Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: K Standaard SV Denderleeuw

Gemeentelijk Sportpark Armand De Pelsmaeker, Denderleeuw (K Standaard SV Denderleeuw)

Belgium, province: East Flanders = Oost-Vlaanderen

10 II 2024 / KSSV Denderleeuw - KSV Sottegem 2-2 / East Flanders, Provincial League 1 (= BE level 6)

Timeline

1929 / Foundation of a football club in Denderleeuw, which takes on the name Standaard Voetbalbond Denderleeuw – colloquially referred to simply as Standaard Denderleeuw – which acquires membership of Belgium’s Football Association under registration number 1409. The club starts its life at a ground referred to locally as Terrein Achter ’t Vellekot or Terrein Teralfene Sas, situated in the Leeuwbrug neighbourhood at the northern outskirts of Denderleeuw – at modern-day Omlooplaan / Wijmenierlaan. Until the mid-1950s, the club finds itself in the lower reaches of East Flanders’ regional divisions.
1931 / Following the foundation of the distinctly socialist Standaard Denderleeuw, a Roman-Catholic football club saw the daylight in the shape of FC Denderleeuw, registration number 1749.
1941 / Having remained inactive for two seasons, FC Denderleeuw folds, ceasing all activities.
1952 / At the instigation of a local schoolmaster, Florent Beeckman, Standaard’s rival club FC Denderleeuw is refounded, acquiring membership of Belgium’s FA a year later under registration number 5647.
1956 / Defeating their town rivals FC Denderleeuw 9-1 in the first-ever derby between the two, Standaard Denderleeuw conquers the title in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2C with 56 points (of a maximum of 60), thus gaining promotion to Provincial League 1 for the first time. Also in 1956, Standaard Voetbalbond Denderleeuw acquires the royal epithet, thus becoming Koninklijke Standaard Voetbalbond Denderleeuw – or, abbreviated, K Standaard (VB) Denderleeuw.
1963 / In the best season in club history, Standaard Denderleeuw finishes in third place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 1. That same year, the club suffers its first-ever defeat at the hands of FC Denderleeuw, which had climbed up to P1 as well and would even go on to break down the door to the national divisions in the following decade, thereby eclipsing Standaard’s erstwhile ascendancy.
1965 / Having spent nine consecutive seasons in P1, K Standaard VB Denderleeuw now drops back into Provincial League 2.
1972 / Having played at Terrein Achter ‘t Vellekot for the first 43 years of its existence, K Standaard VB Denderleeuw moves into the newly-built municipal sports stadium, named after former Standaard player, club chairman, and Denderleeuw mayor Armand De Pelsmaeker, who passed away in 1968 but who had been the driving force behind the construction of a large sports stadium in Denderleeuw.
1974 / K Standaard Voetbalbond Denderleeuw changes its name to become K Standaard Sportvereniging Denderleeuw – sometimes abbreviated as KSSV Denderleeuw.
1975 / Champions in Provincial League 2B, Standaard Denderleeuw manages a return to P1.
1982 / After seven seasons in East Flanders’ Provincial League 1, KSSV Denderleeuw drops back into P2.
1989 / Following a second-last place in the final table of P2B, Standaard Denderleeuw descends into Provincial League 3 for the first time in club history. In the following years, the club alternates two spells in P3 (1989-90 & 1991-94) with one year back in P2 (1990-91).
1994 / Finishing in fifteenth place in P3D, KSSV Denderleeuw descends into Provincial League 4, the lowest division in East Flanders’ provincial league pyramid, for the first time in club history. Also in the early 1990s, merger talks are held between KSSV Denderleeuw and FC Denderleeuw, but without success; the two clubs choose to continue their existence independently.
1996 / Finishing in third place in P4D, Standaard Denderleeuw qualifies for the play-offs, in which it manages to force a return to Provincial League 3.
1997 / As FC Denderleeuw, which had won promotion to National Division 2 the previous season, is allowed by Denderleeuw’s municipal authorities to move from its Terrein Thontlaan to the Gemeentelijk Sportstadion, renamed Florent Beeckmanstadion in honour of one of FC Denderleeuw’s founders, Standaard Denderleeuw moves into a newly constructed, much smaller ground, Terrein Walleken, several hundreds of yards to the west of the stadium.
2001 / Second-last in P3D, KSSV Denderleeuw drops back into Provincial League 4, destined to stay put in the bottom division for more than ten years.
2007 / Standaard’s ground at Walleken is renamed Gemeentelijk Sportpark Armand De Pelsmaeker in honour of the socialist mayor who had been so instrumental in the club’s history as a player and supporter until his passing in 1968.
2012 / Champions in P4D, 8 points ahead of KVVE Massemen, Standaard Denderleeuw finally manages a return to Provincial League 3.
2017 / Having finished in fifth place in P3D, KSSV Denderleeuw qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it is eliminated in its first match against VK White Boys Sint-Niklaas (0-1).
2018 / Runners-up in P3D, 4 points behind champions KSK Erembodegem, Standaard Denderleeuw qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it is eliminated in its first match against VC Nazareth-Eke (1-0).
2019 / Conquering the title in Provincial League 3D, just 1 point ahead of VC Eendracht Houtem, KSSV Denderleeuw earns promotion to Provincial League 2 after an absence of 28 years at that level.
2022 / Finishing in fifth place in P2B, KSSV Denderleeuw qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it manages to defeat FC Destelbergen in R1 (1-2) only to lose the final at the hands of KSV Sottegem (2-1).
2023 / Title winners in P2B, 5 points ahead of KVV Laarne-Kalken, Standaard Denderleeuw, coached by Marijn Vanderheyden, manages a return to Provincial League 1 after an absence of 41 seasons. The decisive points were obtained in a 1-0 home win against KVV Schelde Serskamp-Schellebelle, with Louis Blankaert scoring the only goal of the match attended by over 400 spectators.