Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: Zultse VV (1976-2001) / Jong Zulte (2002-2021) / SV Zulte-Waregem (B) (2001-2005) / SV Zulte Waregem (B) (2005-2017, 2020-) / SV Zulte Waregem (C) (2017-± 2020)

Gemeentelijk Stadion - Kastanjelaan, Zulte (SV Zulte Waregem - B ground, formerly Zultse VV / Jong Zulte / B ground of SV Zulte-Waregem C ground of SV Zulte Waregem)

Belgium, province: East Flanders

13 II 2017 / SV Zulte Waregem Reserves - KV Oostende Reserves 3-0 / Reserves' League 1A, Group II

Timeline

± 1910 / A first football club is formed in the East Flemish community of Zulte – and given the name Sportif Zulte, with the players mainly consisting of British jockeys and stable boys of Count Edouard de Ribaucourt, who runs a stud farm in Zulte. The club’s pitch is situated at Moerbeekstraat, across from De Ribaucourt’s farm – and therefore usually referred to by locals as Terrein Jockeyclub. Zulte-born athlete and playwright Gaston Martens becomes the new club vice-president. Initially, Sportif Zulte sticks to just playing one-off (friendly) matches and small tournaments.
1911 / The first result of Sportif Zulte which has been recorded, a 2-2 home draw against Eine, dates back to February 1911. By the end of that same year, the club has successfully filed for membership of the UBSSA (‘Union Belge des Sociétés de Sports Athlétiques), the precursor of the official Belgian FA, due to be formed one year later (UBSFA-BVB). Sportif Zulte takes part in a competition with teams from East and West Flanders.
1912 / In October 1912, Sportif Zulte is eliminated in the Belgian Cup by SV Roeselare (1-5).
1914 / The outbreak of World War I in the summer of 1914 heralds the end of the Ribaucourt stud farm as well as the football club of his personnel. Following the end of the German occupation of Belgium four years later, no new football club sees the daylight, although a makeshift pitch is laid out at the crossroads of Oeselgemschesteenweg and Leiestraat for improvised matches between makeshift teams. In the village of Wakken, on the other side of the Leie river, a football club does exist, with the poetic name Moedig en ‘t Eens Wacken, with several boys from Zulte defending the colours of that team in the course of the 1920s.
1927 / Foundation of a new football club in Zulte, FC Leiezonen, with Nestor Martens becoming the first chairman. With a pitch being laid out for the club at Waalstraat, shortly to the east of the railway line bisecting Zulte, on a plot of land owned by René Lippens, FC Leiezonen joins the so-called Diocesaan Sportverbond (DSV), a league association of Roman Catholic clubs, being placed in Division 2B (Leiestreek), the third and lowest tier of the DSV league pyramid.
± 1928 / Abandoning Terrein René Lippens, FC Leiezonen settles at a newly laid-out pitch at Statiestraat, across from Café Cyriel Goessaert.
1929 / Finishing in joint first place with Leerne in DSV Division 2B, FC Leiezonen meets their rivals in a tie-break match, played at Olsene Stormvogels’ ground in Olsene, going on to win the match 2-1 (winning goal by Paul Huys), thus gaining promotion to DSV Division 1. The club never starts the season in DSV though, switching to the official Belgian Football Association – in spite of opposition of the village priest as well as the Catholic mayor of Zulte, Jean Ide – being accepted as new member under registration number 1109 under the adapted name FC Zulte Leiezonen. For the 1929-30 season, the club is placed in West (!) Flanders’ Division 4.
1930 / Following the 1929-30 season, FC Zulte Leiezonen is moved from West Flanders’ local divisions to East Flanders’ Division 3. Also in 1930, the club has to abandon its ground across from Café Cyriel Goessaert due to an inn and butchery being built on the ground by Alfons Mestdagh. Thereupon, a new pitch is laid out at the back of the aforementioned pub at Statiestraat – initially laid-out lengthwise, later repositioned widthwise.
1931 / Runners-up in East Flanders’ Division 3A, 8 points behind champions Olsene Stormvogels, FC Zulte Leiezonen wins promotion to Regional League 2 (2e Gewestelijke).
1933 / Marred by financial difficulties due to the lengthy journeys which had to be made to other Regional League 2 clubs, FC Zulte Leiezonen – about to fold – concludes a merger with Olsene Stormvogels (registration number 1672) from nearby Olsene, forming Hand In Hand (HIH) Olsene-Zulte (new registration number: 2078). For the 1933-34 season, the club is placed in East Flanders’ Regional League 2B. The plans to alternate the venue for home matches between Olsene and Zulte falter, with all activities being moved to Olsene. Unhappy with the decision, several former FC Zulte Leiezonen members refuse to join the new merger club, instead preferring to form a new club in Zulte proper, which is given the name Voetbalvereeniging (VV) Leiezonen, which, instead of joining the official Belgian Football Association or the DSV, applies for membership of the Vlaamsche Voetbalbond (VVB), a league association adhering to the principles of Flemish nationalism. Upon being accepted as new VVB members, VV Leiezonen obtains VVB registration number 329. Being refused the use of the old FC Zulte Leiezonen pitch at the back of Café Cyriel Goessaert – probably at the behest of Zulte’s catholic authorities – VV Leiezonen has a new pitch laid out at Oeselgemschesteenweg (later renamed Oeselgemsestraat), at the back of Café Sint-Petrus, owned by Adolf Van Parijs. For the 1933-34 season, the club is placed in VVB Division 2 South West (!) Flanders.
1935 / In its second season in East Flanders’ Regional League 2B, HIH Olsene-Zulte manages a meagre tenth place out of twelve clubs. Following the season, the membership from Zulte withdraws from the club – in effect amounting to the disentanglement of the merger concluded two years previously (although HIH Olsene-Zulte retains its name for six more years until changing its name to become Olsene Sportief in 1941). Unwilling to join VV Leiezonen for political reasons, Zulte’s mayor Jean Ide pushes for a new club to be founded based on catholic traditions, VC Sportief Zulte – named after the first club in Zulte, founded in the years preceding World War I. With Nestor Martens becoming the new club’s first chairman, VC Zulte Sportief joins the official Belgian Football Association, acquiring registration number 2320 and settling at Terrein Statiestraat, the former FC Zulte Leiezonen ground at the back of Café Cyriel Goessaert – more commonly referred to locally as the Parochiaal Plein (‘Parish Ground’) due to the club’s close ties with the local Roman Catholic church. VC Zulte Sportief starts its life in East Flanders’ Regional League 3E.
1936 / VV Leiezonen wins the title in VVB West Flanders Division 2B South, with the decisive points being clinched in an away game in Anzegem (1-2, goals scored by Jef Berlaen & Julien Tijtgat). As such, the club wins promotion to the so-called Overgangsklasse West-Vlaanderen, a division between the local VVB West Flanders competitions and the nationwide divisions. Following the 1935-36 season, probably put under pressure by local catholic authorities, the owners of VV Leiezonen’s ground at Oeselgemschesteenweg cancel the lease agreement. In search of a new ground, the club eventually settle at Terrein Frans Snoeck, Waalstraat, which is inaugurated with a gala match against Ingelmunster-Molensport, who play in VVB’s national divisions at the time (0-3).
1937 / A small covered stand is inaugurated at VV Leiezonen’s Terrein Waalstraat for the match against Tielt (3-3) in January 1937. Also in 1937, winning the title in East Flanders’ Regional League 3, VC Zulte Sportief accedes to Regional League 2.
1938 / Winning the title in Overgangsklasse West-Vlaanderen, VV Leiezonen accedes to VVB Division 1 West, one of the two top divisions of VVB’s league pyramid, in which teams from the western half of Flanders (extending to Antwerp and Brussels) take part.
1939 / In a gala match at Terrein Statiestraat, VC Zulte Sportief entertains RRC Gent, playing in Promotion (National Division 3) at the time, winning the encounter 2-1. In mid-1939, after two seasons in Regional League 2, VC Zulte Sportief withdraws its membership of Belgium’s official FA, instead joining the Katholiek Vlaams Sportverbond (KVS), the successor of Roman Catholic football association DSV. The club is placed in KVS Ere-Afdeling Oost-Vlaanderen, but due to the mobilisation of the Belgian armed forces in the summer of 1939, league football does not go ahead as planned – with makeshift divisions being cobbled together with smaller number of clubs situated more closely together.
1940 / Following the German occupation of Belgium in May 1940, football continues in makeshift divisions in the KVS as well as the VVB for some more years, although the early war years also see an upturn of improvised matches between neighbourhood teams – with most of those matches being played at the Parochiaal Plein at Statiestraat, VC Zulte Sportief’s ground.
1942 / Two years after the German occupation of Belgium, VV Leiezonen ceases its activities, withdrawing from the VVB. As this Flemish nationalist league organisation has become heavily embroiled in collaboration with the German oppressors of Belgium, ever more clubs withdraw from it – leading to its eventual dissolution in 1943.
1945 / The only club in Zulte remaining following the demise of VV Leiezonen three years previously, VC Zulte Sportief takes up its activities after a one-year break caused by the closing stages of World War II in Belgium, followed by the country’s liberation in September and October 1944. For the 1945-46 season, the club is placed in KVS Division 1 East Flanders.
1946 / Runners-up in KVS Division 1 East Flanders behind Knesselare, VC Zulte Sportief wins promotion to KVS East Flanders’ Division of Honour (Ereklasse).
1947 / Founded on the ashes of VV Leiezonen, which folded five years previously, a new club sees the daylight in Zulte – which takes on the name Sportkring (SK) Zulte, applying for membership of Belgium’s official FA and acquiring registration number 4683. SK Zulte’s first chairman is Gerard Gyselinck. Terrein Waalstraat, used by VV Leiezonen until its demise, is laid out anew, the result being that training sessions initially have to be held elsewhere (two locations being mentioned specifically, a plot of land at the back of Robert Martens’ L’Anac Brewery and Terrein Michel Martens). SK Zulte starts its life as a competitive club in East Flanders’ Division 3C.
1948 / VC Zulte Sportief wins the title in KVS East Flanders’ Division of Honour, but thereupon, for reasons unclear – possibly the costs of travelling to further-away opponents – the club chooses voluntary retrogradation to Division 1 East Flanders. Also in 1948, SK Zulte signs a coach for the first time, René De Visscher.
1950 / After eleven years in the KVS, VC Zulte Sportief chooses to rejoin the official Belgian FA, obtaining registration number 5381 upon being accepted as new member club. Normally, the club would have been refused membership on the grounds that no municipality with a number of inhabitants smaller than 5,000 (Zulte had some 4,000 at the time!) can have two FA member clubs, but this rule is circumvented thanks to the connections of the local Roman Catholic clergy and politicians with their kindred spirits at the Belgian FA. The club starts its life in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3F.
1951 / SK Zulte and VC Zulte Sportief meet together for the first time, with the P3B derby encounter at Terrein Statiestraat on October 7th, 1951, finishing in a goalless draw.
1952 / Finishing in third place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3B, SK Zulte qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club sees off competition from FC Nederename and FC Heikant Zele to win promotion to Provincial League 2.
1953 / In the best season in club history, SK Zulte finishes in fourth place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2A, with an equal number of points as numbers 2 and 3 in the ranking, VV Drongen and FC Oostakker. Meanwhile, in that same season, VC Zulte Sportief, coached by Achiel Dhooge, wins the title in Provincial League 3C, 5 points ahead of runners-up SK Louise-Marie, thus acceding to P2 for the first time.
1956 / Champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2A, 6 points ahead of closest rivals KFC Heusden Sport, VC Zulte Sportief wins promotion to East Flanders’ Provincial League 1 for the first time. SK Zulte, on the other hand, has a difficult season in the same division, eventually finishing in fourteenth place and having to play a relegation play-off – with the encounter against the number fourteen in P2B, White Star Sporting Club Sint-Amandsberg finishing, in a 4-4 draw, the decision falls based on the number of corners taken during the match (!), as a result of which WSSC Sint-Amandsberg (12 corners vs. 7) stays up and SK Zulte drops back into Provincial League 3 after four years.
1957 / In the best season in club history, VC Zulte Sportief finishes in twelfth place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 1.
1958 / Winning the title in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C with coaches Robert Vermeeren and Albert Benoot, 3 points ahead of FC Nederename, SK Zulte manages a return to P2 after an absence of two seasons.
1959 / Bottom of the table in P1 with only 11 points, VC Zulte Sportief drops back into Provincial League 2 after three seasons.
1961 / Finishing in fifteenth place in P2A, SK Zulte drops back into Provincial League 3 after three seasons.
1962 / VC Zulte Sportief player Etienne Hostijn plays his 400th match for the club, being celebrated for his achievement at Sportief’s home match against WIK Eine.
1963 / SK Zulte finishes in second place in P3C, 1 point behind champions FC Nederename – thus narrowly missing out on promotion.
1969 / SK Zulte finishes in second place in P3C, 10 points behind champions VC Eendracht Huise.
1970 / Bottom of the table in Provincial League 2A, VC Zulte Sportief descends into Provincial League 3 after eleven consecutive seasons in P2. Also in 1970, first discussions are held in Zulte’s municipal council about the construction of a municipal sports ground, the construction of which starts shortly afterwards – leading to first tentative merger talks between VC Zulte Sportief and SK Zulte, as both clubs want to make use of the projected facilities. For the moment, these first talks lead to naught.
1971 / VC Zulte Sportief narrowly misses out on promotion to Provincial League 2, finishing runners-up in P3C, just 1 point behind champions FC Nederename.
1973 / Coached by former player Etienne Hostijn, VC Zulte Sportief are runaway champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3B, thus managing a return to Provincial League 2 after an absence of three years.
1976 / With works on the new municipal sports hall and sports park at Kastanjelaan being finished in March 1976 – and local authorities being unwilling to choose which of the town’s two clubs should be allowed to move into the new ground – merger talks, which failed some years previously, are taken up again, leading to the foundation of Zultse VV under VC Zulte Sportief’s registration number 5381; consequently, SK Zulte’s number 4683 is erased from the Belgian FA’s official lists. Zultse VV’s first chairman is Marcel Arickx, former president of SK Zulte. Meanwhile, in its last season as an independent club, VC Zulte Sportief finishes in ninth place in P2A, while SK Zulte manages an eleventh place in P3C. For the 1976-77 season, which Zultse VV starts in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2B with coach Etienne Hostijn, first team football moves to the newly built Gemeentelijk Sportstadion Kastanjelaan, which is adorned with a covered stand in the second half of 1976. Initially, the two old grounds at Waalstraat and Statiestraat were retained for lower team football and training purposes, but for how long after 1976 this was the case, is unclear.
1980 / Although the merger in 1976 came with plans to win promotion to Provincial League 1 as quickly as possible, the project does not seem to come off the ground, with Zultse VV finishing second-last in P2A in the 1979-80 season with coach Jacky Stockman, leading to the club descending into Provincial League 3.
1981 / Champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3B, Zultse VV manages a return to Provincial League 2 at the first instance.
1988 / Champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2A, Zultse VV wins promotion to Provincial League 1 – 29 years after predecessor club VC Zulte Sportief last played at that level.
1991 / Coached by 33-year-old Francky Dury, who joined Zultse VV as head coach from RRC Tournaisien one year previously, Zultse VV wins the title in East Flanders’ Provincial League 1, resulting in the club acceding to National League 4 for the first time in the history of football in Zulte.
1994 / Finishing in third place in National Division 4A, 5 points behind champions RRC Heirnis Gent (who had lured away coach Francky Dury from Zultse VV the previous summer), Zultse VV qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it is eliminated in R1 by Racing Jet Wavre (6-3 A.E.T.).
1995 / Coached by Francky Dury, who came back to Zulte from RRC Heirnis Gent in the summer of 1994, Zultse VV wins the title in National Division 4A, 1 point ahead of runners-up RRC Tournaisien. As such, the club wins promotion to National Division 3A for the first time.
1996 / Finishing in fourteenth place in National Division 3A, just 1 point ahead of RFC Namur which drops back into D4 directly, Zultse VV has to play a set of promotion-relegation play-offs to assure itself of a prolonged stay at the third tier of Belgian football. Drawing a bye in R1, the club edges past SK Oostnieuwkerke in R2 (1-0) as well as past K Stade Leuven in the final (2-3), resulting in Francky Dury’s men eventually saving their skin in D3.
1997 / Finishing in fourteenth place in National Division 3A, still with head coach Francky Dury, Zultse VV once again has to try to stay up in the play-offs; drawing a bye in R1, the club is eliminated in R2 by KSV Ingelmunster (2-0 A.E.T.), resulting in the club descending into D4 after two years along with direct drop-outs AFC Tubize and KFC Eendracht Zele.
1999 / Champions in Natoinal Division 4A, 4 points ahead of SK Eernegem, Zultse VV – still coached by Francky Dury – manages a return to D3 after an absence of two years.
2001 / Runners-up in National Division 3A, 2 points behind champions KSK Ronse, Zultse VV qualifies for the play-offs for a place in D2, in which it eliminates R Francs Borains in R1 (5-4 aggr.), only to be eliminated in R2 by RCS Visétois (5-3 aggr.). Meanwhile, one division below Zulte, neighbouring club KSV Waregem, who enjoyed considerable success in the Belgian top flight in the 1980s, even qualifying for European football, fails to win promotion from D4. To avoid bankruptcy, KSV Waregem enters liquidation and eventually concludes a merger with Zultse VV, resulting in the foundation of Sportvereniging (SV) Zulte-Waregem, retaining Zultse's registration number 5381 (but losing KSV Waregem's royal epithet). Coached by Francky Dury (who stays on in this capacity for nine more years until 2010), the new club starts its life in National Division 3. First team football moves to Waregem's Regenboogstadion, but Zulte's Gemeentelijk Sportstadion Kastanjelaan remains in use for lower team football and training sessions.
2002 / Foundation of a new football club in Zulte proper, which is given the name Jong Zulte, acquiring membership of Belgium’s FA under registration number 9406. Sharing the Gemeentelijk Sportstadion Kastanjelaan with the lower teams of SV Zulte-Waregem, the club starts its life in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4, the bottom division of the provincial league pyramid.
2003 / Runners-up in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4B in its first season, Jong Zulte wins promotion to P3 via the play-offs.
2008 / Champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, 11 points ahead of runners-up SV Melsen, Jong Zulte accedes to P2 for the first time.
2011 / Finishing in third place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2B, Jong Zulte qualifies for the promotion play-offs; drawing a bye in R1, the club goes on to defeat KSK De Jeugd Lovendegem in R2 (3-3 & penalty shoot-out), only to be eliminated in R3 (semis) by Lando Sport Merendree (2-4). Also in 2011, Jong Zulte’s new youth academy ground, Domein Waalmeers, is inaugurated.
2016 / Finishing in fourth place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2A, Jong Zulte qualifies for the promotion play-offs; defeating KVC Osta Meerbeke in R1 (0-1) and KFC Olympic Burst in R2 (0-3), the club is ultimately eliminated in R3 (semis) by KVV Vlaamse Ardennen (3-0).
2017 / Finishing in fifth place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2A, Jong Zulte qualifies for the promotion play-offs; defeating KFC Gavere-Asper in R1 (1-2) and Lando Sport Merendree in R2 (1-2), the club is ultimately eliminated in R3 (semis) by KAV Dendermonde (0-2). Also in 2017, SV Zulte Waregem moves away its reserves’ games from the Gemeentelijk Sportstadion Kastanjelaan, preferring to stage these matches at Terrein Gaversesteenweg, KFC Sparta Petegem’s ground in Petegem aan de Leie, although the club remains the owner of the stadium in Zulte, using it for – amongst others – its ladies’ teams until the present day.
2018 / Runners-up in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2B, 1 point behind champions KRC Bambrugge, Jong Zulte qualifies for the promotion play-offs; drawing a bye in R1, the club goes on to defeat KFC Olympic Burst in R2 (2-3), KFC Herleving Sinaai in R3 (4-2) and KSC Excelsior Mariakerke in R4 (final, 2-2 & penalty shoot-out). As such, the club wins promotion to East Flanders’ Provincial League 1 for the first time in club history.
2020 / Having managed a respectable ninth place in East Flanders’ P1 in the previous season, Jong Zulte finds itself in eighth place in that same competition in the 2019-20 season in March 2020, when play is suspended due to the COVID lockdown; if the club had managed to hold on to that eighth place – in fact, the last five matches of the season were never played – it would have constituted the best result in club history. Also in or around 2020, SV Zulte Waregem ends its lease agreement with KFC Sparta Petegem to hold its reserves’ matches at that club’s ground in Petegem aan de Leie, instead staging these matches at the first side pitch of the Regenboogstadion in Waregem.
2021 / Following the 2020-21 season, yet again unfinished due a new COVID lockdown, Jong Zulte, marred by financial problems, chooses to withdraw from Provincial League 1 and start from scratch in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4. Also in 2021, exasperated at the growing financial demands on the part of SV Zulte Waregem for the lease of the stadium, the club abandons the Gemeentelijk Sportstadion Kastanjelaan once and for all, choosing to also play its first team football at Domein Waalmeers, which had been Jong Zulte's youth academy ground since 2011.
2024 / Finishing in ninth place in VFV Amateur Division 2A, SV Zulte Waregem B qualifies for the promotion play-offs, suffering elimination in R1 at the hands of KFC Merelbeke (2-1 A.E.T.)

Note 1 – Important parts of the information above were derived from a book detailing the early history of football in Zulte: “Van Leiezonen tot Sportief en SK Zulte. 65 jaar voetbalgeschiedenis (1911-1976)”, by André De Poorter, ed. Geschied- en Heemkundige Kring Zulte: Zulte 2018.

Note 2 – Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-5 = non-matchday visit, July 2011 / pictures 6-18 = match visit, February 2017.