Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: K White Star Linkhout

Terrein Kapelstraat, Linkhout (K White Star Linkhout)

Belgium, province: Limburg

27 VII 2024 / KWS Linkhout - KVV Weerstand Koersel 0-4 / Belgian Cup R1

Timeline

1942 / Foundation of a football club in Linkhout, which is given the name White Star (WS) Linkhout, receiving registration number 3531 upon being accepted as new Belgian Football Association member and starting its life in Limburg’s Regional League 2C (2e Gewestelijke C). The club settles on a ground at Hulshoekstraat.
1947 / Finishing in twelfth place in Regional League 2B, WS Linkhout drops back into Regional League 3.
1948 / Champions in Regional League 3B, WS Linkhout wins promotion to Regional League 2. The stay at that level is short-lived, though, with relegation following immediately in 1949.
1952 / Champions in Regional League 3B, WS Linkhout wins promotion to Regional League 2 – renamed Provincial League 2 for the 1952-53 season.
1967 / Bottom of the table in Provincial League 2B, WS Linkhout descends into Provincial League 3.
1974 / Finishing in tenth place in P3D, WS Linkhout descends into Provincial League 4 for the first time in club history.
1975 / Champions in P4C, WS Linkhout wins promotion to Provincial League 3 – holding out at that level for two seasons before dropping back in 1977.
1978 / Champions in P4C, WS Linkhout wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
1980 / Champions in P3B, WS Linkhout wins promotion to Provincial League 2.
1983 / Champions in P2A, WS Linkhout wins a historic promotion to Limburg’s Provincial League 1.
1985 / In the best season in club history, WS Linkhout finishes in sixth place in Limburg’s Provincial League 1.
1986 / Finishing second from bottom in Provincial League 1, WS Linkhout drops back into P2 after three seasons.
1988 / Finishing in fourteenth place in P2A, WS Linkhout descends into Provincial League 3.
1989 / Bottom of the table in P3D, WS Linkhout finds itself in Provincial League 4 for the first time in 21 years.
1992 / Runners-up in P4A, WS Linkhout wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
1993 / One year after the club’s fiftieth anniversary, White Star Linkhout obtains the royal assent, meaning that the club now officially changes its name to become Koninklijke White Star (KWS) Linkhout.
1994 / Bottom of the table in P3A, KWS Linkhout drops back into Provincial League 4.
2004 / Champions in P4D, KWS Linkhout manages a return to Provincial League 3 after an absence of ten seasons.
2010 / Plans are unveiled by Lummen’s municipal authorities to build KWS Linkhout a new ground at Kapelstraat due to the club’s first pitch at Hulshoekstraat being due for redevelopment for housing.
2011 / Finishing in third place in P3C, KWS Linkhout qualifies for the play-offs, in which the club successively eliminates K Zutendaal VV (2-0 aggr.), KV Heur VV (4-1 aggr.), and K Standaard VV Viversel (4-2 aggr.), thereby forcing a return to Provincial League after an absence of 23 years at that level.
2013 / Building works on KWS Linkhout's new ground at Kapelstraat get underway in November 2013.
2014 / Inauguration of Terrein Kapelstraat in the summer of 2014, with Terrein Hulshoekstraat being abandoned.
2015 / Finishing in fifth place in P2B, KWS Linkhout qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by Sporting Grote Heide (5-0 aggr.).
2016 / Finishing in fourteenth place in P2B, KWS Linkhout has to play a tie-breaker against the no. 14 in P2A, K Kadijk SK, to assure itself of a prolonged stay at this level – but, losing the tie 2-1 on aggregate, the club descends into Provincial League 3 along with direct drop-outs Herk Sport Hasselt VV and FC Turkse Rangers Waterschei.
2018 / Finishing in fourteenth place in P3A, KWS Linkhout is scheduled to play the nos. 14 in P3B and P3C, SC Donk and SSD Opoeteren, but due to extra places in Provincial League 3 being available for the new season, the relegation play-offs are called off and all three teams stay up in P3.
2023 / Finishing in fourth place in P3A, KWS Linkhout qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by KMR Biesen (1-3).
2024 / As KFC Eendracht Zelem ceases all activities following the disentanglement of the provisional merger with K Verbroedering Loksbergen in 2023, which led to the short-lived existence of KVE Zelo Halen, Zelem’s ground, Terrein Lobosveld, is taken over by KWS Linkhout for training sessions.