Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 tea ...

from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, when they were relegated not only through their league position, but also lost their professional licence through financial issues, being officially declared bankrupt on 21 May 2013 – one week after the season had ended. K.F.C. Germinal Ekeren, established in 1920, rebranded themselves as Germinal Beerschot in 1999, retaining the matricule number and history but adopting some of the identity of K Beerschot VAC, seven-times Belgian champions but struggling with financial problems in the third division. Germinal Ekeren had been a first division club for the past decade, and were

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

winners in 1997. 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 was Royal Antwerp F.C.. They won the Belgian Cup in 2005. 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 V.A.C. to 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

, the club went bankrupt at the end of the season, was removed from competition altogether and folded shortly afterwards. In June 2013, K.F.C.O. Wilrijk unofficially integrated Beerschot AC's identity into theirs to become FCO Beerschot Wilrijk, moving to Beerschot AC's vacated stadium. This new club started in the first division of the Belgian Provincial leagues. The youth academy of Beerschot produced the likes of

Thomas Vermaelen Thomas Vermaelen (born 14 November 1985) is a retired Belgian professional footballer who is currently an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Being left-footed, he usually played as a left-sided centre-back and could play at left-bac ...

, Mousa Dembélé, Radja Nainggolan,

Jan Vertonghen Jan Bert Lieve Vertonghen (born 24 April 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Belgian club Anderlecht and the Belgium national team. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a left-back. Vertonghen began his senior car ...

, and

Toby Alderweireld Toby Albertine Maurits Alderweireld (; born 2 March 1989) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for Belgian Pro League club Royal Antwerp. Alderweireld began his professional career at Dutch club Ajax, whe ...

History

In 1920 F.C. Germinal Ekeren was founded in the town of Ekeren, a northern suburb of Antwerp. Several years earlier, in 1899, Beerschot was founded at Het Kiel, a southern outskirt of Antwerp, where the 1920 Olympics had been held. In 1971 Germinal Ekeren added the prefix ''

Koninklijk or (, Dutch for 'royal') is an honorary title given to certain companies and non-profit organisations in the Netherlands and to a lesser extent Belgium, by the monarchs of each country. It was first introduced by Louis Bonaparte in 1807, then Ki ...

'' to their name (meaning ''Royal'' in

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

). The team reached the top division in Belgian football in 1989 and finished 13th. They achieved their highest league position of third in 1996 and 1998 and subsequently qualified for the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

. However, in 1999, due to the low attendance of supporters and limited expansion possibilities in Ekeren, the club merged with Beerschot who were then playing in the 3rd division and themselves had severe financial problems. The new team, K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen kept the matricule n°3530 of Ekeren to keep their place in the first division, but retained the stadium of Beerschot, rebuilding it in the process. By keeping the matricule of Ekeren, the honours of Beerschot were considered to be distinct and separate from the new team and the club finally dropped the name Antwerpen in 2003. In 2004 further financial difficulties were experienced and

Marc Brys Marc Brys (born 10 May 1962) is a Belgian football manager and former player, who manages OH Leuven in the Belgian First Division A. Career His coaching career took off at Belgian club, Berchem Sport, which he guided to the championship of t ...

was brought in as coach. He led the team to victory in the

that year, and in doing so secured a place in

for his side. After only 7 matches in the

Jupiler League 2005-06 Jupiler (; or ) is a Belgian beer introduced in 1966, now brewed by Anheuser–Busch InBev at Piedboeuf Brewery in the Jupille-sur-Meuse neighbourhood of Liège. Jupiler is the highest selling beer in Belgium, with around 40 percent share by ...

season, he was fired due to bad results (4 points from 21 and a 3–0 defeat against the 18th placed team). May 2013, Naamloze vennootschap Beerschot announced it would be

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistr ...

. After having failed to present a financial plan to the

Royal Belgian Football Association The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA; ; ; ) is the governing body of football in Belgium. It was a founding member of FIFA in 1904 and UEFA in 1954 and was based in Brussels, not far from the King Baudouin Stadium. Since October 2021, the ...

, the club had lost its license to play in the 1st division. Unable to attract enough financial means to continue playing in a lower division they decided upon liquidation. Initially it was unclear what would happen to the matricule or players, but it became clear on 21 May 2013 that the club dissolved, meaning the matricule was lost and the players free to look for a new club. Late May 2013 the "entourage" and fans of Beerschot started negotiations with K.F.C.O. Wilrijk and

Sportkring Sint-Niklaas Sportkring Sint-Niklaas (formerly known as FCN Sint-Niklaas) is a Belgian football club from Sint-Niklaas, currently playing in the Belgian Fourth Division The Belgian Fourth Division was the lowest nationwide division in Belgian football. T ...

in the hope of a "merge" of Beerschot with one of them. In June 2013 when K.F.C.O. Wilrijk adapted its name into F.C.O. Beerschot-Wilrijk, this "merge" took place. The new club started in the first division of the Belgian Provincial leagues.Beerschot verandert in KFCO Beerschot-Wilrijk en start in eerste provinciale
Het Laatste Nieuws (31 May 2013)Beerschot leeft voort in KFCO Beerschot-Wilrijk
,

Sporza Sporza is a multimedia brand of Belgian public-service radio and television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the ...

(31 May 2013)

European competitions

The matricule number 3530 played their first European game as KFC Germinal Ekeren in the 1991–92 season against

Celtic F.C. The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

(losing 2–0 away and drawing 1–1 at home). They qualified for the

in that year following a 5th-place finish in the championship. They then had to wait until

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

and a 6th-place finish to qualify for their next European competition (

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foo ...

). Unfortunately by finishing 2nd in the first round of Group 3 behind

FC Aarau FC Aarau is a Swiss football club based in Aarau. They play in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of Swiss football after being relegated from Swiss Super League. History FC Aarau was formed on 26 May 1902 by workers from a local br ...

of Switzerland, KFC did not qualify for the second round. In 1996–97 they qualified for the UEFA Cup after finishing 3rd in the league. The club was defeated by

Grazer AK Grazer AK, founded 18 August 1902 as Grazer Athletiksport Klub (in Austria the abbreviation GAK is more common), is an Austrian sports club, from the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria (''Steiermark''). The football section used to be on ...

in the first round. In 1997–98 they played the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...

after a

win. They lost in the second round at the hands of

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...

after a win against FK Crvena Zvezda. The next season, they reached the UEFA Cup first preliminary round after a 3rd place, but lost in the second preliminary round against Swiss team Servette FC. In the 2008 Intertoto Cup, they met Neftchi Baku of Azerbaijan in the second round, drawing 1–1 at home but losing 0–1 away to be eliminated from the competition.

Honours

* Belgian Second Division: **Winners (1): 1988–89 *

: **Winners (2): 1996–97, 2004–05 **Runners-up (2): 1989–90, 1994–95 *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champio ...

: **Runners-up (2):

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, 2005

European record

:''As of December 2008.''

Notable former players

(youth) * Mousa Dembélé *

Tom De Mul Tom De Mul (; born 4 March 1986) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a right winger. Club career Born in Kapellen, Antwerp, De Mul began his career in K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot, but joined the AFC Ajax youth academy at ag ...

(youth) * Radja Nainggolan (youth) *

Jelle Van Damme Jelle François Maria Van Damme (; born 10 October 1983) is a Belgian retired professional footballer who played as a centre-back, left-back or left midfielder. He played for clubs in Belgium, England, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Stat ...

(youth) *

Wesley Sonck Wesley Sonck (born 9 August 1978) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who manages the Belgium U19 national team. He played as a striker for Molenbeek, Germinal Ekeren, Germinal Beerschot, Genk, Ajax, Borussia Mönch ...

* Victor Wanyama *

Tomasz Radzinski Tomasz Radzinski (born 14 December 1973) is a former professional soccer player who played as a striker and winger. He featured for clubs including North York Rockets in Canada, Germinal Ekeren, Anderlecht (where he won the national champions ...

Former coaches

Franky van der Elst Franky Van der Elst (born 30 April 1961) is a Belgian retired professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He later worked as a manager. During a 21-year professional career he played mainly with Club Brugge, being regarded as ...

(1999 – July 2003) *

(July 2003 – September 2005) * Jos Daerden (September 2005 – June 2006) *

(July 2006 – June 2007) *

Harm van Veldhoven Harm van Veldhoven (; born 28 September 1962 in Luyksgestel) is a Dutch-Belgian football manager who is currently unemployed after last managing Westerlo. Van Veldhoven started his career with local youth team De Raven. He was picked up by SK ...

(July 2007 – November 2008) * Aime Anthuenis (November 2008 – August 2009) * Jos Daerden (September 2009 – June 2010) *

Glen De Boeck Glen De Boeck (; born 22 August 1971) is a Belgian football manager and former player who most recently managed Lokeren in the Belgian First Division B. During his career he played as central defender, mostly on the books of Anderlecht. Clu ...

(July 2010 – November 2010) *

Jacky Mathijssen Jacky Mathijssen () (born 20 July 1963 in Dilsen-Stokkem) is a Belgian former football player and manager who is currently managing the Belgium U21 squad. Managerial statistics ''As of 19 November 2019'' Honours *2003 Runners-up Belgian Cup ...

(December 2010 – March 2012) * Wim De Corte (March 2012 – July 2012) *

Adrie Koster Adrianus Cornelis "Adrie" Koster (; born 18 November 1954) is a Dutch football manager who was most recently the manager of Willem II. He is a former winger and former manager of Ajax, Club Brugge and the Netherlands U21 team. Career He pla ...

(July 2012 – November 2012) * Wim De Corte (November 2012 – January 2013) *

(Jan 2013 – May 2013)

References

{{reflist Association football clubs established in 1920 Association football clubs disestablished in 2013 Football clubs in Antwerp Defunct football clubs in Belgium 1920 establishments in Belgium 2013 disestablishments in Belgium Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage Belgian First Division A clubs