BELGIUM: FC Bareeltje (1968) / Fiat Meulders (1968-1973) / SV Grasheide (1973-)

Alfons Timmermansstadion, Grasheide (SV Grasheide, formerly FC Bareeltje / Fiat Meulders)

Belgium, province: Antwerp = Antwerpen

18 XII 2015 / SV Grasheide - Heffen SK 0-1 / Antwerp, Provincial League 4C (= BE level 8)

Timeline

• 1968 / In Grasheide, a hamlet halfway between Keerbergen and Putte, on the Antwerp side of the provincial border with Brabant – modern-day Flemish Brabant – a recreational football club is formed, FC Bareeltje. Settling on a pitch laid out on a plot of farmland owned by Jules Van Looy at Galeistraat – coinciding with the location of the current ground – the team plays friendly matches against other makeshift teams from the region in the 1968-69 season. Probably already in the course of that season, the name was changed to become Fiat Meulders, after a local garage proprietor volunteered to sponsor the team.
• 1969 / After one year of just playing recreational matches, Fiat Meulders joins the Koninklijke Katholieke Sportfederatie van België, an association which organises a football league of clubs not affiliated to the Belgian FA.
• 1973 / After four years in the Katholieke Sportfederatie, the decision is taken to take the leap to the official Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB). Given that no sponsor names are allowed, a second name change is implemented, with the club being accepted as Sportvereniging (SV) Grasheide and acquiring registration number 7923. By then, the chairmanship of the club has been taken over by a local building contractor, Alfons Timmermans. For the 1973-74 season, SV Grasheide is placed in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4C.
• 1976 / Runner-up in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4D, SV Grasheide wins promotion to Provincial League 3 for the first time.
• 1980 / Clinching the title in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3B, SV Grasheide wins promotion to Provincial League 2 for the first time. The decisive point is clinched in a goalless draw away at Sporting Tisselt. The successful player/coach is Paul Verbelen.
• 1981 / In the best season in club history, SV Grasheide manages a seventh place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 2B.
• 1982 / Finishing in second-last place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 2B, SV Grasheide drops back into Provincial League 3 after two years.
• 1983 / Suffering back-to-back relegations, SV Grasheide now finishes bottom of the table in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3C, thus dropping back into Provincial League 4.
• 1985 / Runner-up in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4D, SV Grasheide wins promotion to Provincial League 3, destined to stay put at that level for the following twenty odd years.
• 1993 / After twenty years, Alfons Timmermans relinquishes the chairmanship of SV Grasheide to his son Werner. Around that same time, the ground at Galeistraat is taken over by the municipality of Putte, which puts a budget at the club’s disposal to improve the facilities.
• 1995 / Inauguration of the upgraded ground at Galeistraat, which is renamed Alfons Timmermansstadion in honour of the club’s longtime chairman. The main modification is the addition of a two-tiered construction adjacent to the canteen, which houses the new dressing rooms (downstairs) and boardroom (upstairs).
• 2006 / Runner-up in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3C, 6 points behind champions VC Herentals, SV Grasheide goes on to clinch promotion in the ensuing play-off rounds. As such, the club manages a return to Provincial League 2 after an absence of 24 years at that level.
• 2007 / Equalling the best performance in club history from 1981, SV Grasheide manages a seventh place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 2B.
• 2008 / Finishing bottom of the table in Antwerp’s Provincial League 2B, SV Grasheide descends into Provincial League 3, along with FC Netezonen Eindhout and KGR Katelijne.
• 2011 / Finishing in fourth place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3A, SV Grasheide qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by K Loenhout SK (6-5 aggr.).
• 2012 / Finishing in third place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3B, SV Grasheide qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against KFC Beekhoek Sport (5-2 aggr.).
• 2013 / Runner-up in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3B, 4 points behind champions KSV Aartselaar, SV Grasheide qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out KFC Vrij Arendonk in R1 (3-2 aggr.), only to suffer defeat in the final against KVV Duffel (4-4 aggr. & away goals).
• 2014 / In spite of finishing in a solid seventh place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 3B, SV Grasheide chooses to be retrograded into Provincial League 4 voluntarily, alongside bottom clubs K Reet SK and K Hove Sport, due to a desire to redirect the focus from first team football on as high a level as possible to lower team football and the youth academy. 
• 2020 / Renovation works are carried out at the covered stand adjacent to the clubhouse.
• 2024 / Finishing in third place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4D, SV Grasheide qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club eliminates K Hove Sport in R1 (5-3 A.E.T.), only to suffer defeat in R2 against K Boechoutse VV (2-1).
• 2025 / Finishing in third place in Antwerp’s Provincial League 4D, SV Grasheide qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against Nielse SV (1-3).

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-6 = non-matchday visit, August 2026 / pictures 7-13 = match visit, December 2015.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author