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

Diepe Steeg, Mielen-boven-Aalst (Rapid Dappere Kampers Gravelo - training ground, formerly Dappere Kampers Mielen)

Belgium, province: Limburg

March 2019 / no match visited

Timeline

1929 / Foundation of a football club in Mielen-boven-Aalst, Dappere Kampers (DK) Mielen – Dappere Kampers 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 DK Mielen’s ground 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 erased 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 / 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 3rd place in P3C; the club repeats this result the following year in P3F.
1977 / Abandoning Terrein Grote Steenweg, DK Mielen settles at a new ground situated at Diepe Steeg, where the club disposes of 2 pitches.
1992 / A precursor to a definitive 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 (registration number 8452), resulting in the foundation of Rapid Dappere Kampers (RDK) Gravelo, with Mielen’s registration number 6711 being retained. '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.

Note - 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.