Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: De Mickey's Zomergem (1947-1957) / KVV Zomergem (1957-)

Terrein Sportlaan, Zomergem (KVV Zomergem)

Belgium, province: East Flanders = Oost-Vlaanderen

22 IV 2023 / KVV Zomergem - VK Watervliet 0-5 / East Flanders, Provincial League 3A (= BE level 8)

Timeline

1931 / Foundation of a football club in Zomergem, with a name derived from the popular American cartoon character: De Mickey's Zomergem (note the misspelling of the English plural form). The club's first ground is situated at Overdam, a plot of land owned by Ignace Van de Walle.
1932 / De Mickey's Zomergem seeks affiliation with the so-called Katholiek Vlaamsch Sportverbond (KVS).
1939 / Probably due to a lack of players following the partial mobilisation of the Belgian army, De Mickey's Zomergem withdraws its team from KVS, remaining inactive for two years until returning in 1941.
1944 / Contrary to many other clubs in the region, who make the leap to the official Belgian Football Association (KBVB) after the liberation of Belgium, De Mickey's Zomergem remains a KVS member, playing a major role in the association's top division - winning one post-war title (year unknown) after fending off a competing team from Wondelgem. In those years, Mickeys' home ground is a meadow owned by the Maes family at Kleitstraat.
1947 / Abandoning its ground at Kleitstraat, De Mickey's Zomergem settles at Sportlaan, where the club has remained ever since.
1953 / Applying for membership of the official Belgian FA, De Mickey's Zomergem is accepted in June 1953, receiving matricule 5641. Being placed in East Flanders' Provincial League 3A, the club wins its first match emphatically, defeating Melda's SK Maldegem away 1-6 (with Jozef Lips and Roger De Baets scoring 3 goals each). It is the start of a successful first season in the ranks of KBVB, as the club clinches the P3A title, defeating VV Wippelgem Sport into second place. Thus, the club accedes to Provincial League 2 in 1954.
1957 / De Mickey's Zomergem changes its name to become Voetbalvereniging (VV) Zomergem.
1959 / Finishing second-last in Provincial League 2A, VV Zomergem drops back into P3.
1963 / Without a single defeat, VV Zomergem wins the P3A title, thus managing a return to Provincial League 2 after a 4-year absence.
1969 / Having spent 6 seasons in P2, VV Zomergem now finishes in 14th place in P2A, thus dropping back into Provincial League 3.
1972 / Due to a 13th place finish in P3A, VV Zomergem finds itself in Provincial League 4, the bottom league of East Flanders' provincial league pyramid since 1969.
1973 / Runners-up in Provincial League 4A, VV Zomergem returns to P3 thanks to an extra promotion place being available.
1974 / Obtaining the P3A title, VV Zomergem manages its second promotion in a row. The club plays in Provincial League 2 for the following five seasons.
1981 / Suffering back-to-back relegations, VV Zomergem suddenly finds itself in Provincial League 4 in its 50th anniversary year.
1987 / Under the guidance of coach Paul Mortier, VV Zomergem wins the title in Provincial League 4A, acceding to P3 after a 6-year absence.
1999 / Following 12 seasons in Provincial League 3, Zomergem's first team, led by trainer Tom D'hondt, wins the P3A title, resulting in a return to Provincial League 2 after an absence of 20 years at that level.
2004 / After just missing out on the title in Provincial League 2A the previous season, VV Zomergem proves unstoppable now, thus acceding to East Flanders' Provincial League 1 for the first time in club history.
2005 / VV Zomergem's stay in Provincial League 1 does not last longer than one season. Finishing 14th with an equal number of points as KFC Robur Moerzeke, which stays up due to a better goal difference, the club drops back into P2.
2006 / Taking on the royal epithet, VV Zomergem changes its name to become Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging (KVV) Zomergem.
2008 / Second-last in Provincial League 2A, KVV Zomergem suffers relegation to Provincial League 3.
2011 / Finishing in 2nd place in P3A, 6 points behind champions FC Assenede, KVV Zomergem qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Successively defeating FC Doornzele-Kerkbrugge and KSC De Schroevers Moorsel, the club loses the final to Eendracht Verrebroek (0-2). In the subsequent lucky loser final against KFC Sparta Waasmunster, Zomergem misses out on the last available promotion spot in the most dramatic of fashions, losing the penalty shoot-out after a 2-2 draw.
2013 / Runners-up in Provincial League 3A yet again, 2 points behind KSC Excelsior Mariakerke, KVV Zomergem qualifies for the promotion play-off final by successively defeating SKL Doorslaar and KSV Eendracht Bazel; ultimately, though, the season ends in tears due to a defeat in a penalty shoot-out (following a 2-2 draw) against FC Azalea Sport Sint-Amandsberg.
2014 / Guided by coach Christophe Ryckaert, KVV Zomergem qualifies for the promotion play-offs yet again after a 4th place finish in P3A. In those play-offs, the club finally succeeds in clinching the P2 ticket by successive defeats of SK Denderhoutem, SK Gerda Sint-Niklaas, and HRS Haasdonk.
2018 / With trainer Eddy Van Daele, KVV Zomergem has a good run in Provincial League 2A, with a 4th place in the final ranking. In the promotion play-offs for a spot in P1, the club defeats SKL Doorslaar, but is eliminated in the semifinals by KSC Excelsior Mariakerke.
2019 / Still coached by Eddy Van Daele, KVV Zomergem comes close to winning the P2A title, ultimately falling 3 points short of FC Sint-Martens Latem. No promotion play-offs are organised in East Flanders' P2 this season.
2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short due to the Covid lockdown in March 2020, KVV Zomergem finishes in 3rd place in P2A behind KVE Drongen and FC Sint-Joris Sleidinge. Yet again, no promotion play-offs are held.
2022 / With just 8 points from 30 matches - and a 10-0 away defeat at SK Bellem in the last match of the season -, KVV Zomergem finishes 15th in Provincial League 2A, thus suffering relegation to Provincial League 3 along with KFC Evergem-Center and KFC Eendracht Belzele-Evergem. The relegation is the result of drastic cuts in the budget for the club's first team; on the other hand, the main pitch at Zomergem's ground, often water-logged, is replaced with a synthetic surface - its inauguration being in November 2022.
2023 / With 30 defeats in 30 matches - and several double-digit defeats -, KVV Zomergem suffers a second relegation in a row, thus dropping back into Provincial League 4, 36 years after last having played at that lowly level.
2024 / Runners-up in P4A, 14 points behind champions FC Anatolia Gent, KVV Zomergem qualifies for the promotion play-offs, suffering elimination in R1 at the hands of KVVE Massemen B (2-3).