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| Full name | Koninklijke Voetbal Club Westerlo | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | De Kemphanen (The Campine roosters) | |||
| Founded | 5 September 1933; 92 years ago (5 September 1933) | |||
| Ground | Het Kuipje | |||
| Capacity | 8,035[1] | |||
| Chairman | Oktay Ercan | |||
| Head coach | Issame Charaï | |||
| League | Belgian Pro League | |||
| 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League, 11th of 16 | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Koninklijke Voetbal Club Westerlo (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈkoːnɪŋkləkəˈvudbɑlˌklʏpˈʋɛstərloː]; often simply calledWesterlo) is aBelgian professionalfootball club located in the municipality ofWesterlo in the province ofAntwerp. Since1997–98, Westerlo has been mostly playing in theBelgian Pro League, save for a short stint in theBelgian Second Division between 2012 and 2014. Their highest finish is a 6th place in1999–00,2003–04 and2008–09. They have won oneBelgian Cup. The only player who has ever been called up for theBelgium national football team while at Westerlo isToni Brogno (7 caps, all of them while at Westerlo).
The club was founded in 1933, receiving thematricule number 2024. Their colours are yellow and blue. They play their home matches at theHet Kuipje.
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 clubBist 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 foundWesterlo Sport, the ancestor ofK.V.C. Westerlo. In 1939, the club won itsleague 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 calledV.C. Westerlo.
It became champion of theAntwerp second division in 1960. Eight years later it played its first season at the national level inPromotion and it won its league to play thethird division in 1969. At the end of the season, Westerlo missed a third title in a row, finishing second behindEupen. 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 thesecond division and then to the first division in 1997. In 1996, the club added the prefixKoninklijke (meaning "Royal" inDutch) 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'.[2]
Westerlo plays its home matches atHet Kuipje, which is Dutch for "The Cockpit". Its capacity is 8,035.[1]
| Competition | Appearances | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Cup / Europa League | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
| Season | Competition | Round | Nat | Club | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R |  | Primorje | 0–6 | 0–5 |
| 2001–02 | UEFA Cup | 1R |  | Hertha Berlin | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| 2004 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 2R |  | Tescoma Zlín | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| 2011–12 | UEFA Europa League | Q2 |  | TPS Turku | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Q3 |  | Young Boys | 0–2 | 1–3 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Issame Charaï |
| Assistant coach(es) |  Bart Goor Kevin Van Haesendonck |
| Goalkeeping coach(es) | Paul Peeters Vladan Kujović |
| Fitness coach | Damien Broothaerts |
| Head of scouting | Niel Cuijvers |
| Scout | Francesco Carratta Stan Van den Buijs |
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 (1995)Franky Dekenne (1996)Jos Heyligen (1996–99)Jan Ceulemans (1 July 1999 – 30 June 2005)Herman Helleputte (1 July 2005 – 30 June 2007)Jan Ceulemans (1 July 2007 – 19 May 2012)Frank Dauwen (22 May 2012 – 18 April 2013)Dennis Van Wijk (1 May 2013 – 3 January 2015)Harm van Veldhoven (6 January 2015 – 25 November 2015)Bob Peeters (26 November 2015 – 13 September 2016)Jacky Mathijssen (14 September 2016 – 20 June 2017)
Vedran Pelić (21 June 2017 – 4 December 2017)Bob Peeters (5 December 2017 – 30 June 2021)Jonas De Roeck (1 July 2021 – 2 December 2023)Bart Goor (3 December 2023 – 11 December 2023)(caretaker)Rik De Mil (12 December 2023 – 18 March 2024)Bart Goor (19 March 2024 – 30 June 2024)(caretaker)Timmy Simons (Since 1 July 2024)
