Germinal Ekeren
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| Full name | Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | De Mannekes, De Ratten |
| Founded | 1920 (Germinal Ekeren) 1999 (merger; as Germinal Beerschot) |
| Dissolved | 2013 |
| Ground | Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp |
| Capacity | 12,771 |
Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ˈbeːrsxɔt ˈɑntʋɛrpə(n) ˈklɵp]), simply known as Beerschot AC [ˈbeːrsxɔt aːˈseː], was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13, when they were relegated not only through their league position, but also lost their professional license through financial issues, being officially declared bankrupt on 21 May 2013 – one week after the season had ended.
The club was established in 1999 as the result of the merger between K Beerschot VAC and KFC Germinal Ekeren, from which they took over the matricule number and history. Prior to the merger, Germinal Ekeren had been a first division club for 10 years, while 7 times Belgian champion Beerschot was struggling with financial problems in the third division. The club won 2 Belgian Cups, one as Germinal Ekeren in 1997, the other as Germinal Beerschot in 2005. Their best league ranking was a 3rd place in 1995–96 and in 1997–98.
Following the merger in 1999, the club moved from the Veltwijckstadion in the municipality of Ekeren to the Olympisch Stadion in the Kiel neighbourhood in Antwerp. Their outfits mixed the yellow and red of Germinal Ekeren with the purple of Beerschot. Their biggest rival is Royal Antwerp FC. On 17 May 2011, the club changed its name again to Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpse Club or Beerschot AC. The name change was the result of an internal struggle which split the board of directors which ended with the former Germinal Ekeren board members vacating their position, giving a free path to remove the mention of Germinal in the team's name by the new directors as part of a business plan to restore the former K Beerschot VAC in its former glory. In addition, the club set its motto to the Latin phrase 'Tene Quod Bene', which translates as 'keep what is good', again referring to the fact that only the "Beerschot" part was kept. After being relegated in 2012–13, the club went bankrupt at the end of the season and was removed from competition altogether.
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