Koninklijke Sporting Club Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ˈspɔrtɪŋ ˌklʏp ˈloːkərə(n) ˌoːstˈflaːndərə(n)];[2] often simply called Sporting Lokeren or Lokeren) was a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Lokeren, in the province of East Flanders. The club was founded in 1923 but ceased to exist in 2020 after going bankrupt.[3] A few days after the bankruptcy, the club announced that rather than dissolving entirely, it would merge with KSV Temse to form Lokeren-Temse, starting in the Belgian Second Amateur Division (fourth level).[4]
Quick Facts Full name, Nickname(s) ...
Sporting Lokeren |
| Full name | Koninklijke Sporting Club
Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen |
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| Nickname(s) | Tricolores |
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| Founded | 22 January 1923; 101 years ago (22 January 1923) |
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| Dissolved | 20 April 2020; 3 years ago (20 April 2020) |
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| Ground | Daknamstadion, Lokeren |
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| Capacity | 12,136[1] |
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Lokeren first reached the first division in 1974–75. Since then, it had a short spell in the Second Division between 1993–94 and 1995–96. Lokeren had its most successful period in the 1980s, achieving second place in the league in 1980–81 as well as a Belgian Cup final the same year. Its best European result was reaching the quarter-final of the 1980–81 UEFA Cup. In the year 2000, the club merged with K Sint-Niklase SKE. They were registered to the Royal Belgian Football Association with the matricule number 282. Lokeren's colours were white, black and yellow. They played their home games at the Daknamstadion.
In 2012, Sporting Lokeren won the Belgian Cup, the club's first-ever honours, after beating KV Kortrijk in the Cup Final. They won their second Cup just two years later, after beating Zulte Waregem 1–0.
The matricule No. 282 was given in 1920 to a club named Football Club Racing Club Lokeren (nicknamed Racing FC), but the team stopped its activity the next year. On 22 January 1923 Racing Club Lokeren was founded. Between 1945 and 1951, it had a slight name change (to Racing Athletiek- en Football Club Lokeren) and the new name since 1951 was Koninklijke Racing Club Lokeren. Due to financial problems, the fusion with the other team from the town (Koninklijke Standaard FC Lokeren) became necessary in 1970. The new club was then named Koninklijke Sporting Club Lokeren.
In 2000, the club merged with Koninklijke Sint-Niklaas SKE to form Sporting Lokeren Sint-Niklaas Waasland. The latest name change occurred in 2003, with the province name added to the club name.[citation needed]
In 2018, Sporting Lokeren were relegated to the First Division B, the second tier of Belgian football.[5] In 2019, the club was taken over by a group led by Louis de Vries and Alexander Janssen, taking the positions of president and CEO respectively.
On 20 April 2020, the club was declared bankrupt during the 2019–20 season.[3] Lokeren had outstanding debts of €5 million and was not able to pay its staff and players anymore.
On 22 April 2020, Lokeren agreed to merge with KSV Temse to form a new club in K.S.C. Lokeren-Temse and to start in the Second Amateur Division, the national fourth level.[6]
