BELGIUM: DK Mielen (1977-1994) / RDK Gravelo (B) (1994-)

Terrein aan de Diepe Steeg, Mielen-boven-Aalst (B ground of RDK Gravelo, formerly DK Mielen)

Belgium, province: Limburg

27 IX 2026 / RDK Gravelo U17 - SV Drieslinter U17 3-1 / VFV Regional U17 competition - group BQ

Timeline

• 1929 / Foundation of a football club in Mielen-boven-Aalst, a village in the south of the Belgian Province of Limburg, with the club taking on the name Dappere Kampers (DK) Mielen – Dappere Kampers ('Brave Warriors') actually being the alternative for the name the club had originally submitted to the Belgian FA, but which was rejected; Dikkoppen Mielen. Inhabitants of Mielen are nicknamed ‘dikkoppen’ (= fat heads); not necessarily intended as a compliment, but adopted as a badge of honour by locals. Under the adapted name, the club is accepted as FA members under registration number 1475. It is unclear where the ground of this first DK Mielen was situated.
• 1930 / DK Mielen takes part in Limburg’s local divisions for the first time, being placed in Regional League 3C (3e Gewestelijke).
• 1933 / DK Mielen’s registration number is struck from the Belgian FA’s official lists following one year of inactivity. 
• 1941 / Refoundation of Dappere Kampers (DK) Mielen under a new registration number, 2921. The club is placed in Limburg’s Regional League 2B (2e Gewestelijke). It is unclear where this club’s ground was situated.
• 1945 / With the club folding after barely four years, DK Mielen has its registration number erased from the Belgian FA’s official lists for a second time.
• 1964 / Second refoundation of Dappere Kampers (DK) Mielen under a new registration number, 6711. DK Mielen’s first ground is situated at Grote Steenweg.
• 1965 / In its first competitive season, DK Mielen is placed in Limburg’s Provincial League 3D.
• 1968 / DK Mielen has its best season ever, finishing in third place in Limburg's Provincial League 3C; the club manages a repeat this result the following year in Provincial League 3F.
• 1977 / Abandoning Terrein Grote Steenweg, DK Mielen settles at a new ground situated at Diepe Steeg, where the club disposes of two pitches.
• 1992 / As a first step on the way to a full merger, DK Mielen merges its youth academy with Rapid Buvingen.
• 1994 / Having played in Provincial League 3 for 29 (!) consecutive seasons, DK Mielen concludes a merger with Rapid Buvingen, resulting in the foundation of Rapid Dappere Kampers (RDK) Gravelo, with Mielen’s registration number 6711 being retained; number 8452 of Rapid Buvingen is struck from the Belgian FA's membership list. 'Gravelo' is a reference to the name of a plot of land halfway between Mielen-boven-Aalst and Buvingen, which used to be part of the estates of the Counts (= 'Graven' in Dutch) of Loon before Napoleon conquered the Low Countries, destroying the Ancient Régime. RDK Gravelo’s first chairman is Benny Janssens, who also was the last chairman of DK Mielen prior to the merger. Following the merger, first team football moves to Buvingen’s ground at Truilingenstraat, while the two pitches in Mielen are retained for lower team football and training sessions. The new club’s first team starts its life in Limburg’s Provincial League 3, the level at which DK Mielen played in its last season as an independent club. 
• 2023 / RDK Gravelo merges its youth academy with KDH Jeuk, with the youth teams of both clubs taking part in the Belgian FA's youth competitions under the informal name SWG, Samenwerking Gingelom. Activities are subdivided among the grounds of RDK Gravelo at Truilingenstraat in Buvingen and Diepe Steeg in Mielen-boven-Aalst, and Cicindriastraat and Houtstraak in Jeuk (Goyer).

Note 1 – Important parts of the information above were provided by Omer Cartuyvels, co-founder of Rapid Buvingen as well as chairman of Rapid Buvingen (c. 1984-94) and RDK Gravelo (2015-present); and by Hugo Vanbrabant, former official at DK Mielen who joined RDK Gravelo following the merger with Rapid Buvingen in 1994.

Note 2 - Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-8 & 22 = non-matchday visit, March 2019 / pictures 9-21 = match visit, September 2026.

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