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| Full name | Football Club Verbroedering (Dender Eendracht Hekelgem) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1935; 90 years ago (1935) | ||
| Ground | Florent Beeckmanstadion, Denderleeuw | ||
| Capacity | 6,429[1] | ||
| Owner | Sihar Sitorus | ||
| CEO | Belinda Siahaan[2] | ||
| Manager | Hayk Milkon | ||
| League | Belgian Pro League | ||
| 2024–25 | Belgian Pro League, 12th of 16 | ||
| Website | www | ||
 Current season | |||
Football Club Verbroedering Dender Eendracht Hekelgem, also simply known asDender orF.C.V. Dender, is aBelgian professionalfootball club based inDenderleeuw. The club plays the 2025-26 season in the Belgian top division, the Pro League, after winning two promotions in three seasons. They rose to the top flight in the 2023-24 season by finishing 2nd in theChallenger Pro League that season.
The club is named after former clubsKFC Denderleeuw Eendracht Hekelgem andVerbroedering Denderhoutem, which merged at the end of the2004–05 season, and after the riverDender, which crosses the town of Denderleeuw. The home stadium of the club isFlorent Beeckmanstadion, located in Denderleeuw. Their best league ranking was 12th place in thefirst division (in2024-25). The club colours are blue, red, white and black.
Verbroedering Denderhoutem was founded in 1935[3] and registered to theRoyal Belgian Football Association in 1943. They first reached thePromotion (4th-highest level in Belgian football) in the 1980s.[4] After several relegations and promotions in the provincial leagues and Promotion, the club finally reached thethird division in1998–99. They remained at that level except for one season in2003–04 when they played in the Promotion. After one season back at the third level, Denderhoutem merged with fellow club KFC Denderleeuw EH from the third division.
Verbroedering Dender won consecutively thethird division A title (in2005–06) and thesecond division title (in2006–07), to reach thefirst division in2007–08 for the first time in their history. They achieved promotion after beatingDessel 0–2 on the second division's 33rd match day on 13 May 2007. They finished at the 15th place in 2007–08 and again in2008–09, though the club was relegated at the end of the 2008–09 season because the number of clubs in the first division was reduced from 18 to 16.
The club was relegated from the Second Division in the2011–12 season after finishing second bottom.
In the2015–16 season, Dender qualified for the newly formed Belgian third tier namedBelgian First Amateur Division. In the 2020–21 season, the division was renamedBelgian National Division 1 but the season was cancelled after one game due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Belgium.
They won promotion back to the second tier, now renamed theChallenger Pro League, in the2021–22 season. The promotion was not without controversy. On the penultimate game of the promotion play-offs againstRFC Liège on 22 May 2022, Dender lost 1–0 which saw them move into second place and Liège move to first place. The following day, it was announced that Liège would receive a three-point deduction and a €1000 fine after failing to field enough U21 players in their 3–0 win against Dender back in March 2022.[5] As a result, Dender were awarded a 5–0 win and moved back to the top of the table. Liège released a statement to say that they would be appealing the decision.[6] However, the points deduction would turn out to be irrelevant. This is because Liège lost on the final game of the season againstKnokke, while Dender won 1–0 againstDessel Sport.[7]
Dender won promotion back to theBelgian Pro League in the 2023–24 season. They finished second in the Challenger Pro League to secure their promotion. This meant it would be the first time that the club had played in the top flight since 2009.[8] Before the start of the season, the club was dealt with the blow of the departure of managerTimmy Simons who left to join fellow top tier sideWesterlo.[9]Vincent Euvrard, then manager ofZulte Waregem, was appointed manager of the club. The club would stay up in their first season back in the top flight, finishing 12th. The next season, Euvrard would leave to join fellow pro league clubStandard Liège. Hayk Milkon, assistant manager ofClub Brugge, would become their manager in their second consecutive season in the top flight.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Hayk Milkon |
| Assistant Manager | Frédéric Stilmant |
| First Team Coach | Mario Kohnen |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Dany Verlinden |
| Fitness coach | Yanni Egyptien |
| Video Analyst | Arthur Snoeks |
As of 20 August 2025.[10]
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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