Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: SV Moorslede

Domein Grimmertinge / Sportcentrum Moorslede, Moorslede (SV Moorslede)

Belgium, province: West Flanders = West-Vlaanderen

23 XII 2023 / SV Moorslede - KSK Beveren-Leie 0-3 / West Flanders, Provincial League 2B (= BE level 7)

Timeline

1927 / Foundation of Sportkring (SK) Moorslede, with Charles Vuylsteke and Julien Gillis being recorded as the club's founding fathers. First chairman of the new club is Louis Mondelaers. The club, which did not join any association yet but stuck to playing friendly games against teams from neighbouring villages, started its life at Terrein Cyriel Desmet in the Kruiske neighbourhood, moving twice in the following four years; from Terrein Desmet to Terrein A. Dussauvage (situated in between Roeselaarsestraat and Passendaalsestraat) and on to Terrein Café De Haan, a plot of land at Passendaalsestraat owned by G. Cappelle
1933 / Having remained inactive for most of the past two years, SK Moorslede manages a restart with new chairman Albert Denecker. At the instigation of Denecker and Richard Foré, instead of joining the official Belgian Football Association, the club successfully applied for membership of a rivalling association, the so-called Vlaamsche Voetbalbond (VVB), which had been founded three years previously. SK Moorslede was placed in VVB’s Provincial League 4, the bottom division of this association’s league pyramid. Meanwhile, the club has found itself a new ground, Terrein Café ’t Voske, situated on a plot of land hemmed in between Sparrestraat (where the entrance was situated), Dadizeelsestraat, and Zesde Jagerstraat. In the course of the 1930s, the club moved several more times, first to Terrein Ieperstraat, owned by a Mr Lietaert, and then on to Terrein Statiestraat, owned by G. Descheerder.
1937 / SK Moorslede joins the Belgian Football Association, changing its name to become Sportvereniging (SV) Moorslede and obtaining registration number 2505 upon being admitted as new member club. Possibly also around this time, the club moved to a new ground, Terrein Slypsstraat, owned by a Mr M. Loncke.
1945 / In the first full season after the end of German occupation, SV Moorslede is placed in West Flanders’ Regional League 2 (2e Gewestelijke), later renamed Provincial League 2, finishing in seventh place in the 1945-46 season.
1951 / SV Moorslede narrowly misses out on promotion from Provincial League 2 to Provincial League 1, finishing runners-up behind White Star Ieper. Also in 1951, the club moves away from Terrein Slypsstraat, settling at the newly built-up Stadion Sint-Acharius, situated in the eponymous neighbourhood of Moorslede. Aloïs Huyghe, the owner of the pitch, had the large wooden stand, which had been erected at Breulsstraat in Moorslede for the 1950 Cycling World Championships held in Moorslede, moved to his velodrome in Sint-Acharius. In 1951, Huyghe added a football pitch at the centre of that velodrome – the pitch being inaugurated with an exhibition match between SC Wacker Wien and AS Saint-Etienne.
1956 / Having played in Provincial League 2 since the end of World War II, SV Moorslede now drops back into P3.
1957 / Due to Aloïs Huyghe finding himself in financial difficulties, his velodrome annex football stadium in Sint-Acharius is sold and knocked down. SV Moorslede moves back to Terrein Slypsstraat.
1961 / Coached by Maurice Denys, SV Moorslede clinches its first-ever title since acceding to the Belgian FA, winning promotion from P3 to P2. The club holds out at that level for two seasons, dropping back into Provincial League 3 in 1963.
1966 / Coached by Frans Decock, SV Moorslede goes on to win its second Provincial League 3 title in the decade. This time, the spell in P2 is even shorter, with the club dropping back into P3 immediately in 1967.
1967 / A group of disaffected players breaks away from SV Moorslede, forming a recreational club by the name of The Rangers Moorslede, which joins the VLVB (Vlaamse Liefhebbersvoetbalbond) and finds its home at Terrein De Waterdam.
1972 / The first decades of club history being covered in shrouds – but certainly the club never rose higher up the ladder than West Flanders’ Provincial League 2 – SV Moorslede suffers relegation from Provincial League 3C following a thirteenth place in that division, resulting in being placed in P4 for the following season.
1976 / Winning the title in Provincial League 4C with trainer Masceau Pillaert, SV Moorslede manages a return to P3.
1978 / Abandoning Terrein Slypsstraat, SV Moorslede moves into the newly laid-out Sportcentrum Moorslede, alternatively referred to simply as Gemeentestadion, at Domein Grimmertinge, where the club is given the luxury of a main pitch, surrounded by an athletics track, with a small covered terrace, as well as a training pitch to the southern side of the new sports hall.
1980 / Again coached by Masceau Pillaert, who returned to the club after his successful first spell, SV Moorslede wins the title in Provincial League 3A – obtaining the decisive points in a 1-0 home victory against KSK Vlamertinge. As such, the club accedes to Provincial League 2, but the success is short-lived, with two successive relegations resulting in the club finding itself back in Provincial League 4 by 1982.
± 1981 / Due to the training pitch at Domein Grimmertinge often being waterlogged, the decision is taken upon to remove the athletics track around the main pitch and lay out two pitches, which are given a quarter’s turn compared to the old situation. The old stand was never removed, thus remaining as a reminder of the old situation until the present day (cp. photo 2 below).
1984 / Coached by former RSC Anderlechtois player Ronny Bau, who took over as player-trainer in 1982, SV Moorslede clinches the title in West Flanders’ Provincial League 4C ahead of SV De Ruiter, the decisive points being picked up in a home win against VK Kachtem. As such, the club manages a return to Provincial League 3.
1985 / Finishing in seventh place in P3A with player-coach Ronny Bau, SV Moorslede qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it manages to break down the door to Provincial League 2 for the second time in five years – with the decisive play-off goal being scored in extra time against KSK Vlamertinge. As on the previous occasion, though, the success is ephemeral, with two successive relegations resulting in the club finding itself down in P4 by 1987.
1990 / Winning the title in P4D, SV Moorslede, coached by Johan Meirhaeghe, wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
1992 / Finishing sixth in P3A, SV Moorslede qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it is eliminated in R1 by KVV Coxyde (7-0 aggregate score).
1995 / Finishing fifteenth in P3C, SV Moorslede, coached by Willem D’Autry, drops back into the bottom division of West Flanders’ provincial league system after five seasons.
2000 / Runners-up in P4D with trainer Erik Begein, SV Moorslede manages a return to Provincial League 3, probably after winning a round of promotion play-offs. This time, the club holds out two seasons in P3 before dropping back into the bottom division in 2002.
2007 / Finishing in third place in P4D, 14 points behind champions Rood-Wit Hollebeke, SV Moorslede wins the ensuing round of promotion play-offs, resulting in being placed in Provincial League 3 for the new season.
2016 / Having had steadily improving results in P3 in the preceding seasons, SV Moorslede now qualifies for the promotion play-offs following a fifth place finish in P3A. In those play-offs, the club edges past KSV Diksmuide (3-2 aggregate) and SK Staden (2-1 aggr.), both being clubs which had finished ahead of them in the regular league championship, to manage a return to Provincial League 2 for the first time in thirty years.
2017 / As on the two previous occasions, SV Moorslede’s spell in P2 remains an isolated affair, with the club finishing second-last in the final table of P2A and dropping back into Provincial League 3 along with K Eendracht De Haan and KSV Nieuwpoort.
2018 / Finishing 13 points ahead of closest rivals SC Zonnebeke, SV Moorslede clinches the P3A title, resulting in an immediate return to Provincial League 2.2020 / SV Moorslede drops out of Provincial League 2 after two seasons following a fifteenth place in P2B, resulting in relegation along with R Jespo Comines-Warneton and bottom club KSV De Ruiter.
2020 / Finishing in fourth place in the P3A table, SV Moorslede qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club loses in R1 against KEVC Beselare (3-2 aggr.), yet accedes to P2 as a lucky loser due to one extra promotion place being available.
2023 / In its best season in the past fifty years, SV Moorslede finishes in fifth place in West Flanders’ Provincial League 2A.

Note – Important parts of information given above were provided by SV Moorslede board member Ronny Verholle. Moreover, Mr Verholle was kind enough to send me two publications detailing the club’s history; first, a brochure from 1979, belatedly celebrating the club’s fiftieth anniversary; and secondly, a bachelor’s thesis written by Ghent University student Bram Vanackere in 2000-01, entitled ‘Sporthistoriografische schets, betreft: Voetbalclub SV Moorslede’.