provincial League 1, Lutlommel VV drops back into P2 after five seasons.
1966 / Finishing at the bottom of the table in P2A, Lutlommel VV drops back into Provincial League 3. In subsequent years, the club comes close to promotion on two occasions, finishing in second place (1969, 1972).
1970 / After 22 years at Terrein Vredestraat, Lutlommel VV settles at a newly laid-out ground, put at the disposal of the club by municipal authorities, at Konijnenpijp.
1972 / Lutlommel VV qualifies for the Belgian Cup for the first time in club history. Also in or around 1972, the club abandons its pitch at Vredestraat, settling at a newly laid-out ground, Terrein De Konijnenpijp.
1988 / On the club’s fiftieth anniversary, Lutlommel VV acquires the royal epithet, thus officially becoming Koninklijke Lutlommel Voetbalvereniging (K Lutlommel VV or KLVV).
1996 / After a baffling thirty consecutive seasons in Limburg’s Provincial League 3, K Lutlommel VV now clinches the title in P3E, resulting in the club winning promotion to Provincial League 2.
2000 / Title-winners in P2A, K Lutlommel VV manages a return to Provincial League 1 after an absence of 41 years.
2004 / Finishing as runners-up in Provincial League 1, K Lutlommel VV qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Winning the Limburg play-offs, the club reaches the Inter-Provincial play-offs, in which it defeats US Martelangeoise in the semis (0-3), only to be eliminated in the final by RFC Hannutois (4-1).
2007 / Runners-up in Provincial League 1, just 1 point behind champions K Overpeltse VV, K Lutlommel VV fails to win promotion to the national level in the play-offs once again.
2010 / Champions in Limburg’s Provincial League 1, an impressive 10 points ahead of runners-up K Herk FC, K Lutlommel VV wins promotion to National Division 4, the fourth and lowest tier of the national league pyramid, for the first time in club history.
2011 / Finishing in eleventh place in National Division 4C, K Lutlommel VV drops back into the provincial divisions along with KFC Lille and KVV Heusden-Zolder.
2012 / Champions in Limburg’s Provincial League 1, 2 points ahead of closest rivals KVK Wellen, K Lutlommel VV manages an immediate return to National Division 4.
2013 / In the best season in club history, K Lutlommel VV finishes in fourteenth place in National Division 4C, 8 points clear of the relegation zone.
2014 / Finishing in second-last place in National Division 4C, K Lutlommel VV drops back into Provincial League 1 along with K Vlijtingen VV and bottom club KFC Sint-Job.
2015 / Runners-up in Limburg’s Provincial League 1, 5 points behind champions KVV Thes Sport Tessenderlo, K Lutlommel VV qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by K Vlijtingen VV (2-2 aggr. & away goals).
2016 / Finishing in fifth place in Provincial League 1, K Lutlommel VV qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which four clubs battle it out for two places in the Inter-Provincial play-offs, with K Vlijtingen VV and FC Heur-Tongeren walking away with the two tickets at the expense of Eendracht Termien and K Lutlommel VV.
2017 / Finishing bottom of the table in Limburg’s Provincial League 1, K Lutlommel VV drops back into Provincial League 2 along with FC Landen and KSK Bree. It is the first time in seventeen years that the club finds itself at this level.
2019 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Provincial League 2A, K Lutlommel VV plays a relegation play-off against the no. 14 club in P2B, RDK Gravelo, winning the encounter 4-1 and thus avoiding the drop.
2020 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Provincial League 2A, K Lutlommel VV drops back into Provincial League 3 along with Excelsior Hamont and bottom club KVV Vlug & Vrij Dilsen-Stokkem. It is the first time in 24 years that the club finds itself at this lowly level.
2023 / On a piece of land partly taken by the old pitch 3 of Terrein De Konijnenpijp, a new clubhouse is constructed for K Lutlommel VV, with a covered stand built into it. In October 2023, these premises as well as the club’s new first pitch – officially pitch 8, Terrein 8 – are inaugurated in the presence of Lommel’s mayor Bob Nijs.
2024 / In January 2024, the clubhouse and covered stand along the old main pitch at Terrein De Konijnenpijp (pitch 1, Terrein 1) are knocked down (cp. last photo in series below). The pitch itself continues to be in use for lower team football and training sessions.

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of three different visits: pictures 1-2, 4 & 9-19 = match visit, April 2013 / pictures 3 & 5-8 = non-matchday visit, August 2011 / picture 20 = non-matchday visit, August 2024.