Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: K Fortuna '56 Smeermaas

Sunday, 30 July 2023

BELGIUM: K Fortuna '56 Smeermaas

Sportpark Clement Meesters, Smeermaas (K Fortuna '56 Smeermaas)

Belgium, province: Liège = Luik

30 VII 2023 / K Fortuna '56 Smeermaas - KMR Biesen B 2-0 / Belgian Cup R1

Timeline

1923 / Foundation of a first football club in Smeermaas, FC Olympia Smeermaes. The club joins Belgium’s Football Association. It is unclear where this club’s ground was situated.
1925 / FC Olympia Smeermaes takes part in a regular league championship for the first time.
1926 / Winning the title in Limburg’s Provincial League 3A in its first competitive season, FC Olympia Smeermaes accedes to Provincial League 2 – the highest division of Limburg’s provincial league system at the time. In December 1926, as Belgium’s FA introduces the matricule system, FC Olympia Smeermaes acquires matricule 327.
1927 / Finishing 10th and dead-last in Limburg’s Provincial League 2, FC Olympia Smeermaes withdraws its team from regular league football.
1928 / FC Olympia Smeermaes folds, ceasing all activities. Matricule 327 is erased from the Belgian FA’s official membership list.
1938 / Ten years after the demise of FC Olympia Smeermaes, a new club is founded in the village, Onder Ons (OO) Smeermaas, which joins Belgium’s FA under matricule 2664. The club starts its life in Limburg’s Provincial League 3. As in the case of its predecessor, it is unclear where OO Smeermaas’ ground was situated.
1940 / Having taken part in Limburg’s provincial divisions for two seasons, Onder Ons Smeermaas withdraws its first team.
1946 / Not having developed any activities during the war years, Onder Ons Smeermaas withdraws its membership from Belgium’s FA.
1956 / Foundation of a new club in Smeermaas, which is given the name Fortuna. The club joins a recreational league, but it is unknown which one. Most probably, the club started its life at the ground at Maaseikersteenweg still in use today – albeit on the current pitch 2.
1959 / The club joins Belgium’s FA, taking on the official name Fortuna ’56 Smeermaas and obtaining matricule 6252 upon being accepted as new members.
1960 / Fortuna ’56 Smeermaas enters a team in the regular provincial divisions for the first time, which starts its life in Provincial League 3 – the bottom division of Limburg’s provincial league system at that time.
± 1963 / A second pitch is added to Terrein Maaseikersteenweg, the current main pitch.
1969 / Winning the title in Provincial League 3E, Fortuna ’56 Smeermaas accedes to Provincial League 2.
1970 / In the best season in club history, Fortuna ’56 Smeermaas finishes in 7th place in Provincial League 2C.
1974 / Having had a 5-year spell in Provincial League 2, the club finishes last in P2C, thus dropping back into P3.
1984 / Following 10 consecutive seasons in P3, Fortuna ’56 Smeermaas finishes last in Provincial League 3A, thus descending into Provincial League 4 for the first time.
1996 / Winning the title in Provincial League 4C, the club manages a return to P3 after 12 years. Nevertheless, 1996 is a year of profound grief, as Fortuna player Clement Meesters has a heart attack, dying on the pitch in Smeermaas.
1998 / After finishing second-last in P3C, Fortuna ’56 Smeermaas drops back into P4.
2009 / In the year of its 50th anniversary as a Belgian FA member, Fortuna ’56 Smeermaas acquires the royal epithet, thus officially becoming Koninklijke (K) Fortuna ’56 Smeermaas.
2011 / With Fortuna being on the brink of extinction due to old board members failing to find successors, goalkeeper trainer Erik Barrez eventually takes over the club after a plea by his wife, Clement Meesters’ sister.
2016 / Terrein Maaseikersteenweg is renamed Sportpark Clement Meesters in honour of the player who passed away on the pitch 20 years before.
2022 / K Fortuna ’56 Smeermaas finishes in 3rd place in P4A behind champions FC Veldwezelt and Belisia Bilzen SV B. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club defeats FC Halveweg Zonhoven in R1 (2-1 on aggregate) before stumbling over KVV Lummen in the final (4-3 aggr.); in the subsequent lucky loser play-off, held due to extra promotion places being available, the club has the better of KFC Eendracht Zelem (7-3 aggr.), thus eventually winning promotion to P3 after an uninterrupted spell of 24 years in the bottom division of Limburg’s provincial league pyramid.