KFC Turnhout

K.F.C. Turnhout was founded as Turnhout Sport in 1912 with matricule n°148. After World War I, the club was refounded as F.C. Turnhout with the same matriculation. Turnhout managed to advance through the lower leagues, to play twice in the first division: in 1931 and 1936.

The second division was their main stay afterwards, until the club was relegated to the third division in 1952. That same year the club was awarded the Royal title Koninklijke, and was called K.F.C. Turnhout onwards. In 1963, again promotion to the first division was achieved, as second division club Thor Waterschei that came in second that year was faced with a bribery scandal. However, the next year, Turnhout itself came under suspicion, and the club was relegated from the top flight even though it finished third last in the standings that year.

The next seasons, Turnhout played in the second division, until it was relegated in 1977 to the third division, where they would stay until 1990. In 1991, the 25-year top scorer of the club and second division, Luc De Rijck, suffered a heart attack while visiting the club's physician. It became apparent later that the doctor had applied blood doping to the player, but because of a wrongful connection in the machinery, an air embolism developed in the player's body. The doctor later faced a criminal conviction.[1]

During the 1990s, the club came close on several occasions to win promotion again to the first division, but failed each time in the play-offs. After financial problems, the club degraded to the fourth division, and the club's old ground, the Villapark, had to be sold. New management took over the club, and the club was renamed to K.V. Turnhout. In 2007, the club was sold to the Wadi Degla company of Egypt, which also owns Lierse S.K.. During the 2009–10 season, both Turnhout and Lierse played in the second division, therefore Wadi Degla suspended sponsorship of Turnhout for a year.

• Fuat Çapa (2001–04)
• René Desaeyere (2006–09)
• Luc Beyens (2009–)

As of 25 February, 2018.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  BEL Wim Horsten 24 GK  BEL Olivier Wynants 25 GK  BEL Matthias Turelinckx 2 DF  BEL Kevin Eyeson 3 DF  BEL Gert Michiels 4 DF  NED Sjors Paridaans 5 DF  BEL Yannis Van Parys 16 DF  BEL Mathias Eelen 20 DF  BEL Guerschom Mafete

No. Pos. Nation Player 8 MF  BEL Lennert Versmissen 10 MF  BEL Tom Proost 13 MF  BEL Nick Van De Walle 14 MF  BEL Jef coeckelbergs 15 MF  BEL Joachim Machielsen 18 MF  BEL Niels Van De Vel 7 FW  BEL Steven Dillien 9 FW  BEL Jelle Schijvenaars 11 FW  BEL Stef Goossens

• (in Dutch) Official website