KV Oostende
Full nameKoninklijke Voetbalclub
Oostende
Nickname(s)De Kustboys
Founded1904 (1904)
GroundVersluys Arena,
Ostend
Capacity8,400[1]
OwnerOostende Investment Company Limited[2]
ChairmanFranck Dierckens
ManagerStijn Vreven
LeagueChallenger Pro League
2022–23Belgian Pro League, 16th (relegated)
WebsiteClub website

Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende (Dutch pronunciation: [kaːˌveː oːstˈɛndə]) or KVO, is a Belgian professional football club based in Ostend, West Flanders. The team was founded in 1904 as VG Oostende and has the matricule No. 31. From 2023–24, KV Oostende play in Challenger Pro League, following the relegation from Belgian Pro League.

History

Old logo used until 2021 when a new logo was presented

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 Olympique de Marseille, a club with an important place in the history of French and European football. Oostende was unable to go any further in the competition after losing 4-2 in Marseille 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. Olympique de 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.[3][4]

In December 2017 Marc Coucke announced that he would be leaving, after recently purchasing R.S.C. 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.[5]

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.[6]

On 15 April 2023, KV Oostende was officially relegated from the Belgian Pro League to the Challenger Pro League after being defeated 0-4 by OH Leuven after 10 years at the top tier.

Honours

Current squad

As of 17 September 2023.[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Liam Bossin
2 DF Belgium BEL Jonas Vinck
3 DF England ENG Zech Medley
4 DF France FRA Thomas Basila
5 DF Belgium BEL Brent Laes
6 MF France FRA Maxime D'Arpino
8 MF Scotland SCO Ewan Henderson (on loan from Hibernian)
9 FW Venezuela VEN Daniel Pérez (on loan from Club NXT)
13 GK Belgium BEL Brent Gabriël
14 FW Scotland SCO Dapo Mebude
16 MF Belgium BEL Sieben Dewaele
17 FW Colombia COL Juanda Fuentes
19 DF Belgium BEL Manuel Osifo
20 FW Belgium BEL Andy Musayev
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 MF Belgium BEL Massimo Decoene (on loan from Kortrijk)
23 DF Mozambique MOZ Alfons Amade
25 DF Belgium BEL Cederick Van Daele
26 MF France FRA Vincent Koziello
28 FW Germany GER Luis Hartwig
29 MF Belgium BEL Robbie D'Haese
31 MF Kenya KEN Johanna Omolo
36 DF Belgium BEL Siebe Wylin
77 FW Ghana GHA David Atanga
90 FW Belgium BEL Mohamed Berte
91 GK Belgium BEL Richmond Badu
93 MF Belgium BEL Anas Hammas
99 MF Belgium BEL Alessandro Albanese

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF United States USA Kyle Duncan (at New York Red Bulls until 31 December 2023)
— FW Croatia CRO Ivan Durdov (at Mirandés until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— FW France FRA Andrew Jung (at Valenciennes until 30 June 2024)

Club officials

Position Staff
ManagerBelgium Stijn Vreven
Assistant managerBelgium Kurt Bataille
Assistant managerBelgium Michiel Jonckheere
Goalkeeper coachBelgium Peter Mollez
Fitness coachBelgium Korneel Deceuninck
Video analystBelgium Jarne Kesteloot
DoctorNetherlands Bastiaan Verstraete
PhysiotherapistBelgium Wouter Vanhullebusch
Belgium Imke Bendels
Belgium Siebe Vercaempst
Belgium Nathan Marteel
Materials ManBelgium Johan Hoste
OsteopathBelgium Romain Thieffry
Material ManagerBelgium Luc Benthein
Team Manager / PhysiotherapistBelgium Bart Brackez

Managers

References

  1. ↑ "Versluys Arena". kvo.be. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  2. ↑ "KV Oostende has a professional license for next season". kw.be.
  3. ↑ "KVO neemt afscheid van Yves Vanderhaeghe". Archived from the original on 24 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "Adnan Custovic blijft hoofdtrainer van KVO". Archived from the original on 2 March 2018.
  5. ↑ "PETER CALLANT NIEUWE EIGENAAR & VOORZITTER KV OOSTENDE". Archived from the original on 13 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "New investors for KV Oostende FC"
  7. ↑ "Spelers A-Kern" (in Dutch). K.V. Oostende.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to KV Oostende.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.