BELGIUM: FC Ramsdonk (1969-2023) / VV Groot Kapelle (2023-)

Jozef Bruggemansstadion, Ramsdonk (FC Ramsdonk)

Belgium, province: Flemish Brabant

29 I 2023 / FC Ramsdonk - KFC Eendracht Kapelle-op-den-Bos 2-2 / Brabant, VFV Provincial League 3B (= BE level 8)

Timeline

• 1965 / Foundation of FC Ramsdonk, which joins Sportverbond Brabant, Brabant's branch of Belgium's Roman-Catholic Football Association. The club's first ground was situated at Bormstraat, on or near the probable location of the former SC Kapelle-op-den-Bos, a provincial league club (matricule 1710) which existed between 1930 and 1937.
• 1968 / Applying for membership of Belgium's official Football Association, FC Ramsdonk is accepted on December 7th, 1968, obtaining matricule 7300. The club's logo mentions 1969 as the official year of foundation - not illogical, given that FC Ramsdonk did not enter teams in the official FA's leagues until the summer of 1969.
• 1969 / Moving away from the pitch at Bormstraat, FC Ramsdonk settles at a new ground hemmed in between the dead-ends of Berkenstraat and Leireken; some years later, this ground is named after one of FC Ramsdonk's founding fathers, Jozef Bruggemans, after his untimely passing.
• 1971 / FC Ramsdonk enters a first team in Brabant's Provincial League 4 for the first time.
• 1973 / Winning the title in Provincial League 4D, FC Ramsdonk accedes to Provincial League 3. In the following 20 years, the club alternates spells in P3 (1973-83, 1986-88, 1990-93) and P4 (1983-86, 1988-90).
• 1993 / Finishing in second place in Provincial League 3F, FC Ramsdonk manages a promotion to Provincial League 2 for the first time in club history by winning the play-offs.
• 1994 / The club has the best season in club history by finishing in 5th place in P2C.
• 1996 / After three seasons in P2, FC Ramsdonk suffers relegation to P3.
• 2005 / Following nine consecutive years in P3, the club finds its way back to P2 by winning the promotion play-offs after finishing second in P3E, two points behind champions KVC Delta Londerzeel. As in the 1990s, the adventure in P2 lasts three seasons.
• 2013 / After five seasons in Provincial League 3, FC Ramsdonk finds itself in Provincial League 4 for the first time in 23 years.
• 2014 / Finishing in third place in P4D, FC Ramsdonk is admitted to Provincial League 3 without play-offs due to extra promotion places being available.
• 2019 / Although celebrating its 50th anniversary, FC Ramsdonk disdains applying for the royal epithet, as the club's presidency lacks the motivation to go through the red tape required to complete the application. 
• 2023 / In its last season as an independent club, FC Ramsdonk finishes 13th in P3A, 3 points ahead of KFCE Kapelle-op-den-Bos, which suffers relegation into P4. Following the season, a merger is concluded between those two clubs, resulting in the foundation of VV Groot Kapelle, which retains Ramsdonk's registration number 7300; Kapelle's number 4265 is erased from the Belgian FA's official lists. For the time being, the new club retains both grounds, with first team football being played in Ramsdonk, and Kapelle's Karel Symonsstadion hosting the matches of the B team.  

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