Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: KVV Zelzate (1923-1938, 2008-2024) / KSLV Zelzate (1938-2008)

Terrein Patronagestraat, Zelzate (formerly Katholieke Vlaamse Voetbalvereeniging Zelzate / Koninklijke Sint-Laurens Voetbalclub Zelzate / Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging Zelzate)

Belgium, province: East Flanders = Oost-Vlaanderen

30 XII 2012 / KVV Zelzate - KSV Geraardsbergen 2-2 / East Flanders, Provincial League 1 (= BE level 5)

Timeline

1922 / Foundation of a first football club in the town of Zelzate, which is given the name Katholieke Vlaamsche Voetbalvereeniging (KVV) Zelzate. Its founding fathers are two local clerics, Fr Eucherius and Edmond De Wolf, supported by Zelzate's mayor, Michel Ninanne. Not joining any football association for the moment, this first KVV Zelzate plays friendly matches against other teams from the region. From the outset, the club's ground is situated at Patronagestraat, with the pitch being laid out parallel to the street. Initially, no dressing rooms are added to the set-up, due to which players have to change in a local café several dozens of yards down the road, at Kerkstraat.
1923 / KVV Zelzate joins the so-called Diocesaan Sportverbond (DSV), a league of Roman-Catholic clubs.
1926 / Abandoning DSV, KVV Zelzate joins another Roman-Catholic football league, the so-called Katholiek Vlaamsch Sportverbond (KVS).
1937 / KVV Zelzate changes its name to become Sint-Laurens Voetbalclub (SLV) Zelzate - the name being derived from the school where Fr Eucherius taught his lessons, the so-called Sint-Laurensinstituut.
1944 / Abandoning KVS, SLV Zelzate joins the official Belgian Football Association (KBVB), obtaining registration number 4165 upon being accepted as new member club. Around this time, the pitch at Patronagestraat is turned a quarter to give it the position which it kept until the ground was abandoned in 2024.
1945 / SLV Zelzate makes its debut as a KBVB club in East Flanders' Regional League 2 (2e Gewestelijk) on September 2nd, 1945, winning the away match at KVV Sint-Denijssport emphatically (2-7).
1947 / The club wins its first title, finishing in first place in Regional League 2 under the guidance of trainer Norbert Opsomer, thus acceding to East Flanders' Provincial League 2 - the highest provincial level at that time.
1949 / SLV Zelzate's goalkeeper, Armand "Mance" Seghers, leaves the club, signing a contract with top flight club ARA La Gantoise. Seghers, who stayed with this club until hanging up his boots in 1966, also won 11 caps for the Belgian national side - with his debut, an away match against France in the Stade Olympique de Colombes in 1952, earning him the nickname "The Hero of Colombes" (De Held van Colombes) - as Belgium won the match 0-1, Seghers, wearing his familiar bonnet, denied the French attackers time after time. Armand Seghers passed away in 2005 at the age of 78.
1952 / Having suffered relegation from Provincial League 2 two years previously, SLV Zelzate managed to win the Regional League 2 title by defeating RC Gavere in a test match (4-1) - thus acceding to the newly formed Provincial League 1, the new top division of East Flanders' provincial league pyramid.
1953 / In the most successful season in SLV Zelzate's history, the club finishes in 4th place in East Flanders' Provincial League 1.
1957 / Having had five seasons of P1 football, SLV Zelzate finishes second-last, thus dropping back into Provincial League 2.
1964 / Clinching the title in Provincial League 2A with former SLV player Gilbert Audenaert on the coaching bench, SLV Zelzate manages a return to Provincial League 1.
1966 / Having had two seasons of P1 football, SLV Zelzate drops back into Provincial League 2 following a 12th place finish.
1971 / Finishing dead-last in Provincial League 2A, SLV Zelzate suffers relegation into Provincial League 3 for the first time.
1973 / Coach Willem Janssen, who had stayed on after the relegation two years previously, helps SLV Zelzate winning the title in Provincial League 3A, thus returning to P2 level.
1976 / Having had 3 seasons in P2, SLV Zelzate now finishes in 14th place in P2A, thus dropping back into P3.
1979 / Due to finishing 16th and last in Provincial League 3D, SLV Zelzate finds itself in Provincial League 4, the bottom division of East Flanders' provincial league pyramid, for the first time in club history.
1980 / Under the guidance of trainer Arseen Vernaeve, SLV Zelzate clinches the P4A title, managing a return to P3 within a year as a result.
1984 / Losing the title race in Provincial League 3A against town rivals FC Zelzate, SLV Zelzate still accedes to Provincial League 2 due to an extra promotion place being available following the demise of P1 side SV Boelare Eeklo (matricule 7181).
1993 / Coming very close to the title in P2C, SLV Zelzate and its coach Marc Van Hecke have to leave first place to SK Maldegem, which finishes with an equal number of points but boasts 1 more won match.
1995 / Earning the royal epithet, the club takes on the name Koninklijke Sint-Laurens Voetbalvereniging (KSLV) Zelzate.
1996 / Having had several good seasons in Provincial League 2, KSLV Zelzate now finishes in 14th place in P2C, resulting in the drop to P3 after 12 years.
1997 / KSLV Zelzate wins the P3A title with just one defeat in the entire season. The coach bringing back the club to Provincial League 2 is Kurt Migom.
2000 / Finishing in 15th place in P2A, the club drops back into P3.
2003 / In a particularly weak season, KSLV Zelzate finishes last in Provincial League 3F, thus finding itself in Provincial League 4 for the first time in 23 years.
2005 / Having spent two seasons in the abyss of P4, KSLV Zelzate wins the title in P4A under the guidance of trainer Freddy Chalmet, thus managing a return to P3.
2008 / After finishing in second place in P3A in 2007 with just one point less than title winners FC Lembeke, KSLV Zelzate, again coached by Marc Van Hecke, now clinches the title in that same division in the most dramatic of fashions, pipping town rivals KFC Zelzate at the post by winning its last match of the season against KFC Eendracht Belzele-Evergem 4-2 (after trailing 2-0) - and KFC Zelzate losing 3-0 away at KVV Klauwaarts Bassevelde; the final result being that KSLV Zelzate finish the season with 64 points and KFC Zelzate, who had been the leader of the pack almost all season, with 62 points. Following the 2007-08 season, a merger is concluded between KSLV Zelzate and KFC Zelzate, resulting in the foundation of Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging (KVV) Zelzate, which retains KSLV's matricule 4165; KFC Zelzate's matricule 4386 is erased from the Belgian FA's official lists. Henceforth, first team football is played at KSLV Zelzate's ground at Patronagestraat, while the merger club's youth academy settles at KFC Zelzate's pitches at Verbroederingslaan. For some time, the club also disposes of a third ground at Zeestraat, but this is given up some time later to be taken over by recreational football clubs. With Johan Schenkels becoming the new club's first chairman, KVV Zelzate starts its life in Provincial League 2 following the title win of the former KSLV Zelzate.
2011 / Having spent its three first seasons after the merger in P2, KVV Zelzate, led by trainer Kurt Mertens, wins the title in Provincial League 2A in the most confident of fashions, finishing the season with an advantage of 11 points over nearest followers KSK De Jeugd Lovendegem. It is the first time in 54 years that the town of Zelzate is represented at this level of the football pyramid.
2014 / Having had two mediocre first years in Provincial League 1, KVV Zelzate now manages a respectable 8th place as well as qualification for the promotion play-offs. In those play-offs, however, the club suffers a 4-2 aggregate defeat in R1 at the hands of KVC Jong Lede.
2015 / KVV Zelzate finishes in 3rd place in East Flanders' P1 behind SC Dikkelvenne and KVK Ninove, but fails to win a promotion play-off ticket.
2016 / Managing a 4th place in P1 this time, KVV Zelzate is defeated by RC Lebbeke in R1 of the promotion play-offs (5-1 on aggregate). The club also reaches the final of East Flanders' Provincial Cup, in which it is defeated 4-1 by K Eendracht Appelterre-Eichem.
2017 / Runners-up in East Flanders' Provincial League 1 behind KVK Svelta Melsele, KVV Zelzate is eliminated in R1 of the play-offs yet again, this time being defeated by Avanti Stekene (6-1 aggr.).
2018 / Having been one of the division's top teams in the past seasons, KVV Zelzate, coached by Tommy Jacobs, now clinches the Provincial League 1 title with an advantage of 2 points over closest rivals JV De Pinte. Thus, the club accedes to VFV Amateur Division 3, the fifth and lowest tier of Belgium's national league pyramid. It is the first time ever a club from Zelzate is represented at the national level.
2019 / In its first season in VFV Amateur Division 3A, KVV Zelzate finishes in a more than respectable 7th place, missing out on the promotion play-offs only due to a 3-2 defeat away at Torhout 1992 KM on the last day of the season.
2020 / With an advantage of 11 points over runners-up KVK Ninove, KVV Zelzate is crowned champion of Amateur Division 3A based on 24 of 30 matches in a championship which is cut short due to the outbreak of the COVID pandemic in March 2020. Thus, the club, coached by Ennio Martens, further climbs the league ladder, finding itself in VFV Amateur Division 2. In the summer of 2020, KVV Zelzate has a good cup run, with defeats over KFC Rhodienne-De Hoek, RFC Raeren-Eynatten, and Francs Borains before being eliminated by professional league side Lommel SK (3-2).
2022 / The 2020-21 season being cut short at an early stage due to the COVID pandemic, KVV Zelzate finishes its first full season in VFV Amateur Division 2A in 6th place, subsequently suffering a 0-3 defeat at the hands of Lyra-Lierse Berlaar in R1 of the promotion play-offs. In the summer of 2022, after many years of fruitless talks, the go-ahead sign is given to start the building works on a new ground for the club at Broeder Leopoldstraat, which is given the provisional name Site Zelzate-Zuid.
2024 / On January 7th, 2024, KVV Zelzate - meanwhile playing in VFV Amateur Division 2, the fourth tier of Belgium's national league pyramid - plays its last home match at Terrein Patronagestraat. The grounds at Patronagestraat and Verbroederingslaan are abandoned that month, with the club moving to the newly built Armand Seghers Sportcomplex in Zelzate-Zuid. The first home match at the new ground is a spectacular 4-7 home defeat at the hands of KSC Dikkelvenne.