K.V. Kortrijk

Full name	Koninklijke Voetbalclub Kortrijk
Nickname(s)	De Kerels (The Guys)
Founded	1901; 123 years ago (1901)
Ground	Guldensporenstadion, Kortrijk
Capacity	9,399 [1]
Owner	Vincent Tan
Chairman	Derek Chin
Manager	Freyr Alexandersson
League	Belgian Pro League
2022–23	Belgian First Division A, 14th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Koninklijke Voetbalclub Kortrijk (often simply called KV Kortrijk or KVK) is a Belgian professional football club based in Kortrijk, West Flanders. They play in the Belgian First Division, and they achieved their best ranking ever during the 2009–10 season, finishing fourth after the play-offs. KV Kortrijk was founded in 1971, though their roots can be traced to 1901. They are registered to the Royal Belgian Football Association with matricule number 19. The club colours are red and white. They play their home matches at the Guldensporenstadion, named after the Battle of the Golden Spurs which took place in Kortrijk in 1302.

KV Kortrijk first entered the first division in the early 20th century, between 1906–07 and 1910–11. They eventually had to wait 65 years to return at the highest level, when they spent 15 seasons at the top flight, interrupted by a season in the second division (between 1976–77 and 1978–79 and between 1980–81 and 1991–92). KV Kortrijk also played the 1998–99 season in the first division before they returned to the Belgian Pro League in the 2008–09 season.

History

In 1901 SC Courtraisien was founded. The club merged with FC Courtraisien in 1918. They received in 1951 the name Koninklijke Kortrijk Sport. They had the matricule n°19 like the oldest club SC Courtraisien. Stade Kortrijk was founded in 1923 with matricule n°161. Because Stade Kortrijk and Koninklijke Kortrijk Sport didn't play well anymore, they merged in 1971. They could play with matricule n°19 and the new name was KV Kortrijk.

Due to bankruptcy, KV Kortrijk had to relegate in 2001 to the third division. From 2004 to 2008 KV Kortrijk played in the second division, however, in the 2007–08 season they managed to get promoted to the first division.

KV Kortrijk was bought for €5 million by Malaysian businessman Vincent Tan on 12 May 2015. ^[2]

Honours

• Belgian Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2011–12
• Belgian Second Division
  • Winners (2): 1905–06, 2007–08
  • Runners-up (2): 1979–80, 1997–98
• Belgian Second Division final round
  • Winners (3): 1976, 1980, 1998

Colours and badge

KV Kortrijk's colours are generally red and white. The home kit is usually all red with white trim and red shorts. The away kit is similar, except in blue. The club's logo is a white shield, split into thirds by a red upside-down, V-like shape, and the letters "KVK" are split into each third, in a red font. On top of the shield is a crown.

Stadium

KV Kortrijk plays their home matches at the Guldensporen Stadion. It is located in Kortrijk, Belgium, and the current capacity of the ground is 9,399. In the summer of 2008, the ground's capacity was increased from 6,896 to 9,399, ^[1] after Kortrijk's elevation into the Belgian First Division. Guldensporenstadion literally means "Stadium of the Golden Spurs". The stadium is named after this in reference to the Battle of the Golden Spurs which, in 1302, was fought in Kortrijk. The stadium has a traditional local stadium look about it and is single-tiered all around the ground.

Current squad

As of 7 February 2024 ^[3]

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   BEL Tom Vandenberghe 2 DF   ENG Ryan Alebiosu 4 DF   UKR Mark Mampassi (on loan from Lokomotiv Moscow) 5 DF   GER Christalino Atemona 6 DF   CHI Nayel Mehssatou 7 FW   FRA Mounaïm El Idrissy 8 MF   BEL Youssef Challouk 9 FW   IRL Jonathan Afolabi 10 MF   ALG Abdelkahar Kadri 11 MF   BEL Dion De Neve 13 GK   BEL Ebbe De Vlaeminck 14 MF   NOR Iver Fossum 15 MF   BUL Kristiyan Malinov 16 MF   BEL Marco Kana (on loan from Anderlecht)

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 MF   ZAM Kings Kangwa (on loan from Red Star Belgrade) 20 FW   URU Felipe Avenatti 21 DF   BEL Martin Wasinski (on loan from Charleroi) 24 DF   JPN Haruya Fujii (on loan from Nagoya Grampus) 27 MF   FRA Abdoulaye Sissako 33 DF   JPN Ryotaro Tsunoda (on loan from Cardiff City) 39 FW   WAL Isaak Davies (on loan from Cardiff City) 44 DF   POR João Silva 54 FW   ENG Sheyi Ojo (on loan from Cardiff City) 68 FW   GLP Thierry Ambrose 70 MF   BEL Massimo Bruno 76 FW   SEN Djibi Seck 89 MF   BEL Lynnt Audoor (on loan from Club Brugge) 95 GK   BEL Lucas Pirard

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   ROU Raul Opruț (at Hermannstadt until 30 June 2024) — MF   BEL Massimo Decoene (at Oostende until 30 June 2024) — FW   ALG Billel Messaoudi (at Göztepe until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW   BEL Dylan Mbayo (at Dordrecht until 30 June 2024) — FW   MAS Luqman Hakim (at YSCC Yokohama until 1 January 2025)

Club staff

As of 8 January 2024

Position	Staff
Chairman	Derek Chin
Owner	Vincent Tan
Board Member	Derek Chin Chee Seng Veh Ken Choo Amin Bin Mohamad Fuad Mohamad Edmund Tee Wei Kang Muhammad Syafiq Bin Azman
Manager	Freyr Alexandersson
Assistant Managers	Jonathan Hartmann Joseph Akpala
Goalkeeper Coach	Glen Verbauwhede
Head of Performance	Pieter Jacobs
Video Analyst	Gregory De Grauwe
Team Manager	Claude Gezelle

Managers

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to KV Kortrijk.

• Official website
• Kortrijk at UEFA.com