Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnəŋkləkə ˈbeːrsxɔt ˈvudbɑlklʏp ˈɑntʋɛrpə(n)]), or simply Beerschot, is a Belgian professional football club located in Antwerp, that competes in the top tier Pro League after promotion from second tier in 2023–24 season. In 2013, KFCO Wilrijk decided to integrate the identity of Beerschot AC when they were relegated in the 2012–13 season, not only through their league position but also due to losing their professional licence through financial issues, being officially declared bankrupt on 21 May 2013 and folding shortly afterwards. The club colours are purple and white, they play their games on the club's home ground the Olympic Stadium often referred to as 't Kiel.
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| Full name | Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen | ||
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| Nickname(s) | De Kielse Ratten De Mannekes Purple White Army | ||
| Founded | 2013 | ||
| Ground | Olympisch Stadion Antwerp, Belgium | ||
| Capacity | 12,771[1][2] | ||
| Owner | Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud | ||
| Chairman | Francis Vrancken | ||
| Manager | Dirk Kuyt | ||
| League | Pro League | ||
| 2023–24 | Challenger Pro League, 1st of 16 (champions) | ||
| Website | www | ||
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History
editKFCO Wilrijk
editThe club was founded in 1921 as Football Club Wilrijk and joined The Belgian football association.
As a result of the introduction of a national third division in 1926, the club played national football for the first time in their then short existence. The club ended third last, leading to their relegation after just one season. In 1931 the number of participants in the divisions was increased, causing FC Wilrijk to be included on the national level for the second time. FC Wilrijk lasted two seasons before being relegated again.
In 1935 the club was promoted once more. Unlike their previous third division stays, FC Wilrijk showcased dominant football. This resulted in a 3rd position in the 1935–36 season and even becoming third division champions in the 1936–37 season. After winning their division the club was promoted to the second division lasting two seasons before being relegated in 1939. After a lengthy stay in the third division, FC Wilrijk was relegated to the Provincial division in 1949 which set a trend for the following decades.
In 1993 KFC Wilrijk merged with Olympia Wilrijk 72. This other Wilrijk-based club, was founded in 1972 and part of the Royal Belgian Football Association, being assigned the association number 7727. Both clubs shared forces as KFC Olympia Wilrijk and continued under KFC Wilrijks association number 155.
In 1994, the club reached the 4th division, playing national football for the first time in 45 years. In the 1995–96 season KFCO Olympia Wilrijk came in 3rd only two points short of standing victorious in their division. After eight years KFC Olympia Wilrijk ended third last, which led to being relegated. Their absence was short-lived however, as KFC Olympia Wilrijk was promoted the following year resulting in a three-year stay before being relegated. In 2008 the club was promoted again, only to be relegated in 2010.
FCO Beerschot Wilrijk
editAfter Beerschot AC's bankruptcy in 2013, KFCO Wilrijk decided to harbour its fans. KFCO Wilrijk followed up by incorporating the name Beerschot and their respective colours in their own identity. The KBVB however decided that due to the name change, the club was no longer eligible to use the handle "royal" in their club name. Hence the club's name is FCO Beerschot Wilrijk rather than KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk. In order to retrieve their "royal" status, FCO Beerschot Wilrijk filed a successful application in June 2017.
FCO Beerschot Wilrijk, became an instant success. Their season opener against Ternesse VV was attended by 8500 fans, which was a record for the Belgian provincial division at the time. This record was broken on 15 February 2014 during their game against fierce title contender FC De Kempen which was attended by 8982 fans and topped again, during their title game against KFC Katelijne-Waver on 22 March. This game was attended by almost 12000 fans and won by 5–0, gaining the club mathematic certainty about crowning themselves 2013–14 division champions.
Due to the club's high attendance – weekly attendance that tops several first division teams – KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk is required to play their home games at the Olympisch Stadion (city of Antwerp) to guarantee the safety of their fans. This is the home ground of the fallen Beerschot VAC. The club reached an average of 7000 fans at home games during its first season in the 1st division of the province of Antwerp. The club's success and vibe often lead to opponents renting bigger stadiums because the prospected attendance exceeds their own stadium capacity.[citation needed]
For the 2014–15 season, FCO Beerschot Wilrijk was promoted to the 4th division in Belgian national football. In mid-March 2015, they held a 10-point lead over their closest rival.[3] They were promoted to third division as champions of their group. In 2015–2016 they became champions of the third division after a sensational winning goal in the last minute of their last game. In 2016–2017 they became the first champion of the new '1st Amateur League' and gained promotion to the Proximus League, the second tier of Belgian football.
In February 2018, Saudi prince Abdullah bin Musa'ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, owner of the English Premier League side Sheffield United, announced his investment in Beerschot alongside Belgian construction company DCA.[4]
Beerschot
editIn 2019, the club changed its name to Beerschot, and also changed the club logo.
They played in the Challenger Pro League for three seasons, and played the promotion final each year. Finally, after losing to Cercle Brugge K.S.V. and K.V. Mechelen, they gained promotion to the Belgian Belgian First Division A at the end of the 2019-2020 season.
In 2021–22, Beerschot were relegated to the Challenger Pro League, the second tier of Belgian football after finishing 18th in the Belgian Pro League
In 2023–24, Beerschot secured promotion to the Belgian Pro League for the 2024–25 season after a two year absence, after winning the Challenger Pro League
Results
edit| Season | League | Division | Points | Remarks | Belgian Cup | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | II | III | IV | P.I | P.II | P.III | P.IV | ||||||
| 2013–14 | 1 | First Provincial League | 70 | Promotion. | |||||||||
| 2014–15 | 1 | Fourth Division C | 71 | Promotion. | Fifth round | ||||||||
| 2015–16 | 1 | Third Division B | 71 | Promotion. | Third round | ||||||||
| Reformation of the Belgian football league system* | |||||||||||||
| IA | IB | IAm | IIAm | IIIAm | P.I | P.II | P.III | P.IV | |||||
| 2016–17 | 1 | First Amateur Division | 53 | Promotion. Ranked first with 80 points. | Fifth round | ||||||||
| 2017–18 | 3 | First Division B | 46 | Winner of the first period title with 29 points. | Sixth round | ||||||||
| 2018–19 | 2 | First Division B | 54 | Winner of the second period title with 30 points. | Seventh Round | ||||||||
| 2019–20 | 5 | First Division B | 43 | Promoted. Winner of second period with 26 points. | Sixth round | ||||||||
| 2020–21 | 9 | First Division A | 47 | Seventh Round | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | 18 | First Division A | 16 | Relegation to Challenger Pro League | Seventh Round | ||||||||
| 2022–23 | 3 | Challenger Pro League | 49 | Sixth round | |||||||||
| 2023–24 | 1 | 56 | Promotion to Belgian Pro League | Seventh round | |||||||||
| 2024–25 | Belgian Pro League | TBD Round | |||||||||||
- As a result, KFCO BW remained in the third division.
Current squad
edit- As of 29 September 2024[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club staff
edit| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Francis Vrancken
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| Owner |  Abdullah bin Musaid bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud
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| Director | Frédéric Van Den Steen Walter Damen Luc Neefs Abdullah Alghamdi Saad Allazeez Lucas Houben Philippe Verellen
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| Manager |  Dirk Kuyt
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| Assistant manager | Dirk Heesen Frank Magerman
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| First-team coach | Diego Poppe
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| Goalkeeping coach | Raymond Mulder
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| Video analyst | Patrice Pfeiffer
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| Head of performance | Gianni Chiffi
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| Doctor | Dr. Kris Peeters
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| Physiotherapist | Olivier Meul Linske Peeters Benny Begine
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| Managing Director | Gunther Dieltjens
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| Technical director | Sander Van Praet Jan Van Winckel
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Managers
edit| Season | Manager |
|---|---|
| 2013–2014 | Urbain Spaenhoven
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| 2014–2015 | Urbain Spaenhoven
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| 2015–2016 | Urbain Spaenhoven/ Dennis van Wijk
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| 2016–2017 | Marc Brys
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| 2017–2018 | Marc Brys
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| 2018–2019 | Stijn Vreven
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| 2019–2021 |  Hernán Losada
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| 2021 | William Still
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| 2021 | Peter Maes
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| 2021–2022 | Javier Torrente
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| 2022 | Greg Vanderidt
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| 2022–2023 |  Andreas Wieland
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| 2023–present | Dirk Kuyt
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Club captains
edit| Season | Player |
|---|---|
| 2013–2014 | Davy De Smedt
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| 2014–2015 | Davy De Smedt
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| 2015–2016 | Davy De Smedt/Hannes Meeus
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| 2016–2017 | Jaric Schaessens
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| 2018–2019 | Tom Van Hyfte
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| 2019–2021 | Mike Vanhamel
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| 2022–present | Ryan Sanusi
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Top scorers
edit| Season | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2013–2014 | Peter Nijs |
28 |
| 2014–2015 |  Dyron Daal |
18 |
| 2015–2016 | Hernán Losada |
10 |
| 2016–2017 | Hernán Losada |
15 |
| 2017–2018 | Hernán Losada |
10 |
| 2018–2019 | Dante Vanzeir |
16 |
| 2019–2020 | Raphael Holzhauser |
8 |
| 2020–2021 | Raphael Holzhauser |
16 |
| 2021–2022 | Joren Dom |
5 |
| 2022–2023 | Thibo Baeten |
13 |
| 2023–2024 | Tom Reyners |
10 |
| 2024–2025 |
Affiliated clubs
editThe following clubs are currently affiliated with:[6][7]
Sheffield United FC (2020–present)
Kerala United FC (2020–present)
Al-Hilal United (2020–present)
LB Châteauroux (2020–present)
References
edit- ^ "Het Olympisch Stadion op het Kiel". Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "Beerschot | Wilrijk". Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) kfco.ibiscommunications.be (last check 30 March 2018) - ^ Hellemans, Koen. "Beerschot-Wilrijk wint voor 11.500 fans met 4–0 topper en is op weg naar derde". hln.be. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ^ Saudische prins investeert in Beerschot Wilrijk - GVA (in Dutch)
- ^ "Team | Beerschot".
- ^ EPL side Sheffield United owners seal takeover of Indian club Calicut Quartz and rename it Kerala United FC. spotik.in. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
- ^ Muralidharan, Ashwin (12 October 2020). "Indian football: Kerala's football passion gets the Sheffield United seal of 'approval'!". www.goal.com. Goal. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.