Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: KVCSV Oostkamp (1992-) / Cercle Brugge KSV (B) (2023-)

Thursday, 17 August 2017

BELGIUM: KVCSV Oostkamp (1992-) / Cercle Brugge KSV (B) (2023-)

Gemeentelijk Sportcomplex 'De Valkaart', Oostkamp (KVCSV Oostkamp)

Belgium, province: West-Flanders

16 VIII 2017 / KSV Oostkamp - VK Dadizele 3-1 / West-Flanders, Provincial Cup - group stage, group B

Timeline

1940 / Due to the outbreak of World War II, a first football club in Oostkamp, named Sportvereniging (SV) Oostkamp - but usually referred to by its nickname 'Racing' -, folds, ceasing all activities. It is unclear in which year this first SV Oostkamp, which never joined Belgium's Football Association, was founded. The club's ground was a pasture at Family Dezutter's farm.
1956 / Refoundation of SV Oostkamp, which joins the Belgian FA under matricule 5956. The old ground at Dezutter is re-inaugurated, with Oostkamp's municipal authorities putting a budget at the club's disposal to build a stand. The first home game in P4 against SV Pittem is won (4-1) in front of a crowd of some 500.
1964 / Winning the title in Provincial League 4, SV Oostkamp accedes to Provincial League 3 for the first time.
1965 / Finishing second in P3, SV Oostkamp, led by manager Devisch, wins a second promotion in a row, thus acceding to Provincial League 2. That same year, the club moves from Farm Dezutter to its new ground at Rustoorddreef, a pasture which is put at the club's disposal by another local farmer, Mr Lootens. The new pitch is inaugurated on August 28th, 1965, with a gala match against Club Brugge KV's reserves (ending in an emphatic 1-8 defeat).
1967 / Having attained a respectable fifth place in its first season at P2 level, the club is unable to continue the success and descends back to Provincial League 3 after two seasons.
1973 / Led by manager Pierre Schotte, SV Oostkamp wins the title in P3, thus finding its way back to Provincial League 2.
1978 / The club manages an unprecedented promotion to Provincial League 1. That same year, SV Oostkamp changes its name to become Voetbalclub Sportvereniging (VCSV) Oostkamp.
1979 / After just one, unsuccessful season in West Flanders' Provincial League 1, VCSV Oostkamp drops back to P2.
1988 / As VCSV Oostkamp has a rather disappointing run of results in the 1980s, the club even descends to P4 in 1988, only to find its way back to Provincial League 3 the following year.
1992 / Abandoning its ground at Rustoorddreef, VCSV Oostkamp settles down at its newly built Gemeentelijk Sportcomplex De Valkaart, a ground disposing of two pitches.
1994 / With manager Ronny Nijs, the club's first team wins the title in P3, thereby finally finding its way back to Provincial League 2.
2005 / After an absence of 26 years, VCSV Oostkamp accedes to West Flanders' Provincial League 1 - but the adventure lasts no longer than one season, with relegation following in 2006.
2006 / VCSV obtains the royal epithet, thus becoming Koninklijke Voetbalclub Sportvereniging (KVCSV) Oostkamp. Locally, the club is almost universally referred to as KSV Oostkamp - even its website bearing this name -, although no official name change was ever filed at Belgium's FA.
2009 / Winning the title in Provincial League 2A, KVCSV Oostkamp returns to P1, but, just like the two previous occasions, the club cannot hold its own at that level, returning to Provincial League 2 the following year.
2012 / After a disappointing season, KVCSV Oostkamp drops into Provincial League 3.
2014 / The start of a remarkable revival of its fortunes, KVCSV Oostkamp wins the title in P3A, thus acceding to Provincial League 2.
2015 / Finishing second in P2A, KVCSV Oostkamp wins the promotion play-offs, earning a promotion to P1 after an absence of five seasons.
2018 / After a good season in Provincial League 1, in which the club finishes a respectable third, fourteen points behind runaway champions KSK Voorwaarts Zwevezele, the club takes part in the promotion play-offs - and after a successful run in an Interprovincial play-off group against Hoger-Op Veltem, K Herk FC, KFC Hoger Op Kalken, and KFC Lille, the club eventually wins promotion to the national leagues for the first time in its history.
2019 / In spite of a remarkable run towards the end of the season, KVCSV Oostkamp's first taste of VFV's Amateur Division 3, the fifth and lowest tier in the Belgian national league pyramid, ends in disappointment with a 13th spot in the final ranking and relegation to Provincial League 1.
2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, KVCSV Oostkamp was first in West Flanders' P1 table after the last round of matches in March 2020, thus ultimately being placed in VFV Amateur Division 3 for the following season.
2022 / Building works having commenced in September 2021, KVCSV Oostkamp's new main stand - much bigger than its predecessor - is inaugurated in April 2022 (cp. pictures 13-16 below). At the end of the 2021-22 season, the club first team finds itself in first place in VFV Amateur Division 3A, thus acceding to Division 2 - the fourth tier of Belgium's football pyramid - for the first time.
2023 / In its first season in VFV Amateur Division 2A, KVCSV Oostkamp finishes in 3rd place, but is eliminated in R1 of the promotion play-offs at the hands of Belisia Bilzen SV (2-0). In the summer of 2023, Cercle Brugge KSV moves its B team's home matches to De Valkaart, abandoning its previous venue, Sportcentrum Ridefort in Ruddervoorde.
2024 / Cercle Brugge KSV B finishes in fifth place in VFV Amateur Division 2A, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which the club defeats YR KV Mechelen B (1-0) - resulting in the team acceding to VFV Amateur Division 1 for the new season, due to extra promotion places being available, rendering the final against K Sporting Hasselt superfluous; and, as such, this match is called off.

Note: Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-12 = match visit, August 2017 (old stand) / pictures 13-16 = non-matchday visit, October 2022 (new stand).