Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring is a Belgian association football club located in Lier, in the province of Antwerp. The club, founded in 1943 as Oosterzonen in Oosterwijk, was relocated to Lier following the bankruptcy of Lierse in 2018. After an official name change, Lierse Kempenzonen was renamed to K. Lierse S.K. in 2024. They compete in the Challenger Pro League, the second tier of Belgian football.
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| Full name | Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Geel-Zwart (Yellow-Black) | ||
| Founded | 1943 (as FC Oosterzonen) | ||
| Ground | Herman Vanderpoortenstadion, Lier | ||
| Capacity | 13,539 | ||
| Chairman | Luc Van Thillo | ||
| Manager | Christophe Gregoire | ||
| League | Challenger Pro League | ||
| 2023–24 | Challenger Pro League, 11th of 16 | ||
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History
editThe club was founded in 1943 as FC Oosterzonen from a commune within Westerlo. It started in the Belgian provincial leagues where it hovered between the various levels, most of the times playing at the 6th or 7th level of the Belgian football pyramid. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, the club won the title for three consecutive seasons and were promoted for the first time in its history to the national levels of football. In the Belgian Fourth Division, the club avoided relegation for a few seasons, before managing another promotion in the 2012–13 season into the Belgian Third Division. Following the reform of Belgian football in 2016, the team started playing in the Belgian First Amateur Division.
In May 2018, it was announced that the club would relocate to Lier, as it merged with the old board of Lierse (a club which had gone bankrupt just a few weeks before) to form a new club called Lierse Kempenzonen. The new team continued with the old logo of Lierse and started playing in the Herman Vanderpoortenstadion in Lier.[1]
Current squad
edit- As of 24 July 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Coaching Staff
edit| Position | Name |
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| Manager | .svg/23px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small} Christophe Gregoire
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| Assistant managers | Nico Van Kerckhoven
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| Goalkeeper coach |  Patrick Decsi
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| Video analyst | Bernd Brughmans
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| Team Doctor |  Roel Rymen
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| Physiotherapist | Lars De Buyst Tom Waegemans
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| Materialman | Hans Van Rooy Rony Nauwelaers
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References
edit- ^ "Opvolger Lierse krijgt lokale naam, club krijgt ook goed nieuws over stadion". Het Nieuwsblad. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.