KVK Ninove is a Belgian

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

based in the city of

Ninove Ninove () is a city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. It is situated on the river Dender, and is part of the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city of Ninove proper and since the 1976 merger of ...

, registered with the Belgian FA under matricule 2373. The full name of the club is ''Koninklijke Voetbal Klub Ninove'' (Royal Football Club Ninove) and it has green and black as club colours. The club has played for over three decades at the national level. The club set to play in

Belgian National Division 1 The Belgian National Division 1, commonly referred to as simply Eerste Nationale (in Dutch) or Nationale 1 (in French) is a semi-professional and the third-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian First ...

from 2024–25 after promotion from

Belgian Division 2 The Belgian Division 2, commonly referred to as simply Tweede Afdeling (in Dutch) or Division 2 (in French) is the fourth-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian National Division 1. It was created by t ...

in 2023–24.

History

Already early on in the 20th century, football was organized in Ninove. Around 1908 a city team took part in a local

Denderstreek The Denderstreek or Denderland is a region in Belgium. It is named after the river Dender. Though the river stretches over three provinces, Hainaut, East Flanders and Flemish Brabant, the region called after the river is situated in East Flander ...

league with teams from neighbouring cities. From 1913 to 1923 the club played under the name ''Sporting Football Club Ninove'', abbreviated as SFC Ninove (with matricule 176). This club dissolved however, with only a few company teams remaining, such as those linked to the factories of Union Allumettière and Fabelta. Eventually, on 22 March 1936 the current club joined the Belgian FA under the name ''FC Ninove''. Matricule 2373 was awarded and the club chose green and black as club colours, starting in the Belgian Provincial Leagues. Gradually, the club rose through the ranks, reaching the national level for the first time in 1956. That first season, Ninove immediately achieved the fourth place in the

Belgian Fourth Division The Belgian Fourth Division was the lowest nationwide division in Belgian football. The division was split into four separate leagues, A, B, C and D. The team with the most points in the four leagues together was declared the overall winner ...

and continued in the following years mostly finishing either just below the top teams or in the middle of the pack. In 1966 however, the club finished second-to-last, dropping back into the provincial leagues, where it remained for several years and during that time the club name was changed to

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

as ''VK Ninove''. In 1972, the club relocated closer to Aalst due to construction of a new road, which required leaving complex ''Den Doorn'' at the north of Ninove and taking up camp instead at ''De Kloppers'' located somewhat more south in

Meerbeke Meerbeke is a village in the Denderstreek in the province of East Flanders in Belgium. Administratively it is part of the municipality of Ninove. This rural community is located along the Dender River on the western border of what is known as "Pajo ...

. In 1975 the club was able to return to the Belgian Fourth Division, but struggled initially, only returning to the top of the division toward the end of the 1970s, eventually becoming runners-up in 1981 behind Merchtem. That season Merchtem was penalized for bribery and forced to relegate, allowing Ninove to be promoted instead, moving for the first time ever into the

Belgian Third Division The Belgian Third Division ( nl, Derde klasse, french: Division III) was the third highest level in Football in Belgium, Belgian football. It had two leagues of 18 teams each (Belgian Third Division A, A and Belgian Third Division B, B) at the sam ...

. VK Ninove was able to maintain well at this level, often ending in the middle of the table, once even second in 1984. Towards the end of the 1980s the club struggled again, narrowly avoiding relegation in 1989 and 1990 but eventually going down in 1991. In the meantime upon its 50th year of existence, the club had changed its name to KVK Ninove, adding the royal designation ''Koninklijke'' to its name. This did not help the results however, as the club hovered between the bottom national and top provincial level for many years, dropping in 1993, rising in 1997 and dropping again in 2002. The struggle continued, with the club even dropping to the second provincial level for some seasons, before starting a more successful period from 2013, achieving promotions in 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2020 to end up at its current level, the

. In 2023–24, Ninove secure promotion to

after finishing runner-up in

VV A due to

S.C. Eendracht Aalst SC Eendracht Aalst is a Belgian football club based in Aalst, East Flanders. History During World War I, citizens from Aalst played football matches to raise money for prisoners of war. In 1919 Sport-Club Eendracht Aalst became an official f ...

as Champions did not license to Belgian third tier and return to third tier after a year absence.

Honours

** Runner-up (1): 2023–24

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ninove, KVK Association football clubs established in 1936 Football clubs in Belgium 1936 establishments in Belgium