 | |||
| Full name | Oud-Heverlee Leuven | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short name | OHL, OH Leuven | ||
| Founded | 2002; 23 years ago (2002) | ||
| Ground | Den Dreef | ||
| Capacity | 10,020[1] | ||
| Owner | King Power | ||
| Chairman | Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha | ||
| Head coach | Felice Mazzù | ||
| League | Belgian Pro League | ||
| 2024–25 | Belgian Pro League, 12th of 16 | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Oud-Heverlee Leuven (Flemish pronunciation:[ʌutˈɦeːvərˌleːˈløːvə(n)]), also calledOH Leuven orOHL, is a Belgian professionalfootball club from the city ofLeuven. It was created in 2002 from the merger of three clubs,F.C. Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee, whose registration number it inherited,Daring Club Leuven, andStade Leuven. The club's home ground isDen Dreef, located inHeverlee. The club currently plays in the country's first division, theBelgian Pro League.
F.C. Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee was founded in 1957, climbing out of the provincial leagues in 1996 and winning theBelgian Fourth Division title during the 1999–2000 season. Promoted to theBelgian Third Division they joined their Leuven neighboursStade Leuven, founded in 1905, which had played over 30 seasons in the Belgian Second Division and one year in the First in the1949–50 season. As of 2002[update], F.C. Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee was in bad financial shape, moving up and down between third and fourth division since 1991.
In 2002, the city of Leuven decided that both Third division teams,Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee andK. Stade Leuven, would merge also with the third club from Leuven, K. Daring Club Leuven, which was at that time playing at the fifth level of the league.Daring Club Leuven was founded in 1922, had played several seasons in the Belgian Second Division, and after being the leading club from the Leuven region between 1958 and 1964, had dropped down into the provincial leagues in 1979 and stayed there since. The new club took over the registration of Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee, and started playing in the Belgian Third Division under the name Oud-Heverlee Leuven.
At the end of its first season, the club narrowly lost out on promotion, going down on penalty kicks toEendracht Aalst in the Third division play-off final, after finishing 2nd in the3rd division B, 5 points behind championsTubize. After a 3rd place in the same division in season 2003–04, Oud-Heverlee Leuven finished 2nd once again in season 2004–05 and this time they did win the promotion play-off and entered thesecond division in the 2005–06 season. After two seasons finishing 6th and 5th, OH Leuven finished 3rd in the 2007–08Belgian Second Division season with 61 points. This allowed them to take part in the promotion playoffs where the team finished as the bottom 4th after losing all six games toTubize,Antwerp, andLommel United.
Two seasons with the team finishing 9th and 14th were followed by a second division title on Sunday 24 April 2011, when Oud-Heverlee Leuven secured the 2010–112nd division championship and gained promotion to theFirst division for the season 2011–12, following a 2–2 draw atAntwerp. The team rounded off the season the following Sunday with a 2–0 home win againstLommel United, gathering a total of 73 points from 34 games and finishing 8 points ahead of 2nd placedLommel United. Their promotion broughtFirst division football to the city ofLeuven for the first time since the 1949–50 season, whenStade Leuven had finished bottom of the league and were relegated.
OH Leuven secured its top flight status following a 0–0 draw at home againstLierse on 3 March 2012, marking the first time a team from the city of Leuven managed to remain at the highest level of Belgian football for more than a single season. In the 2013–14 season, OH Leuven was relegated after losing the2014 promotion/relegation play-offs. Although finishing 6th, the team was promoted next year via the2015 promotion/relegation play-offs, but it was immediately relegated again after finishing last in the2015–16 season.
In September 2016, OH Leuven were caught up ina scandal affecting football in England. In relation to allegations made against individuals within English football, OH Leuven chairman Jimmy Houtput was alleged to have offered up the club as a "conduit" to allow third-party companies togain ownership of football players in England.[2] Houtput claimed he was "merely trying to obtain the identity of the possible investor(s) and would never take part in illegal activities to circumvent the third-party ownership", but subsequently resigned as OH Leuven chairman on 30 September.[3]
Later that season, with the club struggling financially, OH Leuven was taken over by the Thaiduty-free retailerKing Power, led by chairman and CEOVichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who already ownedLeicester City.[4]
In July 2018, OH Leuven reclaimed the registration number that originally belonged toK. Stade Leuven, to "reclaim the glorious past", thus dropping registration number 6142 (originally belonging to F.C. Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee) and reverting to 18.[5]
On 27 October 2018, the club's chairman, Vichai, died ina helicopter crash following Leicester City's home match againstWest Ham United.[6]
Green denotes the highestlevel of football in Belgium;yellow the second highest;red the third highest.
Upon its foundation in 2002, white was chosen as the club color, with the logo of the new club combining the green ofStade Leuven, the black ofZwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee and the red ofDaring Leuven. Throughout the years, the home shirt has remained white, often decorated with a few red or green stripes or colored sleeves. The away shirt color has alternated mostly between red and green but has been black, yellow and blue as well.
| Seasons | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | Erima | Speedy |
| 2003–06 | Vandezande | |
| 2006–08 | Option | |
| 2008–15 | Vermarc | |
| 2015–16 | Just Eat | |
| 2016–17 | Leuven Klimaatneutraal 2030 | |
| 2017–19 | King Power | |
| 2019–22 | Adidas | |
| 2022–25 | Stanno | Starcasino (until end of 2024) one.com (from 2025) |
| 2025–26 | Starsport TV |
Their stadium is calledStadion Den Dreef and is situated on Kardinaal Mercierlaan in the southLeuven suburb ofHeverlee (not to be confused with 'Oud-Heverlee' in the club name, which is in fact a separate municipality). The entrance for visiting fans is on Tervuursevest.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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As of 13 October 2025[update][9][10]
| Directors & Senior Management | |
|---|---|
| Role | Person |
| Chairman | Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha |
| Vice chairman | Apichet Srivaddhanaprabha |
| Directors | Susan Whelan Jon Rudkin |
| Technical Director | György Csepregi |
| Chief Executive Officer | Frédéric Van den Steen |
| Chief Commercial Officer | Filip Van Doorslaer |
| Head of Operations | Marc Tordeur |
| First Team Management | |
|---|---|
| Role | Person |
| Head Coach | Felice Mazzù |
| Assistant Coaches | Rudi Cossey Tibor Balog |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Bram Verbist |
| Performance Coach | Charle Jaspers |
| U23 Transition Coach | Ibrahima Sonko |
| Video Analyst | Mehdi Hosseinpour |
| First Team Doctor | Ignace Verscheure |
| Physiotherapists | Michiel Devyver Kylian Lenaerts Mathias Mariën |
| Team Managers | Nicolas Cornu André Michiels |
| Equipment Managers | Vahbi Altinisik Karl van Cauwenbergh |
Jean-Pierre Vande Velde (2002–2004)Guido Brepoels (2004–2007)Rudi Cossey (2007 – 27 August 2008)Marc Wuyts (27 August 2008 – 3 March 2009)Jean-Pierre Vande Velde (4 March 2009 – 2010)Ronny Van Geneugden (2010 – 21 January 2014)Herman Vermeulen (21 January 2014 – 25 February 2014)
Ivan Leko (25 February 2014 – 28 November 2014) Hans Vander Elst(caretaker) (28 November 2014 – 26 December 2014)Jacky Mathijssen (26 December 2014 – 24 November 2015)Emilio Ferrera (26 November 2015 – 15 January 2017)
Dennis van Wijk (19 January 2017 – 22 September 2017)
Nigel Pearson (22 September 2017 – 3 February 2019)Vincent Euvrard (8 February 2019 – 9 June 2020)Marc Brys (16 June 2020 – 13 October 2023)[nb 1] Eddy Vanhemel(caretaker) (13 October 2023 – 5 November 2023)
Óscar García (5 November 2023 – 22 November 2024)Hans Somers(caretaker) (22 November 2024 – 1 December 2024)
Chris Coleman (2 December 2024 – 11 June 2025)[nb 2]For details on former players, seeCategory:Oud-Heverlee Leuven players.
The following list the top scorers for OH Leuven per season, counting only goals scored during official matches: league, cup and playoffs.
| Player | Goals | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Siebe Schrijvers | 8 | 2024–25 |
 Youssef Maziz | 8 | 2023–24 |
| Mario González | 15 | 2022–23 |
 Sory Kaba | 12 | 2021–22 |
| Thomas Henry | 21 | 2020–21 |
| Thomas Henry | 16 | 2019–20 |
| Frédéric Duplus andMathieu Maertens | 7 | 2018–19 |
 Yannick Aguemon | 13 | 2017–18 |
| Esteban Casagolda | 8 | 2016–17 |
| Yohan Croizet andLeandro Trossard | 9 | 2015–16 |
 Jovan Kostovski | 14 | 2014–15 |
| Bjorn Ruytinx | 11 | 2013–14 |
 Ibou | 19 | 2012–13 |
| Jordan Remacle | 16 | 2011–12 |
 Hamdi Harbaoui | 28 | 2010–11 |
| Cédric Bétrémieux | 13 | 2009–10 |
| Frederik Vanderbiest | 9 | 2008–09 |
| Toni Brogno andBjorn Ruytinx | 16 | 2007–08 |
| Toni Brogno | 14 | 2006–07 |
| Samuel Remy | 14 | 2005–06 |
| François Sterchele | 32 | 2004–05 |
| Kristof De Voeght | 15 | 2003–04 |
| Hans Goethuys | 12 | 2002–03 |
The list below consists of current and former players of OH Leuven who have gained caps for their national team.
Ahmed Touba
Raphael HolzhauserLogan BaillyToni BrognoMark De ManKarel GeraertsDavid HubertThomas KaminskiMandela KeitaMarvin OgunjimiKevin RoelandtsJeroen SimaeysFrançois StercheleLeandro TrossardDerrick TshimangaBirger VerstraeteYannick Aguemon
Muhamed Subašić
Ivan BandalovskiKristiyan Malinov
Dylan Ouédraogo
Serge Tabekou
Tristan BorgesFilip Benković[nb 3]
Romero RegalesJoshua Zimmerman[nb 4]
Václav Jemelka
William BalikwishaIbrahim Somé
Casper TerhoIbou
Levan Shengelia
Denis Odoi[nb 5]Kamal SowahSory KabaAbdoul Karim Traoré
Barnabás Bese
Stefán GíslasonRúnar Alex RúnarssonJón Dagur Þorsteinsson
Kaveh Rezaei
Raz Shlomo
Mamadou BagayokoCopa[nb 6]
Kento MisaoTakuma Ominami
Musa Al-Taamari
Dion Cools
Mickaël Biron
Sofian ChaklaHamza Mendyl
Cyriel DessersAzubuike OlisehJovan Kostovski
Bartosz Kapustka
George HirstTony Watt
Stefan MitrovićSlobodan Urošević
Darren KeetÓscar Gil
Suphanat MueantaKawin Thamsatchanan
Samuel AsamoahHamdi Harbaoui
Cenk Özkacar
Oleksandr Iakovenko
Federico Ricca
Rafael RomoAndy King
Ovidy KaruruMember associations are listed in order of most to least amount of current and former OH Leuven players represented Internationally
| Confederation | Total | (Nation) Association |
|---|---|---|
| AFC | 7 | Japan (2),Thailand (2),Iran (1),Jordan (1),Malaysia (1) |
| CAF | 21 | Democratic Republic of the Congo (2),Ghana (2),Guinea (2),Ivory Coast (2),Morocco (2),Nigeria (2),Algeria (1),Benin (1),Burkina Faso (1),Cameroon (1),South Africa (1),The Gambia (1),Togo (1),Tunisia (1),Zimbabwe (1) |
| CONCACAF | 4 | Curaçao (2),Canada (1),Martinique (1) |
| CONMEBOL | 2 | Uruguay (1),Venezuela (1) |
| OFC | 0 | |
| UEFA | 38 | Belgium (15),Iceland (3),Bulgaria (2),Scotland (2),Serbia (2),Austria (1),Bosnia and Herzegovina (1),Croatia (1),Czech Republic (1),Finland (1),Georgia (1),Hungary (1),Israel (1),North Macedonia (1),Poland (1),Spain (1),Turkey (1),Ukraine (1),Wales (1) |
Sven Swinnen took his place on the bench as caretaker manager for the match on 4 February 2023.
