Koninklijk (, Dutch for 'royal') is an honorary title given to certain companies and non-profit organisations in the Netherlands and to a lesser extent Belgium, by the monarchs of each country. It was first introduced by Louis Bonaparte in 1807, then Kin ...

e Voetbal Club Westerlo (; often simply called Westerlo) is a Belgian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club located in the municipality of

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...

in the province of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. Since 1997–98, Westerlo has been mostly playing in the

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

, save for a short stint in the

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

between 2012 and 2014. Their highest finish is a 6th place in 1999–00, 2003–04 and 2008–09. They have won one

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

. The only player who has ever been called up for the

Belgium national football team The Belgium national football team has represented Belgium in men's international Association football, football since Évence Coppée Trophy, their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in E ...

while at Westerlo is Toni Brogno (7 caps, all of them while at Westerlo). The club was founded in 1933, receiving the matricule number 2024. Their colours are yellow and blue. They play their home matches at the

Het Kuipje 't Kuipje () is a multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept u ...

History

K.V.C. Westerlo was founded in the city of Westerlo by students in 1917, and it was named Sportkring De Bist Westerlo. After five years of existence, the club retired. The club Bist Sport was created in 1931 and it changed its name to Sportkring Westerlo two years later. At that time. some players left the club to found Westerlo Sport, the ancestor of K.V.C. Westerlo. In 1939, the club won its league for the first time. Five years later, Sportkring Westerlo and dissident Westerlo Sport decided to merge in spite of the rivalry between the teams, and the new club was called V.C. Westerlo. It became champion of the Antwerp second division in 1960. Eight years later it played its first season at the national level in

Promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

and it won its league to play the third division in 1969. At the end of the season, Westerlo missed a third title in a row, finishing second behind

Eupen Eupen (, , ; ; ; former ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Liège Province, province of Liège, from the Germany, German border (Aachen ...

. The next year, the club was relegated after the playoff and it stayed in the Promotion for ten seasons. The club then underwent two relegations in a row and thus played in the Antwerp second division in 1982–83. Westerlo was then promoted for three consecutive years to qualify for the third division once again. In 1993, the club promoted to the second division and then to the first division in 1997. In 1996, the club added the prefix ''

e'' (meaning "Royal" in

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

) to its name. On 18 June 2019 it was officially announced that the club was taken over by Turkish businessman Oktay Ercan. He immediately made it clear that KVC Westerlo will remain a regional family club, and that more attention will be paid to the social dimension and sporting ambitions. Ercan expressed his commitment in 2019 to a year-long plan called 'KVC Westerlo 2024'.

Stadium

Westerlo plays its home matches at

, which is Dutch for "The Cockpit". Its capacity is 8,035.

Honours

Belgian First Division B The Challenger Pro League, previously known as 1B Pro League is the second-highest division in the Football in Belgium, Belgian football Belgian football league system, league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the ...

**Winners (2): 2013–14, 2021–22 **Runners-up (1): 1996–97 *

Belgian Second Division final round The Belgian Second Division play-offs were a series of playoff matches to decide promotion to the Belgian Pro League, organised between 1974 and 2015. Following a large reform of the Belgian football league system at the end of the 2015–16 seaso ...

**Winners (1): 1997 *

: **Winners (1): 2000–01 **Runners-up (1):

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

* Belgian Supercup **Runners-up (1): 2001

European record

Current squad

Out on loan

Coaching staff

Managers

* Louis Leysen (1982–84) * Jos Heyligen (1984–86) * Marcel Corens (1986–88) * Dirk Verbraken (1989) * Raymond Jaspers (1989) * Dirk Verbraken (1990–92) * Jos Heyligen (1992–93) * Werner Helsen (1993) * Stef Verelst (1993) * Barry Hulshoff (1994–95) *

Erwin Vandenbergh Erwin Vandenbergh (; born 26 January 1959) is a Belgian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Between 1979 and 1991, he finished six times as topscorer of the Belgian First Division (a still standing record), with three clu ...

(1995) * Franky Dekenne (1996) * Jos Heyligen (1996–99) *

Jan Ceulemans Jan Anna Gumaar Ceulemans (; born 28 February 1957) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as midfielder. A prolific goalscorer, Ceulemans was known for his stamina, aerial ability, technique and was also recognized as one of th ...

(1 July 1999 – 30 June 2005) * Herman Helleputte (1 July 2005 – 30 June 2007) *

(1 July 2007 – 19 May 2012) * Frank Dauwen (22 May 2012 – 18 April 2013) *

Dennis Van Wijk Dennis Johannes van Wijk (; born 16 December 1962) is a Dutch association football, football coach and former football player. Van Wijk was a left-back who began his career in the youth system of Ajax Amsterdam. He was unable to break into the ...

(1 May 2013 – 3 January 2015) * Harm van Veldhoven (6 January 2015 – 25 November 2015) *

Bob Peeters Bob Peeters (born 10 January 1974) is a Belgian football executive and former player and manager. He currently serves as sporting director of Challenger Pro League club Beveren. Club career Lierse Noted for his large stature, measuring 1.96 m ...

(26 November 2015 – 13 September 2016) * Jacky Mathijssen (14 September 2016 – 20 June 2017) * Vedran Pelić (21 June 2017 – 4 December 2017) *

(5 December 2017 – 30 June 2021) * Jonas De Roeck (1 July 2021 – 2 December 2023) *

Bart Goor Bart Goor (; born 9 April 1973) is a Belgian football manager and former professional international footballer who played as a left winger. Club career Geel Goor began his professional career representing K.F.C. Verbroedering Geel in 1991 havi ...

(3 December 2023 – 11 December 2023) ''(caretaker)'' * Rik De Mil (12 December 2023 – 18 March 2024) *

(19 March 2024 – 30 June 2024) ''(caretaker)'' *

Timmy Simons Timmy Simons (born 11 December 1976) is a Belgian professional association football, football coach and a former defensive midfielder who is the manager of K.V.C. Westerlo, Westerlo. He was known for his tireless work ethic and Penalty kick (a ...

(Since 1 July 2024)

References

External links

Official Website

KVC Westerlo at Weltfussball.de

KVC Westerlo at national Football Teams.com

KVC Westerlo at Football-Lineups.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westerlo Association football clubs established in 1933 Football clubs in Belgium 1933 establishments in Belgium Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage Belgian Pro League clubs Westerlo Sport in Antwerp Province