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LATEST UPDATE - EC OUDENHOVE / TERREIN PIJPERZELE, SINT-MARIA-OUDENHOVE (BELGIUM)

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

BELGIUM: EC Oudenhove

Terrein Pijperzele, Sint-Maria-Oudenhove (EC Oudenhove)

Belgium, province: East Flanders = Oost-Vlaanderen

5 IV 2025 / EC Oudenhove - VV Sint-Maria-Horebeke 2-1 / East Flanders, Provincial League 3C (= BE level 8)

Timeline

• ± 1941 / A group of youngsters from Sint-Maria-Oudenhove, a village in the Flemish Ardennes, situated halfway between Sotteghem and Grammont, gets together to play with football, with informal matches being organised against teams from surrounding villages. A makeshift pitch is laid out on a plot of farmland at the back of the local church, the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Hemelvaartkerk.
• 1942 / Following about a year of recreational football, the decision is taken to form a regular football club in Sint-Maria-Oudenhove. The name chosen for the club is Eendracht Club (EC) Oudenhove, which acquires membership of Belgium’s Football Association with registration number 3651. Home matches are played on the pitch laid out near the village church.
• 1944 / After two seasons, EC Oudenhove withdraws from East Flanders’ Regional League 2 (2e Gewestelijke).
• 1946 / Following two years of inactivity, EC Oudenhove officially folds, with registration number 3651 being erased from the Belgian FA’s official lists.
• 1954 / After eight years of inactivity, EC Oudenhove is re-established, acquiring membership of Belgium’s FA with registration number 5770. The first chairman of the phoenix club is Roger Haezebout. A new pitch is laid out for the club at Pijperzele, a street on a hillside, the so-called Potaardeberg, to the east of the village centre, with the inaugural ceremony being performed by the local priest, Fr Van Petegem, in September 1954. In the following months, dressing rooms and a first clubhouse are added to the set-up. 
• 1955 / For the 1955-56 season, marking the return of competitive football to Sint-Maria-Oudenhove after an absence of eleven years, EC Oudenhove (often abbreviated colloquially as ‘ECO’) is placed in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3.
• 1963 / Champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3D, EC Oudenhove wins promotion to Provincial League 2 for the first time. The title was obtained with an impressive goal difference (155-15), with only the away match at HO Atembeke ending in defeat. The successful player-coach is Jacques De Brouwer.
• 1964 / In the best season in club history, EC Oudenhove finishes as runners-up in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2C behind champions SC Volharden Aalst.
• 1968 / Coached by Jacques De Brouwer, EC Oudenhove finishes in second-last place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2C, thus dropping back into Provincial League 3 after five years, along with bottom club Sparta Geraardsbergen. In the following decades, ‘ECO’ is a regular feature in Provincial League 3.
• 1990 / After 22 consecutive seasons in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3, EC Oudenhove now finishes in second-last place in P3C, thus suffering relegation into Provincial League 4 for the first time.
• 1993 / Runners-up in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4D, EC Oudenhove manages a return to P3 after an absence of three seasons.
• 1994 / Runners-up in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, EC Oudenhove qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Although suffering defeat at the hands of SK Semmerzake in R1 (2-0), the club is drawn into a lucky loser final against FC Kaprijke, played at KFC Heusden Sport’s ground, Terrein Steenakkerstraat, going on to record an emphatic 6-1 win. As such, EC Oudehove manages its second promotion in a row, acceding to Provincial League 2 after an absence of 26 years at that level.
• 1995 / Finishing in second-last place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2B, EC Oudenhove drops back into Provincial League 3 after just one year.
• 1997 / Finishing bottom of the table in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, EC Oudenhove is retrograded into Provincial League 4.
• 1998 / Runners-up in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4C, EC Oudenhove manages an immediate return to Provincial League 3.
• 2003 / Champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C – marking the club’s first title at senior level in forty years – EC Oudenhove wins promotion to Provincial League 2. The successful coach is Danny Herregodts.
• 2006 / Finishing bottom of the table in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2B, EC Oudenhove descends into Provincial League 3 along with the club finishing in second-last place VC Ede-Haaltert.
• 2010 / Runners-up in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, 12 points behind runaway champions SC Dikkelvenne, EC Oudenhove qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club edges past Rangers Opdorp in R1 (1-2), before being knocked out in R2 by KVV Klauwaarts Bassevelde (0-3).
• 2012 / Champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3D, 2 points ahead of closest followers – and derby rivals – KFC Bonanza Sint-Martens-Lierde, EC Oudenhove wins promotion to Provincial League 2.
• 2013 / Finishing in third-last place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2B, EC Oudenhove drops back into Provincial League 3 along with KSK Zingem, FC Kerksken, and bottom club VC Nazareth-Eke.
• 2014 / Finishing in third place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, EC Oudenhove qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club draws a bye in R1 and annihilates KVV Cercle Melle in R2 (5-1) – going on to achieve promotion to Provincial League 2 by winning the final against KV Sint-Gillis (0-1).
• 2015 / Finishing bottom of the table in East Flanders’ Provincial League 2B, EC Oudenhove descends into Provincial League 3 along with the club in second-last place, KFC Bonanza Sint-Martens-Lierde.
• 2016 / Runners-up in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, 9 points behind champions KFC Nederename, EC Oudenhove qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club draws a bye in R1, going on to edge past KM Eendracht Machelen in R2 (2-1), only to be knocked out in the final by Zeveren Sportief (5-1).
• 2017 / Finishing in third place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, EC Oudenhove qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club defeats KVV Laarne-Kalken in R2 (bye in R1), only to be eliminated in R3 (semis) by FC Poesele (5-0).
• 2018 / Finishing in fifth place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, EC Oudenhove qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by Sparta Moerbeke-Geraardsbergen (4-1).

Note – Part of the information above has been derived from a booklet published on the occasion of EC Oudenhove’s fiftieth anniversary in 2004: “Eendracht Club Oudenhove 50 jaar”, by Marc Van de Walle (ed. Magerman: Meire 2004).

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

BELGIUM: KSK Geraardsbergen (1979-1981) / KSV Geraardsbergen (1981-1988) / VK Jong Geraardsbergen (±2012-±2014) / VC Geraardsbergen United (2022-2023) / Sparta Moerbeke-Geraardsbergen (B) (2019-)

Adriaansstadion "Stedelijk Sportstadion", Geraardsbergen (B ground of Sparta Moerbeke-Geraardsbergen, formerly KSK Geraardsbergen / KSV Geraardsbergen / VK Geraardsbergen)

Belgium, province: East Flanders = Oost-Vlaanderen

5 IV 2025 / VK Young Boys - VK Buizingen 0-3 / KAVVV Vlaams-Brabant & Oost-Vlaanderen, Division 3A

Timeline

• ± 1975 / Construction of a municipal sports stadium at Zonnebloemstraat in Geraardsbergen, the so-called Stedelijk Sportstadion, with a gravel track surrounding a football pitch. The facilities are used by Atletiekclub (AC) Geraardsbergen as well as several recreational football clubs. At the time, a recreational competition is organised with teams from Geraardsbergen and surrounding villages. 
• 1979 / As KSK Geraardsbergen wins promotion from East Flanders’ Provincial League 1 to National Division 4, the club is allowed to move into the Stedelijk Sportstadion at the behest of Geraardsbergen’s municipal authorities. SK Geraardsbergen, founded in 1921 (registration number 1950), had acquired the royal epithet in 1950, becoming KSK Geraardsbergen. During its time at Terrein Zonnebloemstraat – probably the original ground of the club, accidentally situated at the same street as the future municipal stadium, but on a location further up the hill – the club had had several spells in National Division 3 (‘Promotion’: 1937-38, 1943-44, 1945-48, 1950-52) and National Division 4 (1952-56, 1960-66). When its ground at Zonnebloemstraat has to make way for housing, probably in the mid-1970s, the club moves to a much more modest ground, Terrein Oudenaardsestraat. When promotion to National Division 4 follows, it is clear that this ground is not up to hosting national league football – and the decision to move to the municipal stadium mentioned above is taken. Municipal authorities have a clubhouse built with dressing rooms at the ground floor; facilities which had not been in place until that time. Moreover, a covered stand flanked by two bits of terracing at the western side of the pitch are added. As Terrein Oudenaardsestraat is abandoned once and for all, KSK Geraardsbergen moves its youth academy as well as lower league football to a newly laid-out B ground at Molendreef in Nederboelare, on the northern outskirts of Geraardsbergen. 
• 1981 / After two seasons in National Division 4, KSK Geraardsbergen drops back into East Flanders’ Provincial League 1. Following the 1980-81 season, the club concludes a merger with VK Geraardsbergen, a Provincial League 4 club which had been founded as Sparta Goeferdinge in 1969 (registration number 735), but renamed VK Geraardsbergen four years later. The new merger club, Koninklijke Sportvereniging (KSV) Geraardsbergen, retains KSK Geraardsbergen’s number 290. First team football continues to be played at the Stedelijk Sportstadion, while all other club activities take place at Terrein Molendreef.
• 1988 / After nine years of first team football at the Stedelijk Sportstadion, KSV Geraardsbergen moves the home games of its flagship team to Terrein Molendreef, later renamed Complex Depoorter in honour of the club’s former honorary president Roger Depoorter. In the following decades, the pitch at the municipal stadium continues to be used for recreational football.
• ± 2012 / VK Jong Geraardsbergen from Onkerzele has just won promotion to Provincial League 3. As the club’s presidency prefers to move first team football to Saturday evenings (instead of Sunday afternoons) and the floodlights at the club’s Wilgierstadion are not strong enough to allow league football, the club successfully files a request at Geraardsbergen’s municipal authorities to be allowed to move its first team football to the Stedelijk Sportstadion.
• 2014 / Works get underway on a thorough renovation of the Stedelijk Sportstadion. Also in or around 2014, VK Jong Geraardsbergen’s flagship team moves back to the Wilgierstadion in Onkerzele.
• 2015 / After completion of the renovation works at the Stedelijk Sportstadion, which involved replacing the gravel track for a proper athletics track as well as the removal of the bits of open terracing on both sides of the grandstand, the stadium is reinaugurated in October 2015 with a new name, Adriaansstadion, named after the patron saint of the nearby church, St Adrian.
• 2019 / Sparta Moerbeke-Geraardsbergen, a provincial league club from Moerbeke, loses its second pitch at Terrein Zikastraat following the passing of the owner of the plot of land on which this B pitch is situated. With the inheritance issue proving unsolvable for the moment, the club is no long allowed to make use of the second pitch. Thereupon, a successful request is filed at Geraardsbergen’s municipal authorities to be allowed to use the Adriaansstadion’s pitch for lower team football and training purposes.
• 2022 / A new football club is founded in Geraardsbergen, VC Geraardsbergen United, which acquires membership of Belgium’s Football Association with registration number 9776. VC Geraardsbergen United does not field a first team, instead taking part in the reserves’ leagues only, with the club settling at the Adriaansstadion.
• 2023 / After one year at the Adriaansstadion, VC Geraardsbergen United leaves the ground, concluding a groundsharing agreement with KSV Geraardsbergen at Complex Depoorter.
• 2026 (projected) / The inheritance issue which kept Sparta Moerbeke-Geraardsbergen from using its second pitch at Zikastraat has been resolved in 2025. The club are hoping to get its B pitch ready for use by January 2026, which would mean the club would leave the Adriaansstadion to the exclusive use of recreational teams, notably FC Nederboelare and VK Polder (the VK Young Boys home match I visited had been moved to the stadium as the Wilgierstadion, the team’s usual home ground, was unavailable due to a youth tournament being organised there). 

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author