Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: RFC Malinois (1911-1952) / KFC Malinois (1952-1970) / KV Mechelen (1970-2003) / Yellow-Red KV Mechelen (2003-)

Stadion 'Achter de Kazerne', Mechlin = Mechelen = Malines (Yellow-Red KV Mechelen, formerly RFC Malinois / KFC Malinois / KV Mechelen)

Belgium, province: Antwerp

24 I 2009 / YR KV Mechelen - R Excelsior Mouscron 2-2 / Eerste Klasse (= BE level 1)
7 III 2010 / YR KV Mechelen - KRC Genk 2-1 / Eerste Klasse (= BE level 1)
21 III 2010 / YR KV Mechelen - SV Zulte Waregem 2-1 / Eerste Klasse (= BE level 1)
4 XII 2013 / YR KV Mechelen - KRC Genk 1-2 / Belgian Cup - last 16

Timeline

1904 / Foundation of Football Club (FC) Malinois, in the same year as Racing Club de Malines. Each represents a different part of Mechlin's society, with 'Racing' being a secular club - initially liberally inclined, later distinctly working-class - and FC Malinois' membership consisting mainly of Roman-Catholic bourgeoisie. Apart from the proximity of their grounds, those different social backgrounds are the main explanation for the fierce rivalry which developed between the two clubs.
1909 / FC Malinois accedes to the national level for a first time, winning promotion to the second (and lowest) level of the national league pyramid.
1911 / The club moves into a ground situated behind the local army base - and which thus became known as 'Achter de Kazerne', or (in English) 'At the back of the Army Barracks'. In its original shape, the ground sported a wooden main stand - soon to be flanked by two smaller wooden stands - with seven steps of terracing on the opposing side.
1921 / FC Malinois makes its debut in the top flight, but suffers relegation after just one season. Two more isolated seasons in National Division 1 follow in 1924-25 and 1926-27.
1926 / Belgium's FA introduces the matricule system, with FC Malinois receiving matricule 25 (and Racing, founded in the same year but six months older, matricule 24). That same year, the wooden main stand is replaced by a new construction covering the full lenght of the pitch. Behind the goal on the west side of the ground, a small concrete terrace is added.
1928 / Promotion to National Division 1; the start of a spell of 28 uninterrupted years at the top level of Belgium's football pyramid.
1929 / At its 25th anniversary, the club obtains the royal epithet, becoming Royal Football Club (RFC) Malinois.
1939 / Following two renovations, the terracing opposite the main stand now consists of 30 steps.
1943 / In the fourth year of German occupation, RFC Malinois wins its first national league title. The club experiences its heyday in the 1940s, with two more titles following later that same decade (1946, 1948).
1952 / The club adapts its name slightly, with the French royal epithet 'Royal' being replaced by its Dutch translation 'Koninklijke' - and RFC Malinois becoming Koninklijke Football Club (KFC) Malinois. That same year, a new main stand is inaugurated which survives until being replaced in 2018.
1963 / After seven years in National Division 2, KFC Malinois wins the league title in the second tier, gaining promotion to National Division 1. The spell lasts for one year only, but the club manages four more seasons of top flight football later that decade (1965-69).
1970 / In a second name change, the club now adopts a fully Dutch name: Koninklijke Voetbalclub (KV) Mechelen.
1971 / KV Mechelen wins promotion to National Division again, staying at the highest level for six consecutive seasons. Another isolated year in the top division follows in 1981-82.
1982 / The club's chairmanship is taken over by West-Flemish businessman John Cordier. Introducing a system in which his private investment company KVM Cova-Invest buys players who are subsequently loaned to the club itself, he heralds a second golden era, beginning with a promotion to National Division 1 in 1983. In the following years, with players such as Lei Clijsters, Michel Preud'homme, Erwin Koeman, and Philippe Albert in the club's ranks, KV Mechelen becomes one of the top teams in Belgian football.
1987 / The club wins the Belgian Cup for the first time in its history, beating RFC Liégeois in the final held in Anderlecht's Stade Constant Vanden Stock. That same year, a second tier is built on top of the small terrace at the western end of the ground.
1988 / An unprecedented success in club history, KV Mechelen manages to win the Cup Winners Cup by successively edging past Dinamo Bucharest, St Mirren FC, Dinamo Minsk, and Atalanta BC - finally beating AFC Ajax 1-0 in the final held in Strasbourg's Stade de la Meinau. Later that year, KV Mechelen also adds the European Super Cup to its trophy cabinet by beating another side from the Netherlands, PSV.
1989 / For the fourth time in the club's history, KV Mechelen wins Belgium's national league title. That year, a small stand at the eastern end of Stadion Achter de Kazerne is replaced by a semi-stand topped by several tiers of business seats, often referred to in Flemish dialect as 'viskoem' or fish bowl, because the sponsors' seats are behind glass.
1992 / His undertakings having run into financial difficulties, John Cordier renounces the club's chairmanship. In the following years, the club's achievements enter a downward spiral, with relegation following in 1997.
2003 / After some twilight years, with two promotions and as many relegations, KV Mechelen, having run into heavy debts, is left with no other option than to go into voluntary liquidation. Retaining its matricule, the club has to change its name to mark the new start, officially becoming Yellow-Red KV Mechelen. Having already suffered relegation from National Division 1, YR KV Mechelen is formally punished with an extra relegation, thus suddenly finding itself in the third tier of the national league pyramid - for the first time after 94 consecutive years in the two highest divisions of the Belgian league system.
2005 / Winning the title in National Division 3A, YR KV Mechelen accedes to D2.
2007 / After an absence of 'just' four years, YR KV Mechelen finds itself back in National Division 1 after finishing second behind FCV Dender EH and subsequently winning the promotion play-offs.
2015 / Demolition of the large terrace opposite the main stand. Later that year, its two-tiered replacement is inaugurated.
2016 / In the second phase of the renovation of the stadium, the double-tiered stand at its western side is replaced by a much larger successor.
2018 / With the replacement of the 66-year-old main stand, the renovation of the ground is completed, raising the capacity from 14,145 to 16,672. The club still cherishes a wish to modernise the old business seat area at the eastern end of the ground.
2019 / After suffering relegation the year before, KV Mechelen wins the title in the so-called National Division 1B - the old D2 - to bounce back to the top division. Also in 2019, the club wins its second Belgian Cup, beating KAA Gent in the final held at Brussels' Stade Roi Baudouin.

Note: Below, a compilation of photos of four different visits: pictures 1-12 & 14-24 = match visit, December 2013 / picture 13 = match visit, January 2009 / pictures 25-28 = non-matchday visit, April 2018 / pictures 29-33 = non-matchday visit, August 2022. No photos have been included of my two match visits at Stadion Achter de Kazerne in March 2010.