BELGIUM: SK Wichelen matr. 4020 (1943-1965) / SK Wichelen matr. 7452 (1969-2021)

Terrein Doornweg, Wichelen (formerly SK Wichelen matr. 4020 / SK Wichelen matr. 7452)

Belgium, province: East Flanders

4 XI 2018 / SK Wichelen - KVC Eendracht Nieuwerkerken 1-1 / East Flanders, Provincial League 4D (= BE level 9)

Timeline

• 1943 / Foundation of a football club in Wichelen, which takes on the name Sportkring (SK) Wichelen, obtaining membership of Belgium’s Football Association under registration number 4020. It is unclear if this first SK Wichelen played its football at Terrein Doornweg.
• 1953 / Winning the title in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3B, SK Wichelen accedes to Provincial League 2 for the first time.
• 1955 / In the best season in its 22-year history, SK Wichelen (4020) finishes in seventh place in P2C.
• 1964 / Following two relegations (1958, 1963), pushing the club into Provincial League 4, SK Wichelen withdraws from first team football.
• 1965 / SK Wichelen folds, ceasing all activities. Registration number 4020 is erased from the Belgian FA’s official lists.
• 1969 / After four years, a new SK Wichelen sees the daylight; this successor club obtains registration number 7452 upon joining Belgium’s FA, being placed in East Flanders' Provincial League 4 for the 1970-71 season. This new SK Wichelen starts its life at Terrein Doornweg.
• 1991 / After 21 consecutive years in P4, the club gains promotion from that division after finishing in second place in P4E and winning a set of play-offs.
• 1993 / A second title in two years, this time in P3E, sees SK Wichelen acceding to Provincial League 2. The club’s only spell at this level lasts no longer than one season, though, with relegation following instantly in 1994.
• 1997 / Finishing in fourteenth place in P3E, SK Wichelen drops back into Provincial League 4. In the following years, the club alternates spells in P4 (1997-98, 1999-2001) and P3 (1998-99, 2001-07).
• 2007 / Finishing bottom of the table in P3E, SK Wichelen drops back into Provincial League 4 along with second-from-bottom SVH Waasmunster.
• 2010 / Finishing in sixth place in P4D, SK Wichelen qualifies for the promotion play-offs, finishing last in a group behind Daring Maria-Aalter and WK Sint-Goriks and thus missing out on a return to Provincial League 3.
• 2012 / Finishing in fifth place in P4E, SK Wichelen qualifies for the promotion play-offs, being eliminated in R1 by VKS Hamme-Zogge (2-0).
• 2015 / Finishing in fifth place in P4B, SK Wichelen qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club draws a bye in R1, but is eliminated in R2 by FC Kaprijke-Bentille (0-2).
• 2016 / Finishing in fourth place in P4B, SK Wichelen qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club defeats KFC Petegem-Schelde in R1 (1-0), but is defeated in the final by KRC Haaltert (2-3); due to extra promotion places being available, though, the club accedes to Provincial League 3 through the backdoor as a lucky loser.
• 2017 / Finishing fourteenth in P3E, SK Wichelen drops back into Provincial League 4 after just one season, along with Eendracht Verrebroek and KVV White Star Sombeke.
• 2021 / SK Wichelen abandons its ground at Doornweg in favour of the newly built Sportpark De Cirkel in Schellebelle (built on top of SOS Schellebelle’s old ground, Terrein Hoekstraat, of which the main pitch is now occupied by Sportpark De Cirkel’s B pitch), where it has groundshared with KVV Schelde Serskamp-Schellebelle since.
• 2023 / SK Wichelen’s old ground at Doornweg is knocked down to make way for housing.

Note: Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-22 = match visit, November 2018 / pictures 23-27 = non-matchday (ruin) visit, August 2022.

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