It's wonderful to see the older teams in Belgium still exist, albeit it sometimes after a merger. KFC Humbeek is one of the oldest teams in Belgium, carrying matricule number 39 and it only recently underwent a merger with the neighbouring FC Borght. Let's dive into the history together.
It all started in 1907 when Humbeek FC was created. It took them two years before they joined the Belgian FA but even so, they received matricule number 39 in 1926. A team can be proud when they have a matricule number so low. 1926 was also the year when Humbeek FC first joined the national leagues when the third division was created. Up until then the team always played in the regional leagues. For four years straight they enjoyed third division, but in 1930 their first national appearance was over. They relegated back to the regional leagues that year. In 1933 the team became royal - Koninklijke Humbeek FC.
Another four year spell started during WWII, in 1943. In 1947 they returned to the regional leagues, but this time it would take until 1961 before they returned to the national leagues. During the 50s a fourth division was created, so in 1961 they played fourth division for the first time. In 1963 it was over again. The elevator status stayed as in 1970 K Humbeek FC came back to fourth division, this time for three years. One year later they even briefly played in the second regional league. 1981 would then be their last spell in the national leagues, for one year though. That year they also won the cup of Brabant. Definitely a highlight in their history.
Afterwards Humbeek FC would stay in the regional leagues and the elevator status would change from national/regional to purely regional unfortunately. As the decades went by the national leagues missed Humbeek FC, but anew impulse was given in 2017. That year they merged with the neighbouring and fairly young FC Borght. The new team name became KFC Borght-Humbeek and luckily enough the old matricule number was kept, as was the original home ground of Humbeek FC. At the moment they are playing the top regional league again and it's only a matter of time before we will see them in the national leagues again.
FC Borght has a completely different story though. This team was created in 2006 and joined the Belgian FA one year later after the original KFC Borgt decided to make a bold move. When the glorious RWDM ceased all activities in the early nillies, an investor decided to replace RWDM by the old KFC Strombeek, changing its name into FC Brussels and moving to Molenbeek. Strombeek was left behind and KFC Borgt filled up the gap. They moved to Strombeek and changed their name into KFC Eendracht Borgt-Strombeek after having played from 1948 to then in the regional leagues. This move wasn't an immediate success as they went from the top regional league in 2003 to the third regional league in 2006.
After internal struggles a couple of the board members decided to split off and create a new team in Borgt, being FC Borght. While KFC Eendracht-Borgt-Strombeek (KFC Strombeek as of 2009) had an interesting couple of years recently, FC Borght led a peaceful life in the lower regional leagues. Up until 2017 that is, when they merged with K Humbeek FC.
Anecdote: Not only did Freddy Verbelen start his career at K Humbeek FC (mainly known for his time at KV Mechelen), Hugo Broos did play for Humbeek FC as well, albeit as a youth player before moving to RSC Anderlecht at the age of 17.