K.V.C. Westerlo

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 club Bist 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 found Westerlo Sport, the ancestor of K.V.C. Westerlo. In 1939, the club won its league 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 called V.C. Westerlo.

It became champion of the Antwerp second division in 1960. Eight years later it played its first season at the national level in Promotion and it won its league to play the third division in 1969. At the end of the season, Westerlo missed a third title in a row, finishing second behind Eupen. 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 the second division and then to the first division in 1997. In 1996, the club added the prefix Koninklijke (meaning "Royal" in Dutch) 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. Ercin expressed his commitment in 2019 to a year-long plan called 'KVC Westerlo 2024'.[2]

Westerlo plays its home matches at Het Kuipje, which is Dutch for "The Cockpit". Its capacity is 8,035.[3]

• Belgian Second Division/Belgian First Division B
  • Winners (2): 2013–14, 2021–22
  • Runners-up (1): 1996–97
• Belgian Second Division final round
  • Winners (1): 1997
• Belgian Cup:
  • Winners (1): 2000–01
  • Runners-up (1): 2010–11
• Belgian Supercup
  • Runners-up (1): 2001

As of 6 September 2023[4]

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  TUR Sinan Bolat 2 DF  BEL Pietro Perdichizzi 4 MF  BEL Mathias Fixelles 5 MF  AUS Jordan Bos 6 MF  TUR Doğucan Haspolat 7 MF  BEL Lukas Van Eenoo 8 MF  DEN Nicolas Madsen 9 FW  CRO Matija Frigan 13 FW  SCO Adedire Mebude 14 FW  BEL Kyan Vaesen 15 MF  UKR Serhiy Sydorchuk 18 MF  USA Griffin Yow 19 FW  BEL Irsan Muric 20 GK  BEL Nick Gillekens 21 FW  MKD Erdon Daci

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 DF  USA Bryan Reynolds 24 DF  TUR Ravil Tagir (on loan from İstanbul Başakşehir) 25 DF  BEL Tuur Rommens 30 GK  BEL Koen Van Langendonck 32 DF  BUL Edisson Jordanov 33 DF  RUS Roman Neustädter 34 FW  MAR Ilias El Hari 39 MF  BEL Thomas Van den Keybus 40 DF  TUR Emin Bayram (on loan from Galatasaray) 46 DF  BEL Arthur Piedfort 76 FW  BEL Lucas Stassin 77 FW  CRC Josimar Alcócer 79 MF  JPN Yusuke Matsuo (on loan from Urawa Reds) 89 MF  BEL Nacer Chadli

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  BEL Rubin Seigers (at Zulte Waregem until 30 June 2024) — MF  SVK Ján Bernát (at Spartak Trnava until 30 June 2024) — MF  TUR Muhammed Gümüşkaya (at Samsunspor until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  BEL Simon Paulet (at Olympic Charleroi until 30 June 2024) — FW  CIV Fernand Gouré (at DAC Dunajská Streda until 30 June 2024)

Other players under contract

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  SUI Léo Seydoux

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  GUI Sékou Camara

• (in Dutch) Official Website
• (in English) KVC Westerlo at UEFA.COM
• KVC Westerlo at EUFO.DE
• KVC Westerlo at Weltfussball.de
• KVC Westerlo at Football Squads.co.uk
• KVC Westerlo at national Football Teams.com
• KVC Westerlo at Football-Lineups.com