Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: Standaard Michelbeke

Saturday, 5 April 2025

BELGIUM: Standaard Michelbeke

Terrein Kraaiestee, Michelbeke (Standaard Michelbeke)

Belgium, province: East Flanders = Oost-Vlaanderen

5 IV 2025 / Standaard Michelbeke - KSV Sottegem B 7-0 / East Flanders, Provincial League 3C (= BE level 8)

Timeline

1941 / Foundation of a first football club in Michelbeke, a village in the Flemish Ardennes, situated halfway between Sotteghem and Bracle, which is given the name Stormbroeders (SB) Michelbeke. Upon joining Belgium’s Football Association, the club receives registration number 3174. The club played its home matches on a pitch situated at Mijnwerkerspad.
1948 / Stormbroeders Michelbeke withdraws from first team football in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3.
1949 / After one year of inactivity, Stormbroeders Michelbeke folds, ceasing all activities.
1968 / Foundation of a new football club in Michelbeke, Standaard Michelbeke, on September 15th, 1968. Unlike its predecessor, Standaard Michelbeke does not seek affiliation with Belgium’s official Football Association, instead joining the so-called KVS, in full: Katholiek Vlaams Sportverbond West- en Oost-Vlaanderen, a Roman-Catholic recreational league association. The club’s first ground is situated at Bijstierstraat in Boekendries, a hamlet to the south of Michelbeke.
1975 / Moving away from Terrein Bijstierstraat, Standaard Michelbeke moves to a newly laid-out pitch at Meierij, also in Boekendries.
1993 / Moving away from Terrein Meierij, Standaard Michelbeke moves to a newly laid-out pitch at Kraaiestee – in fact only a stone’s throw further down the hillside from the old ground at Meierij.
1995 / Leaving the KVS league association, which in the 1990s was faced with the departure of droves of clubs in East and West Flanders, Standaard Michelbeke successfully applies for membership of the official Belgian FA, where the club acquires registration number 9281. For the 1994-95 season, the club is placed in the bottom division of East Flanders’ provincial divisions, Provincial League 4.
2006 / Standaard Michelbeke finishes as runners-up in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4B, 4 points behind champions Eendracht Elene.
2013 / Finishing in fourth place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4C, Standaard Michelbeke qualifies for the play-offs, in which a 2-1 away win at SK Vinderhoute is sufficient to achieve promotion to Provincial League 3 for the first time in club history.
2014 / Finishing bottom of the table in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, Standaard Michelbeke drops back into Provincial League 4 after just one season, along with RSC Ophasselt and KSV Maarkedal.
2015 / Finishing in third place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4C, Standaard Michelbeke qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by KVV White Star Sombeke (1-0).
2016 / Champions in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4C, 6 points ahead of runners-up K Olsene Sportief, Standaard Michelbeke manages a return to Provincial League 3 after two years.
2018 / Finishing in third-last place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, Standaard Michelbeke saves its skin in two victorious relegation play-offs, away at FC Kerksken (1-4) and at home against VC Zevergem Sportief (2-1).
2019 / Finishing bottom of the table in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, Standaard Michelbeke descends into Provincial League 4 along with WK Sint-Goriks.
2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short by the first COVID lockdown in March 2020, Standaard Michelbeke finds itself in first place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 4B, 4 points ahead of closest rivals VV Volkegem. As such, the club is awarded with promotion to Provincial League 3 for the new season.
2022 / In the best season in club history, Standaard Michelbeke finishes in fifth place in East Flanders’ Provincial League 3C. Also in 2022, the club purchases Terrein Vijverdal in Nederbrakel, the pitch of former recreational club FC Kruisstraat (1969-2020), which has since been in use as the club’s training ground.

Note – Thanks to Frans De Sutter, founding member of Standaard Michelbeke and the club’s chairman for nearly forty years (1972-2011), for important parts of information, which have been included in the article above.