KFC Merelbeke is a Belgian football club based in the city of Merelbeke, registered with the Belgian FA under matricule 3551. The full name of the club is Koninklijke Fusieclub Merelbeke (Royal Mergerclub Merelbeke) and it has green and blue as club colours. The club will play in Belgian National Division 1 from 2024 to 2025 after promotion from Belgian Division 2 in 2023–24.
| Full name | Koninklijke Fusieclub Merelbeke | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short name | Merelbeke | ||
| Founded | 1942 | ||
| Ground | Molenkouterstadion, Merelbeke | ||
| Chairman | Wilfried Van Keymeulen | ||
| Head coach | Rudy Hofman | ||
| League | Belgian National Division 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | Division 2 VV A, 2nd of 18 (promoted) | ||
| Website | https://www.kfcmerelbeke.be/molenkouter/ | ||
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History
editThe club joined the Belgian FA in 1942 under the name Vlug en Vrij Merelbeke (Quick and Free Merelbeke), receiving matricule number 3551 and choosing yellow and green as club colours. A first title came in 1954 when VV Merelbeke became champions in the Second Provincial Division, but the club relegated immediately the season after, where it would remain until 1973, when it dropped to the Third Provincial Division. With the exception of the 1974–75 season (Second Provincial Division) the club remained at this level until the merger in 1988 when the club merged with neighbouring clubs Union Merelbeke and Sporting Merelbeke to form FC Merelbeke. At that point the colours were changed to yellow and blue and the new club played at the stadium of VV Merelbeke.
After the merger, it took four more seasons until 1992 before the promotion to the Second Provincial Division was won, at which point the name was changed to the current KFC Merelbeke. From 1992 until 2015, the club played most of its seasons at this level, occasionally interspersed with periods at the highest provincial level which became longer over time: only one season in 1993–94, then two seasons from 2002 to 2004, and four seasons from 2010 to 2014. Then the climb upwards started as the club has never been relegated since and has promoted to the First Provincial Level in 2015, to the Third Amateur Division in 2016, to the Second Amateur Division in 2019 and to the Belgian National Division 1 in 2024.
Honours
edit- Belgian Division 2
- Runner-up (1): 2023–24
- Belgian Division 3
- Winner (1): 2018–19