Football Club Verbroedering Dender Eendracht Hekelgem, also simply known as Dender or F.C.V. Dender, is a Belgian professional football club based in Denderleeuw. The club plays the 2024–25 season in the Belgian top division, the Pro League, after winning two promotions in three seasons. They rose from the Challenger Pro League after previously winning Belgian National Division 1 in 2021–22.[3]
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| Full name | Football Club Verbroedering (Dender Eendracht Hekelgem) | ||
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| Founded | 1935 | ||
| Ground | Florent Beeckmanstadion, Denderleeuw | ||
| Capacity | 6,429[1] | ||
| Owner | Sihar Sitorus | ||
| CEO | Belinda Siahaan[2] | ||
| Manager | Vincent Euvrard | ||
| League | Belgian Pro League | ||
| 2023–24 | Challenger Pro League, 2nd of 16 (promoted) | ||
| Website | http://www.fcvdendereh.be | ||
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The club is named after former clubs KFC Denderleeuw Eendracht Hekelgem and Verbroedering Denderhoutem, which merged at the end of the 2004–05 season, and after the river Dender, which crosses the town of Denderleeuw. The home stadium of the club is Florent Beeckmanstadion, located in Denderleeuw. Their best league ranking was the 15th place in the first division (in 2007–08 and 2008–09). The club colours are blue, red, white and black.
History
editEarly history
editVerbroedering Denderhoutem was founded in 1935[4] and registered to the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1943. They first reached the Promotion (4th-highest level in Belgian football) in the 1980s.[5] After several relegations and promotions in the provincial leagues and Promotion, the club finally reached the third division in 1998–99. They remained at that level except for one season in 2003–04 when they played in the Promotion. After one season back at the third level, Denderhoutem merged with fellow club KFC Denderleeuw EH from the third division.
Rise to the top tier
editVerbroedering Dender won consecutively the third division A title (in 2005–06) and the second division title (in 2006–07), to reach the first division in 2007–08 for the first time in their history. They achieved promotion after beating Dessel 0–2 on the second division's 33rd match day on 13 May 2007. They finished at the 15th place in 2007–08 and again in 2008–09, though the club was relegated at the end of the 2008–09 season because the number of clubs in the first division was reduced from 18 to 16.
Post–top division history
editThe club was relegated from the Second Division in the 2011–12 season after finishing second bottom.
In the 2015–16 season, Dender qualified for the newly formed Belgian third tier named Belgian First Amateur Division. In the 2020–21 season, the division was renamed Belgian National Division 1 but the season was cancelled after one game due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium.
They won promotion back to the second tier, now renamed the Challenger Pro League, in the 2021–22 season. The promotion was not without controversy. On the penultimate game of the promotion play-offs against RFC Liège on 22 May 2022, Dender lost 1–0 which saw them move into second place and Liège move to first place. The following day, it was announced that Liège would receive a three-point deduction and a €1000 fine after failing to field enough U21 players in their 3–0 win against Dender back in March 2022.[6] As a result, Dender were awarded a 5–0 win and moved back to the top of the table. Liège released a statement to say that they would be appealing the decision.[7] However, the points deduction would turn out to be irrelevant. This is because Liège lost on the final game of the season against Knokke, while Dender won 1–0 against Dessel Sport.[8]
Return to top flight
editDender won promotion back to the Belgian Pro League in the 2023–24 season. They finished second in the Challenger Pro League to secure their promotion. This meant it would be the first time that the club had played in the top flight since 2009.[9] Before the start of the season, the club was dealt with the blow of the departure of manager Timmy Simons who left to join fellow top tier side Westerlo.[10]
Honours
edit- Belgian Second Division / Challenger Pro League (level 2)
- Winners: 2006–07
- Runners-up: 2023–24
- Belgian Third Division A / Belgian National Division 1 (level 3)
- Winners: 2005–06, 2021–22
Coaching staff
edit| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Vincent Euvrard
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| Assistant Manager | Frédéric Stilmant
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| First Team Coach | Mario Kohnen
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| Goalkeeping Coach | Dany Verlinden
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| Fitness coach | Yanni Egyptien
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| Video Analyst | Arthur Snoeks
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Players
editCurrent squad
editAs of 6 September 2024.[11]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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References
edit- ^ "clubinfo van roystadion". fcvdendereh.be. Archived from the original on 31 August 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
- ^ "Profil Belinda Siahaan, pemilik klub Belgia yang berdarah Batak Toba". BolaTimes.com (in Indonesian). 30 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ "FCV Dender beukt de poort van het professioneel voetbal open". HLN. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "Belgian football clubs history". Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ^ "Dender history". fcvdendereh.be. Archived from the original on 3 June 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ^ "FC Liège – FC Dender becomes 0-5". FCV Dender EH. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "FC Liège appeals". FCV Dender EH. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "FCV Dender beukt de poort van het professioneel voetbal open". HLN. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "Dender back in Jupiler Pro League, RFC Seraing drops to first national". Pro League. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Timmy Simons verlaat FC Dender". FCV Dender. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Team". fcvdendereh.be (in Dutch). F.C.V. Dender E.H. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
External links
edit- FCV Dender at UEFA.COM
- FCV Dender at EUFO.DE
- FCV Dender at Weltfussball.de
- FCV Dender at Football Squads.co.uk
- FCV Dender at National Football Teams.com
- FCV Dender at Football Lineups.com
- F.C.V. Dender E.H. on Twitter
