BELGIUM: KSK Beveren-Leie

Gemeentelijk Sportstadion 'Den Dries', Beveren-Leie (KSK Beveren-Leie)

Belgium, province: West Flanders = West-Vlaanderen

9 V 2024 / KSK Beveren-Leie - Club Roeselare 2-4 / West Flanders, Provincial League 2 - promotion play-off (= BE level 7)

Timeline

• 1932 / Foundation of a football club in Beveren-Leie, which is given the name Sportkring (SK) Beveren-Leie. Instead of joining the official Belgian Football Association (KBVB), the club joins the so-called Vlaamsche Voetbalbond (VVB). The club settles at Terrein De Klokke at Kortrijkscheweg.
• 1942 / During World War II, SK Beveren-Leie withdraws its membership of the VVB, which had compromised itself by collaborating enthusiastically with the German oppressors.
• 1943 / SK Beveren-Leie is accepted as Belgian FA member, receiving registration number 3958.
• 1948 / Winning the title in West Flanders’ Regional League 3B (3e Gewestelijke), the club’s first title as a KBVB club, SK Beveren-Leie accedes to Regional League 2. The club’s performances in the following ten years are shrouded in clouds.
• ± 1950 / Moving away from Terrein De Klokke, SK Beveren-Leie settles at Terrein Ter Weerst, situated at the back of Café ‘t Neerhof, also located at Kortrijkseweg.
• 1957 / Upon the club’s 25th anniversary, SK Beveren-Leie obtains the royal epithet, officially changing its name to become Koninklijke Sportkring (KSK) Beveren-Leie.
• 1960 / Champions in West Flanders’ Provincial League 4C, KSK Beveren-Leie wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
• 1963 / Runners-up in West Flanders' Provincial League 3B, KSK Beveren-Leie is placed in Provincial League 2. The club holds its own at this level for five seasons before dropping back into P3 in 1968.
• 1969 / Runners-up in West Flanders' Provincial League 3C, KSK Beveren-Leie accedes to Provincial League 2 for the second time in the 1960s. This time, the club holds its own at this level for three seasons before dropping back into P3 in 1972.
• 1975 / Finishing in thirteenth place in West Flanders’ Provincial League 3C, KSK Beveren-Leie drops back into P4 after an absence of fifteen years at this bottom level of the provincial league system.
• 1976 / Abandoning Terrein Ter Weerst, KSK Beveren-Leie settles at the newly laid-out Gemeentelijk Sportstadion Den Dries, at the back of Café Den Dries, near the crossroads of Beveren Dries and Stagestraat. The ground’s main pitch is adorned with a covered stand of the Dutch firm Elascon.
• 1977 / Coached by Fernand Gernaye, KSK Beveren-Leie clinches the title in West Flanders' Provincial League 4D, thus managing a return to Provincial League 3 after two years.
• 1978 / A clubhouse as well as a new set of dressing rooms are inaugurated at Gemeentelijk Sportstadion Den Dries.
• 1979 / Still coached by Fernand Gernaye, KSK Beveren-Leie manages its second title in three season – and as champions in West Flanders' Provincial League 3C, the club wins promotion to P2 after an absence of seven years at that level. The decisive points are obtained in a 4-1 home win over SV Kortrijk.
• 1987 / Having dropped back into P3 after seven seasons in 1986, KSK Beveren-Leie now manages a third place in West Flanders' Provincial League 3C, winning a round of promotion play-offs to return to P2 at the first instance.
• 1988 / Finishing in third place in West Flanders' Provincial League 2B, KSK Beveren-Leie qualifies for the play-offs, in which the club secures a second promotion in a row as well as a ticket for West Flanders’ Provincial League 1 for the first time in club history.
• 1989 / Finishing second-from-bottom in West Flanders' Provincial League 1, KSK Beveren-Leie drops back into Provincial League 2 after just one season.
• 1990 / Suffering back-to-back relegations following a fourteenth place in West Flanders' Provincial League 2B, KSK Beveren-Leie suddenly finds itself in Provincial League 3, staying put at that level in the following decade.
• 2001 / Champions in West Flanders' Provincial League 3C, KSK Beveren-Leie manages a return to Provincial League 2. The stay at that level lasts for just one season, though, with relegation duly following in 2002.
• 2005 / Finishing bottom of the table in West Flanders' Provincial League 3C, KSK Beveren-Leie drops back into Provincial League 4 along with Rekkem Sport, thus finding itself at the bottom of the league ladder for the first time in 28 years.
• 2007 / Inauguration of the new clubhouse and main stand at Gemeentelijk Sportpark Den Dries, with the Elascon stand being replaced by a much larger, industrial construction. At the same time, the entrance of the ground is moved from Beveren Dries to Leenriestraat at the other end of the ground.
• 2011 / Finishing in fourth place in West Flanders' Provincial League 4C, KSK Beveren-Leie qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by KFC Aarsele (4-2 aggr.).
• 2012 / Champions in West Flanders' Provincial League 4C, 8 points ahead of closest followers SV Izegem, KSK Beveren-Leie returns to Provincial League 3 after an absence of seven seasons.
• 2016 / Champions in West Flanders' Provincial League 3C, 6 points ahead of closest followers KSV Kortrijk, KSK Beveren-Leie returns to Provincial League 2 after an absence of 26 seasons.
• 2017 / Finishing in fourteenth place in West Flanders' Provincial League 2B, KSK Beveren-Leie has to play a relegation play-off against the fourteenth placed team in P2A, K Eendracht De Haan, winning the encounter 2-0 and thus narrowly staving off relegation.
• 2022 / The main pitch of Gemeentelijk Sportpark Den Dries is equipped with a synthetic surface.
• 2023 / Finishing in thirteenth place in West Flanders' Provincial League 2A, KSK Beveren-Leie has to play a relegation play-off against the thirteenth placed team in P2B, Dosko Kanegem, winning the encounter 4-3 and thus narrowly staving off relegation.
• 2024 / Runners-up in P2B, 14 points behind champions Zwevegem Sport, KSK Beveren-Leie qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club edges past KSV Veurne in R1 (2-1), only to suffer defeat at the hands of Club Roeselare in the final (2-4), as a result of which Club Roeselare wins the ticket to Provincial League 1.
• 2026 / Finishing in third place in West Flanders' Provincial League 2B, KSK Beveren-Leie qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Knocking out KSC Zonnebeke in R1 (4-3 A.E.T.) and Jong Male KVV in R2 (1-2), the club goes on to defeat K Woudsport Houthulst in the final (2-1), thus winning promotion to Provincial League 1 after an absence of 37 years at that level. 

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

BELGIUM: KFC Anadol (±1979-)

Terrein aan de Valentinusstraat West, Heusden-Zolder Lindeman (KFC Anadol)

Belgium, province: Limburg

5 V 2024 / KFC Anadol - KRC Peer 1-3 / Belgian Limburg, Provincial League 2 - promotion play-off QF (= BE level 7)

Timeline

• 1968 / Foundation of FC Anadol, a recreative football club of Turkish migrant workers in Heusden-Zolder. The club’s pitch is situated next to – or more specifically immediately to the north of – the Selimiye Camii Mosque, a house of prayer at Valentinusstraat in the hamlet Lindeman, built for the benefit of the workers by the board of the mining company which employed them.
• 1973 / After five years of playing recreative football, FC Anadol joins the official Belgian Football Association, obtaining registration number 8026 upon being accepted as new member club.
• 1974 / FC Anadol starts its life as a regular first team in Limburg’s Provincial League 4A.
• ± 1979 / A new pitch is laid out in the woods on the other, southern, side of the mosque at Valentinusstraat, with FC Anadol’s first team football moving to this pitch. The old pitch is retained for lower team football and training sessions.
• 1985 / Champions in Provincial League 4D, FC Anadol accedes to Limburg’s Provincial League 3 for the first time in club history.
• 1993 / In the best season for the club before the turn of the century, FC Anadol finishes in second place in P3D.
• 2005 / Having given up its pitch north of the mosque, KFC Anadol is given the luxury of an extra training pitch on the other side of Valentinusstraat, where the ground of the former AS Lindeman is situated (Valentinusstraat Oost / with AS Lindeman having been absorbed into K Helzold FC in 1998). Initially making use just of AS Lindeman’s B pitch – with the A pitch being in use by Berkenbos VV – the club probably took over the pitches of AS Lindeman entirely for their training sessions in 2006.
• 2010 / Having played in Provincial League 3 for 25 consecutive years, FC Anadol now finishes in last place in P3A, thus dropping back into Provincial League 4 along with second-last VK Gestel.
• 2015 / After several meagre seasons in the bottom half of the table in Provincial League 4, FC Anadol now clinches the title in P4A, 5 points ahead of FC Halveweg Zonhoven. As such, the club manages a return to Provincial League 3 after five years.
• 2016 / Going from strength to strength, FC Anadol wins the title in P3A in its first season back at this level, with a wholesome 10 point advantage over closest rivals – and sister club – Turkse FC from nearby Beringen. As a result, FC Anadol finds itself in Provincial League 2 for the first time in club history. Also in 2016, FC Anadol was allowed by the municipal authorities of Heusden-Zolder to use the pitches of the former K Vrijheid Zolder at Sint-Annastraat for training sessions.
• 2018 / Celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, FC Anadol acquires the royal epithet, thus officially becoming Koninklijke Football Club (KFC) Anadol.
• 2019 / After narrowly saving its skin in Provincial League 2 in the previous two seasons, KFC Anadol now cannot avoid the drop, finishing bottom of the P2A table and descending into P3 along with FC Maasland Noordoost.
• 2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short due to the COVID lockdown in March 2020, KFC Anadol are declared champions in P3B, having finished 3 points ahead of closest followers K Hechtel FC with 25 of 30 matches played. As such, the club is placed in Provincial League 2 for the new season.
• ± 2021 / KFC Anadol is given permission to start using Terrein Sint-Annastraat, ground of the former K Vrijheid Zolder, for some of its training sessions.
• 2022 / KFC Anadol finishes in fourth place in P2A, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by K HIH Hoepertingen (1-0). For the 2022-23 season, the squad of KFC Anadol is reinforced by 46-year-old Hakan Bayraktar, former player of KFC Lommel SK, Fenerbahçe SK, and a long string of other Turkish clubs – as well as a one-time Turkish international player.
• 2024 / Having narrowly staved off relegation the previous year, KFC Anadol now equals its result of the 2021-22 season, finishing in fourth place in P2B and qualifying for the promotion play-offs – in which, yet again, the club stumbles over the first hurdle, being eliminated in R1 by KRC Peer (1-3). Also in 2024, KFC Anadol moved the bulk of its lower team football to Terrein aan de Sint-Annastraat in Zolder.
• 2025 / Runners-up in Limburg's Provincial League 2B, 13 points behind runaway champions Kadijk SK, KFC Anadol qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by K Standaard Elen (6-4).
• 2026 / Champions in Limburg's Provincial League 2B, 1 point ahead of closest rivals KSK Meeuwen, KFC Anadol achieves a historic promotion to Provincial League 1. 

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

AUSTRIA: Krems-Steiner SC (1923-1924) / Kremser SC (1924-)

Sepp-Doll-Stadion, Krems an der Donau (Kremser SC, formerly Krems-Steiner SC)

Austria, state: Lower Austria

May 2024 / no match visited

Timeline

• 1919 / Foundation of two football clubs in Krems an der Donau, the socialist Eisenbahnersportverein (ESV) Vorwärts Krems and, later that same year, 1. Kremser Sport-Club (SC). The latter joins the Lower Austrian Football Association. Vorwärts is destined for an existence in the lower divisions in Lower Austria, although having a spell in the Lower Austrian State League, the fourth level of Austria’s football pyramid, in the 1970s.
• 1920 / Stressing its origin as a club founded in the town of Stein, just to the west of Krems, 1. Kremser SC adapts its name to become Krems-Steiner SC. 
• 1921 / Works get underway on the construction of a stadium for Krems-Steiner SC on an open field to the south-west of Krems’ public park, previously occupied by emergency barracks for the Austro-Hungarian army.
• 1923 / Inauguration of the Kremser Stadion. It is unclear where Krems-Steiner SC played in the four years previous to its move to this ground – and it is also unclear if ESV Vorwärts Krems became their groundsharers from the outset; it is clear that this club plays its football at the ground today.
• 1924 / Krems-Steiner SC changes its name to become Kremser SC.
• 1930 / Kremser SC wins the title in Division North of the Lower Austrian State League, going on to defeat Division South winner SC Bruck an der Mur (actually a club not from Lower Austria, but from Styria) to crown itself champion of Lower Austria. Subsequently, the club wins a set of play-off against the champions of the other states of Austria, eventually also seeing off FA Turnerbund Lustenau – the precursor of SC Austria Lustenau – in the final (8-5 aggr.), thus clinching the title of amateur football champions of Austria (with two professional divisions existing at the time).
• 1931 / Kremser SC wins the Lower Austrian State League for the second time.
• 1933 / Kremser SC wins the Lower Austrian State League for the third time.
• 1936 / Kremser SC wins the Lower Austrian Statal Cup.
• 1946 / Following the years of German occupation of Austria, during which Kremser SC played in the Bezirksliga Ost, the club is placed in Lower Austria’s Division 1 West.
• 1947 / Kremser SC descends into Division 2 West.
• 1950 / Kremser SC wins promotion to the reinstated Lower Austrian State League along with SC Siebenhirten and ÖMV Strasshof.
• 1954 / Winning the title in Lower Austria’s State League, 4 points ahead of closest followers SVgg Rottendorf, Kremser SC accedes to the Staatsliga B, the second tier of Austria’s football pyramid, for the first time. In its first season at this level, the club admirably holds its own, finishing in fifth place.
• 1956 / Runners-up in Staatsliga B, 2 points behind champions Wiener AC, Kremser SC qualifies for a promotion play-off against Schwarz-Weiss Bregenz, the winner of the Arlbergliga, winning the encounter (4-2 aggr.) to accede to Staatsliga A, the top flight of the Austrian football pyramid, for the first time in club history. In the following season, the club finishes in a respectable ninth position – with the home game against record champions SK Rapid drawing a record crowd of over 10,000 to the Kremser Stadion.
• 1959 / Repeating its result of two years before, Kremser SC finishes in ninth place in Staatsliga A.
• 1960 / Finishing in twelfth place in Staatsliga A, 1 point ahead of WSV Donauwitz which descends into Staatsliga B along with bottom club SK Admira Wien, Kremser SC has to play a promotion-relegation play-off against FC Dornbirn 1913, the champion of that year’s Arlbergliga, losing the encounter (6-5 aggr.) and thus descending into the Regionalliga, the second tier of the Austrian football pyramid following the abolition of Staatsliga B.
• 1966 / Finishing fourteenth and last in Regionalliga East, Kremser SC drops back into Lower Austria’s State League, i.e. the third tier of Austria’s football pyramid.
• 1969 / The Kremser Stadion hosts the fourth edition of the International Fire Brigade Games.
• 1974 / Champions in Lower Austria’s State League, 3 points ahead of closest followers ASV Hohenau, Kremser SC manages a return to Regionalliga East, which meanwhile has become the third tier of the Austrian football pyramid.
• 1976 / Clinching the title in Regionalliga East, 6 points ahead of closest rivals Floridsdorfer AC, Kremser AC wins promotion to the Second Division.
• 1977 / Finishing second-last in the Second Division, Kremser SC drops back into the Regionalliga after just one season, along with Wolfsberger AC and Salzburger AK 1914.
• 1983 / Winning the title in Lower Austria’s State League, which had replaced the Regionalliga as the third tier of Austria’s football pyramid three years previously, Kremser SC qualifies for a promotion play-off against SV Neuburg, winning the encounter comprehensively (10-1 aggr.) to return to the Second Division after an absence of six years.
• 1985 / Kremser SC, officially called SC Sparkasse Krems for sponsorship reasons at the time, finishes in third place in the Second Division, only 3 points behind champions Salzburger AK 1914.
• ± 1986 / In a thorough renovation of the Kremser Stadion, the runway track around the pitch is removed, while new open terraces are built on three sides – with the main stand with its wooden seats remaining in place.
• 1988 / Kremser SC wins the regular Second Division season, but fails to accede to the Bundesliga in the promotion-relegation play-offs. Also in 1988, the club sensationally wins the Austrian cup, defeating powerhouse FC Swarovski Tirol on away goals in the final (3-3 aggr.) – no doubt the biggest success in club history. The club goes on to lose the Super Cup against SK Rapid after a penalty shoot-out (1-1 A.E.T.), while being eliminated in R1 of the Cup Winners’ Cup by East Germany’s FC Carl-Zeiss Jena (5-1 aggr.). For the 1988-89 season, legendary Austrian international striker Hans Krankl, 35 years old by then, joins Kremser SC from Wiener SC, but he just manages 5 matches (1 goal) before moving to SV Austria Salzburg the following year. Moreover, in 1988, the Kremser Stadion is officially renamed the Sepp-Doll-Stadion in memory of a former club chairman.
• 1989 / Kremser SC wins the regular Second Division season, going on to finish in fourth place in the promotion-relegation play-offs against seven other teams, including the bottom four of the Bundesliga, thus gaining promotion to the top flight of Austrian football after an absence of 29 seasons.
• 1990 / Striker Mario Kempes, part of Argentina’s squad which won the 1978 World Cup, joins Kremser SC from derby rivals VSE Sankt Pölten. Kempes goes on to play two seasons in Krems, scoring 7 goals in 39 matches before hanging up his boots in 1992 at the age of 38.
• 1992 / Having avoided the drop in the two previous seasons, Kremser SC now finishes in tenth place in the regular Bundesliga season, going on to finish in seventh place (of eight teams) in the promotion-relegation play-offs, leading to the club descending into the Second Division along with First Vienna FC 1894 and Donauwitzer SV Alpine.
• 1994 / With only two wins in the entire season, Kremser SC finishes bottom of the table in the Second Division, thus descending into the Regionalliga along with Favoritner AC and WSG Swarovski Wattens.
• 1995 / Finishing second-last in the Regionalliga East, Kremser SC suffers its second relegation in a row, dropping back into the State League, the fourth tier of Austria’s football pyramid, along with SC Eisenstadt, SR Donaufeld, and bottom club FC Stadlau.
• 2000 / Inauguration of Kremser SC’s 
• 2001 / Winning the title in Lower Austria’s State League, Kremser SC manages a return to Regionalliga East.
• 2002 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Regionalliga East, Kremser SC avoids the drop by just 1 point at the expense of SC Zwettl.
• 2007 / Having spent several seasons in mid-table security in Regionalliga East, Kremser SC now finishes in fourteenth place, 5 points short of security, thus descending back to the State League level along with VfB Admira Wacker Mödling Amateure and SC Ritzing.
• 2009 / In one of the low points in club history, Kremser SC drops out of Lower Austria’s State League, descending into the Second State League (West).
• 2013 / The main stand of the Sepp-Doll-Stadion is equipped with plastic seats.
• 2014 / Winning the title in Lower Austria’s Second State League (West), Kremser SC manages a return to the fourth tier of the football pyramid. Also, in 2013 and 2014, the club manages a spell of 42 matches without defeat, thereby breaking Wiener SC’s 55-year-old record of 41 matches without defeat in one of Austria’s top-four divisions.
• 2015 / Officially taking on the name SC Steinertor Krems for sponsorship reasons, Kremser SC finishes in second place in Lower Austria’s State League behind champions ASK Ebreichsdorf. Moreover, the club wins Lower Austria’s Statal Cup for the first time since 1936.
• 2022 / Runners-up in Lower Austria’s State League, Kremser SC play a promotion-relegation play-off against SV Donau, winning the encounter due to a Kurt Starkl goal in added-on time – and thus returning to Regionalliga East after an absence of fifteen years.

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