K Beerschot VA

Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen, or simply Beerschot, is a Belgian professional football club located in Antwerp, that competes in the First Division A. 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 license 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.

Beerschot
Full nameKoninklijke Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen
Nickname(s)De Kielse Ratten
De Mannekes
Purple White Army
Founded1921 (1921)
GroundOlympisch Stadion
Antwerp, Belgium
Capacity12,771[1][2]
ChairmanFrancis Vrancken
ManagerWilliam Still
LeagueFirst Division A
2019–20Belgian First Division B, 5th (promoted)
WebsiteClub website

History

KFCO Wilrijk

The 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. Unfortunately 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

After 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, which is quite a feat. This reputation was upheld during away games by bringing on average over 1500 fans, whom took pride in causing friendly banter in the most obscurely hidden cities and stadiums that the province of Antwerp holds. The club's success and vibe often lead to opponents renting bigger stadiums because the prospected attendance exceeds their own stadium capacity.

Old logo used until 2019 when the name was changed from Beerschot Wilrijk to Beerschot

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

In 2019, the club changed its name to Beerschot, and also changed the club logo.

Results

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. Quarter-finals
2019–20   5               First Division B 43   Promoted. Winner of second period with 26 points. Sixth Round
2020–21                 First Division A  
  • As a result, KFCO BW remained in the third division.

Current squad

As of 29 January 2021[5]

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 Wouter Biebauw
2 DF  BEL Jan Van den Bergh
3 DF  UKR Denis Prychynenko
4 DF  BEL Frédéric Frans
5 MF  BEL Joren Dom
7 FW  NGA Blessing Eleke
8 MF  AUT Raphael Holzhauser
9 FW  CMR Marius Noubissi
10 FW  JPN Musashi Suzuki
15 DF  FRA Pierre Bourdin
16 MF  BEL Tom Pietermaat
18 MF  BEL Ryan Sanusi
19 MF  BEL Keres Masangu
21 MF  ENG George Broadbent (on loan from Sheffield United)
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 MF  GAM Abdoulie Sanyang
24 DF  KAZ Yan Vorogovskiy
27 DF  ALG Réda Halaïmia
28 MF  MLI Ismaila Coulibaly (on loan from Sheffield United)
31 GK  BEL Mike Vanhamel
36 MF  BEL Senne Ceulemans
37 MF  BEL Isaac Matondo Kwanzambi
38 FW  BEL David Mukuna-Trouet
72 GK  BEL Antoine Lejoly
79 DF  BEL Ayrton Mboko
89 DF  BEL Grégory Grisez
92 FW  BEL Loris Brogno
FW  BEL Zakaria Bakkali (on loan from Anderlecht)
DF  CRO Stipe Radić

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
6 DF  BEL Dario Van den Buijs (at Fortuna Sittard)
11 FW  TOG Euloge Placca (at Lierse Kempenzonen)
13 FW  CGO Prince Ibara (at Neftçi)
17 FW  BEL Brian De Keersmaecker (at FC Eindhoven)
77 MF  BEL Jorn Vancamp (at FC Eindhoven)
99 FW  BRA Felipe Micael (at Al Hilal United FC)

Managers

Season Manager
2013–2014 Urbain Spaenhoven
2014–2015 Urbain Spaenhoven
2015–2016 Urbain Spaenhoven/ Dennis van Wijk
2016–2017 Marc Brys
2017–2018 Marc Brys
2018–2019 Stijn Vreven
2019–2021 Hernán Losada
2021– William Still

Club captains

Season Player
2013–2014 Davy De Smedt
2014–2015 Davy De Smedt
2015–2016 Davy De Smedt/Hannes Meeus
2016–2017 Jaric Schaessens
2018–2019 Tom Van Hyfte
2019–present Mike Vanhamel

Top scorers

Season Player Goals
2013–2014 Peter Nijs28
2014–2015 Dyron Daal18
2015–2016 Hernán Losada10
2016–2017 Hernán Losada15
2017–2018 Hernán Losada10
2018–2019 Dante Vanzeir16
2019–2020 Raphael Holzhauser8

References

  1. Het Olympisch Stadion op het Kiel
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2018-04-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) kfco.ibiscommunications.be (last check 30/03/2018)
  3. 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.
  4. Saudische prins investeert in Beerschot Wilrijk - GVA (in Dutch)
  5. https://www.beerschot.be/nl/team
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