K.V. Oostende
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| Full name | Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | De Kustboys | |||
| Short name | Oostende | |||
| Founded | 1904 | |||
| Dissolved | 14 May 2024 | |||
| Ground | Diaz Arena, Ostend | |||
| Capacity | 8,400[1] | |||
| 2023–24 | Challenger Pro League, 13th of 16 | |||
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Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende (Dutch pronunciation: [kaːˌveː oːstˈɛndə]) or KVO, was a Belgian professional football club based in Ostend, West Flanders. The team was founded in 1904 as VG Oostende and had matricule number 31. The club was declared bankrupt in June 2024.
History
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In 1911, another club was created, AS Oostende, which would soon become the best club of the city, playing regularly in the second division in the 1930s. In the mid-1970s, AS reached the first division while VG was playing at the second level.
The two clubs merged in 1981 to become KV Oostende. The new club played in the third division for eleven years, before finally being promoted. In its first season on the second level, Oostende were immediately promoted again, to the first division, where it would achieve its best result in the club history: a seventh place, in 1993–94.
From 1995 to 2013, Oostende played in the second division, except in 1998–99 and 2004–05, when it was at the higher level again, and in 2001–02 and 2002–03, when it played in the third division.
In 1982, one year after the merger, VG Oostende had been re-founded at the lowest level of the Belgian football competition. The club first used the Armenonville stadium, which was the original ground of VG. In 2001, the stadium was declared unsafe, so the club had to groundshare with KV Oostende in the Albertparkstadion, until 2010. In 2013, the new VG Oostende also disappeared, after a financial breakdown.
In August 2013, shortly after a new promotion to the highest level, it was announced that chairman and majority shareholder Yves Lejaeghere would be succeeded by a new chairman, businessman Marc Coucke.
In the spring of 2016, the main tribune of the Albertparkstadion was rebuilt and the stadium was renamed the Versluys Arena with the capacity increased to 8,432.
Thanks to its success in the previous campaign, Oostende played in the third qualifying round of the Europa League in the 2017–18 season. The team drew French giants Marseille. Oostende was unable to go any further in the competition after losing 4–2 in France on 17 July 2017 and only securing a goalless draw at home on 3 August 2017. While Oostende were clear underdogs, the KVO supporters filled the visitor section of the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, proud of the team's qualification after having only been promoted to Belgium's first division a few years ago. Marseille would go on to reach the finals in the Europa League that season, falling short to Atlético Madrid.
After a disappointing beginning to the 2017–18 season, manager Yves Vanderhaeghe was set free of his obligations, with the assistant manager, Adnan Čustović, being asked to take over.[2][3]
In December 2017 Marc Coucke announced that he would be leaving, after recently purchasing Anderlecht. It was then announced on 8 February 2018 that Peter Callant would replace Coucke as chairman. Coucke confirmed his continued interest in the club and that he remained a fan and would stay on as a minority shareholder.[4]
In May 2020 an investment group acquired KV Oostende Football Club and the new investors include Pacific Media Group, Chien Lee, Partners Path Capital and Krishen Sud.[5]
On 15 April 2023, KV Oostende was officially relegated from the Belgian Pro League to the Challenger Pro League after being defeated 4–0 by OH Leuven after ten years in the top tier.[6][7] On 21 December 2023, the club incurred a deduction of three points, followed by an additional six points on 22 December.[8] As a result, KV Oostende found themselves bottom of the Challenger Pro League standings with only seven points. These penalties stemmed from the club's failure to meet repayment deadlines, compounded by their existing debt of €8 million.[9]
On 16 May 2024, it was announced that the club would file for bankruptcy on 3 June 2024 due to the failure to obtain a professional license, an insurmountable debt burden for the Belgian Division 2, and a failed takeover. On 4 June, the commercial court in Bruges declared KV Oostende bankrupt. On 13 June, it was revealed that newly promoted third-tier club KSV Diksmuide intended to collaborate with the city of Ostend to form a new team under the name Koninklijke Voetbalclub Diksmuide-Oostende. The youth teams of Diksmuide and Ostend would continue training at their current facilities, while the first team would play its matches at the stadium in Ostend.[10][11]
Honours
[edit]- Belgian Cup:
- Runners-up: 2016–17
- Belgian Second Division:
- Winners (2): 1997–98, 2012–13
- Belgian Second Division final round:
- Winners (2): 1992–93, 2003–04
Managers
[edit]Han Grijzenhout (1981–82)
Nedeljko Bulatović (1982–84)
Luc Sanders (1986–87)
Kenneth Brylle (1 July 2001 – 30 June 2003)
Adnan Čustović (interim) (17 September 2017 – 17 October 2017)
Kåre Ingebrigtsen (2019)
Alexander Blessin (7 June 2020 – 19 January 2022)
Dominik Thalhammer (1 November 2022 – 30 June 2023)
Jamath Shoffner (15 January 2024 – 4 June 2024)
References
[edit]- ^ "Versluys Arena". kvo.be. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ "KVO neemt afscheid van Yves Vanderhaeghe". Archived from the original on 24 September 2017.
- ^ "Adnan Custovic blijft hoofdtrainer van KVO". Archived from the original on 2 March 2018.
- ^ "PETER CALLANT NIEUWE EIGENAAR & VOORZITTER KV OOSTENDE". Archived from the original on 13 February 2018.
- ^ "New investors for KV Oostende FC"
- ^ "KV Oostende degradeert na zware thuisnederlaag tegen OH Leuven" [KV Oostende relegated after heavy home defeat against OH Leuven]. De Morgen (in Flemish). 15 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "Helemaal kopje-onder: KV Oostende kan niet toveren en zakt uit de eerste klasse" [Completely submerged: KV Oostende unable to perform magic and drops out of the first division]. sporza (in Dutch). 15 April 2023. Archived from the original on 24 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "Clubs in de problemen: KV Oostende verliest nóg eens 6 punten, Standard krijgt transferverbod" [Clubs in trouble: KV Oostende loses another 6 points, Standard receives transfer ban]. sporza (in Dutch). 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ Bervoet, Dries (14 February 2024). "Noodlijdende club KV Oostende rapporteert verlies van 6 miljoen euro" [Struggling club KV Oostende reports a loss of 6 million euros]. De Tijd (in Flemish). Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "Oostende en KSV Diksmuide kondigen verloving aan: "Willen het beste van beide steden verenigen"". sporza (in Dutch). 13 June 2024. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ Van Assche, Timmy (10 June 2024). "Mooi verhaal met doorstart in derde nationale in de maak voor KV Oostende: "Deze deal is echter zeker nog niet rond"". KW.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
External links
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