Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: K Voorwaarts Hakendover (1957?-2018)

Sunday, 11 February 2018

BELGIUM: K Voorwaarts Hakendover (1957?-2018)

Terrein Keienpoelweg, Hakendover (formerly K Voorwaarts Hakendover)

Belgium, province: Flemish Brabant

11 II 2018 / K Voorwaarts Hakendover - White Star Wommersom 3-2 / Brabant VFV, Provincial League 3A (= BE level 8)

Timeline

1922 / Foundation of a first football club in Hakendover, which is given the name De Toekomst Haekendover. It is unclear where this club's ground was situated. De Toekomst Haekendover never joined the Belgian Football Association, instead playing its football in local leagues. The club must have folded around 1931 or shortly after.
1936 / Refoundation of De Toekomst Hakendover, which joins the Belgian Football Association (matricule 2438); it is unclear where its ground was situated. Taking part in Brabant's Provincial Leagues in the 1936-37 season only, the club ceases all activities in 1937 - with its matricule being erased from the Belgian FA's official lists in January 1938.
1938 / Foundation of a new, third successive football club in Hakendover, which is given the name Voorwaerts Hakendover; possibly, this club already played its football at Terrein Keienpoelweg, but proof is lacking. The club successfully applies for Belgian FA membership, obtaining matricule 2718. It takes until 1940, however, before the club enters a first team.
1943 / Winning the title in Brabant's Provincial League 3B, Voorwaerts Hakendover accedes to Provincial League 2.
1945 / Having taken part in first team football for 5 seasons, Voorwaerts Hakendover is absorbed into VV Wommersom (matricule 3229 / this club changes its name to become Voorwaarts Tienen in 1946). Matricule 2718 is erased from the Belgian FA's official lists. Most probably, recreational football was played in Hakendover in the following decade, but no information about this period is available.
1957 / Refoundation of a Voorwaarts Hakendover (note the modernised orthography of the first part of the club name), which is admitted in the ranks of the Belgian Football Association under matricule 6014. It is possible that the club played at Terrein Keienpoelweg from the outset, but no proof is available. In its first season, the club finishes in 9th place in Brabant's Provincial League 3C.
1962 / Clinching the title in Provincial League 3C, Voorwaarts Hakendover wins promotion to Provincial League 2. Its stay at that level lasts for 5 seasons, with relegation following in 1967.
1970 / Finishing in 14th place in P3A, Voorwaarts Hakendover drops into Provincial League 4, the new bottom division of Brabant's provincial league pyramid.
1972 / After two years in P4, the club finishes in 1st place in Provincial League 4F, thus managing a return to Provincial League 3.
1984 / Following 12 consecutive seasons in P3, Voorwaarts Hakendover wins the title in Provincial League 3A, thus acceding to Provincial League 2 for the first time in 17 years.
1985 / Voorwaarts Hakendover manages a back-to-back promotion by winning the title in P2B. Thus, the club accedes to Brabant's Provincial League 1 for the first time in club history.
1986 / In its only-ever season in Provincial League 1, Voorwaarts Hakendover finishes bottom of the table, thus dropping back into P2 immediately. Caught in a downward spiral, a second relegation in a row follows in 1987 - thus returning from P1 to P3 at the same speed as it had risen through the leagues in 1984 and 1985.
1988 / Confirming the 1980s as by far the most turbulent era in the club's history, Voorwaarts Hakendover wins the title in P3A, thus returning to P2 after just one season - but without success, with a last place in P2B in 1989 and an immediate drop back into P3.
1994 / Finishing 15th in Provincial League 3A, the club suffers relegation to Provincial League 4, 22 years after last having played at that lowly level.
2007 / Voorwaarts Hakendover finishes in 2nd place in Provincial League 4F, 17 points behind champions FC Sporting Heverlee, but the club wins the subsequent promotion play-offs to accede to Provincial League 3. Also in 2007, with the club celebrating its 50th anniversary, the royal epithet is acquired, resulting in an adaptation of the name, Koninklijke Voorwaarts Hakendover.
2008 / Finishing 15th in Provincial League 3A, K Voorwaarts Hakendover is relegated to P4 along with bottom team RFC Perwez.
2011 / Having managed a 2nd place in Provincial League 4I behind Sporting Budingen, K Voorwaarts Hakendover wins the promotion play-off group, seeing off SL Villers-Matima (which secures the second promotion spot) and Daring Sint-Martens-Bodegem, thus managing a return to P3 after an absence of 3 seasons.
2018 / Finishing in 14th place in P3A, thus suffering relegation to P4 along with Sparta Schaffen and KV Boutersem, K Voorwaarts Hakendover folds, ceasing all activities. Matricule 6014 is erased from the Belgian FA's official lists.
2021 / The clubhouse at Keienpoelweg is demolished to make way for a community centre.

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-26 = match visit, February 2018 / pictures 27-29 = non-matchday (ruin) visit, April 2023.