SC Eendracht Aalst is a Belgian football club based in Aalst, East Flanders. The club currently play in Belgian Division 2 where they are the defending champions in their region.

Eendracht Aalst
Full nameSporting Club Eendracht Aalst
Nickname(s)De Ajuinen (The Onions), Den Iendracht
Founded25 June 1919; 105 years ago (25 June 1919)
GroundPierre Cornelisstadion,
Aalst
Capacity4,500[1]
ChairmanFrank De Roose
ManagerYannick Van Aken
CoachRegi Van Acker
LeagueBelgian Division 2
2023–24Belgian Division 2 VV A, 1st of 18

History

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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 football team. After some friendly games in 1923, SC Eendracht Aalst joined the regional competition. They quickly moved their way up through the regional divisions and after moving the stadium to the current location in 1928, the team made it into the national competition in 1932. Only seven years later, in 1939, Aalst were promoted to the Eredivisie (the current Belgian Pro League). Due to the second World War competition was not played for two years, so it wasn't until 1942 Aalst finished its first season in the Eredivisie. In 1946 the chairman died and it was decided to rename the stadium to honour him, from then on it was called the Pierre Cornelis Stadium. That year was the beginning of a very dark period for Eendracht Aalst. Due to changes in the competition format, they were forced into relegation. After this they played in the lower division for more than 30 years. In 1960 they managed to get back into the Eredivisie, but in 1962 they ended last and were relegated again. In 1965, after a bribery affair, Aalst was relegated to the lowest national division. In 1977 they made it back into the second division, with Paul Van Himst in the team. In 1994 the team finally joined the first division again. Jan Ceulemans (manager), Godwin Okpara and Gilles De Bilde were some of the most important factors towards success. In 1995 a new climax was reached when they were allowed to enter the European competition and even survived the first round against Levski Sofia.[citation needed]

It changed its name in 2002 after former Belgian First Division club K.S.C. Eendracht Aalst had gone into liquidation. So they could not get the license and the new team began at the third division level. They played the next two seasons in second division (2003–2005) and are now back to the third division and they are at the 3rd place. While the 2004–05 championship was over, the club needed to know if first division side F.C. Brussels and second division side R.E. Virton were to receive the professional football license to know where they would play next season. While 17th K. Patro Maasmechelen had no license, they were obviously relegated. So if one of the two submentionned clubs were refused the license, Aalst would have had played the third division playoffs while if they were both refused the license, Aalst would have remained in second division. Finally, both clubs did receive it so the team was relegated. In 2011, the name of the team got changed back to S.C. Eendracht Aalst. They've also requested to change the name back to the former K.S.C. Eendracht Aalst, which will be possible in 2012, if they receive good advice from the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA).[citation needed]

In 2023–24, Eendracht Aalst won their region of Belgian Division 2 and would have been promoted, however the club was refused a licence to play in Belgian National Division 1.[citation needed]

Stadium

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The Pierre Cornelisstadion is located in Bredestraat, Aalst, near the city center. The Stadium has a capacity of 4,500.[1] It was built in the early 1930s.

Honours

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UEFA cup history

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Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1995–96 UEFA Cup 1   Levski Sofia 1–0[2] 2–1[2] 3–1
2   Roma 0–0[3] 0–4[3] 0–4

Current squad

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Updated 18 October 2022

Number Name Date of birth Nationality
Goalkeepers
1 Zvonimir Mikulić 5 February 1990  
NA Zeb Van Gerven 13 April 1997  
NA Robbe Beerens 5 July 2004  
Defenders
2 Yassine Razzi 12 May 1997  
19 Steve Ryckaert 29 June 1998  
3 Andreas Burssens 17 March 1999  
5 Lars Wantens 9 August 1993  
12 Jari De Vriendt 28 November 2001  
18 Falko Geenens 8 April 1995  
NA Gaël Kakudi 6 July 1999  
Midfielders
4 Jilke Deconinck 9 January 1995  
6 Samuel Fabris 30 January 1991  
20 Arne Van Den Eynde 25 July 1995  
16 Rubin Belesi 20 August 2001  
NA Ben Yagan 9 February 1995  
NA Maciej Niewiadomski 27 May 2004  
NA Nathan Deneef 19 May 2004  
Attackers
7 Mitch Dekuyper 2 November 1993  
9 Ibrahima Mbaye 28 April 1992  
19 Jonathan Lufulu-Onia 12 July 2001  
24 Quentin Panneel 4 January 1994  
8 Dylan George 27 Juni 1998  
NA Tommy Collard 17 July 2002  

Previous trainers

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Women football

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The female team of Eendracht Aalst plays currently in the Super League.[4] and played his homematches in the Jeugdcentrum Zandberg.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b clubinfo Archived 30 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine, eendracht-aalst.be (last check 30 March 2018)
  2. ^ a b UEFA Cup 1995/96 Archived 11 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine, First round, UEFA.com, Retrieved 10. 11. 2013
  3. ^ a b UEFA Cup 1995/96 Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Second round, UEFA.com, Retrieved 10. 11. 2013 (in English)
  4. ^ htDAMES VC EENDRACHT AALST Archived 7 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Untitled Document". www.dendersport.be. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
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