Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: VV Leest (1973-2009) / SK Rapid Leest (B) (2009-2022) / VC Leest (2023-)

Terrein Dorpstraat, Leest (VC Leest, formerly VV Leest / training ground of SK Rapid Leest)

Belgium, province: Antwerp = Antwerpen

18 I 2025 / VC Leest - K Schelle Sport 4-1 / Antwerp, Provincial League 3A (= BE level 8)

Timeline

1973 / Foundation of Vlug & Vrij (VV) Leest, with a pitch being laid out on a piece of farmland at Dorpstraat. The club sticks to playing recreational football in the first year of its existence.
1974 / Joining Belgium’s Football Association with registration number 8077, VV Leest is placed in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4 for the 1974-75 season.
1978 / Finishing in third place in Provincial League 4D, VV Leest wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
1979 / Runners-up in Provincial League 3B, VV Leest wins its second promotion in a row, acceding to Provincial League 2 for the first time.
1980 / Finishing in second-last place in Provincial League 2B, VV Leest drops back into Provincial League 3.
1982 / Champions in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3B, VV Leest manages a return to Provincial League 2.
1985 / Champions in Provincial League 2B, VV Leest accedes to Antwerp’s Provincial League 1 for the first time in club history.
1986 / Champions in Antwerp’s Provincial League 1, VV Leest wins a historic promotion to National Division 4 along with play-off winners FC Rita Berlaar. To celebrate the occasion, the club’s sponsor, Mr Pauwels, puts a budget at the club’s disposal for the construction of a covered stand. In the summer of 1986, former KV Mechelen professional Rudy Geens joins VV Leest as player-coach from KSV Bornem.
1988 / In the best season in club history, VV Leest finishes in fifth place in National Division 4B, a mere 9 points behind champions K Sint-Niklase SK. That summer, after two years as player-coach, Rudy Geens leaves VV Leest to join KFC Heultje.
1989 / VV Leest barely escapes relegation in National Division 4B, finishing with an equal number of points as SV Asse, which drops back into Provincial League 1, and only staying up by virtue of one more match won (6 vs. 5).
1991 / Finishing bottom of the table in National Division 4B, VV Leest drops back into Provincial League 1 after five seasons, along with K Wijnegem VC and KVV OG Vorselaar.
1997 / Finishing bottom of the table in Antwerp’s Provincial League 1, VV Leest descends into Provincial League 2.
1998 / Finishing bottom of the table in Antwerp’s Provincial League 2B, VV Leest descends into Provincial League 3.
1999 / Unable to stop the rot, VV Leest suffers its third relegation in a row, finishing in last place in Provincial League 3B and thus finding itself at the bottom of Antwerp’s Provincial League ladder for the first time in 21 seasons.
2004 / A group of disgruntled members of VV Leest forms a breakaway club, Leest United, which joins Belgium’s FA with registration number 9456 and concludes a groundsharing agreement with recreational club Racing Heffen at Site Vaart, situated at Gentsesteenweg in Heffen.
2006 / Runners-up in Provincial League 4B, 2 points behind champions KFC Lint, VV Leest wins promotion to Provincial League 3 in the play-offs.
2009 / Finishing in tenth place in Provincial League 3C, VV Leest drops back into Provincial League 4 (due to the number of P3 series being brought back from three to four, additional clubs were retrograded to P4) along with FC Excelsior Kessel, KFC Excelsior Bouwel, KFC Itegem, KFC Herenthout, KSC Mechelen, and KFC Heultje. Being placed in Provincial League 4B for the 2009-10 season, VV Leest withdrew its first team before the start of the year, going into administration and ceasing all activities. After the demise of VV Leest, the pitch at Dorpstraat was taken over by village rivals SK Rapid Leest, which used it for training purposes in the following years.
2022 / A merger is concluded between SK Rapid Leest and Leest United, resulting in the foundation of Voetbalclub (VC) Leest, which retains Leest United’s registration number 9456. With the new club taking Leest United’s place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4, first team football is played at Leest United’s Site Vaart in Heffen, while SK Rapid’s Complex Grote Bleukens is retained for lower team football and training sessions. Meanwhile, with a budget being put on disposal by Mechlin’s municipal authorities, works get underway on creating a new ground for the merger club at Terrein Dorpstraat.
2023 / A synthetic pitch is laid out at Terrein Dorpstraat on the exact location of the main pitch of VV Leest’s former ground. Although the new clubhouse still has to be built, VC Leest moves all its activities to Terrein Dorpstraat in the summer of 2023. The entrance of the new ground has been moved from Dorpstraat to Wagenmakersstraat. Meanwhile, SK Rapid’s former ground, Complex Grote Bleukens at Pastoor De Heuckstraat, is abandoned to be turned into a natural reserve, while the fate of Site Vaart is as yet unclear.
2024 / Finishing as runners-up in Provincial League 4D, 2 points behind champions Red Boys Elzestraat, VC Leest qualifies for the play-offs, in which the club knocks out KVV Duffel in R1 (3-0), only to be eliminated in R2 by Sporting Tisselt B (0-3 A.E.T.). However, due to extra promotion places being available following FC White Star Schorvoort’s voluntary withdrawal into Provincial League 4 as well as the demise of Willebroekse SV, VC Leest is placed in Provincial League 3 for the new season. On September 27th, 2024, upon the completion of works on the new clubhouse, the new ‘Sportsite Leest’ at Dorpstraat / Wagenmakersstraat, is inaugurated by Mechlin’s mayor Bart Somers.
2025 / In January 2025, after the removal of all asbestos from the construction, the covered stand at Sportsite Leest, dating back to 1986, is re-opened for the home match against K Schelle Sport.

Note – Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-9 = non-matchday visit, October 2014 / pictures 10-24 = match visit, January 2025.