K.V. Oostende
 |
|
| Full name |
Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | De Kustboys |
| Founded | 1904 |
| Ground |
Versluys Arena, Ostend |
| Capacity | 8,432 |
| Chairman |
 Marc Coucke
|
| Manager |
Yves Vanderhaeghe
|
| League | Belgian Pro League |
| 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League, 5th |
Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also called KV Oostende (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkaː ˈveː ˌoːs.ˈtɛn.də]) or KVO, is a Belgian football club from the city of Ostend, West Flanders. The team was founded in 1904 as VG Oostende and has the matricule n°31.
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 promoting. In its first season on the second level, Oostende 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 has been playing 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 rebuild and the stadium was renamed to the Versluys Arena, the total capacity increased to 8,432.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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