Hasselt is one of the most charming cities in the Belgian province of Limburg. The lovely historical city centre, the vivid activities and the beautiful football history attract a lot of tourists. But not far from Hasselt there is the more rural Hoeselt. Less known, but not less beautiful. And they have a nice and interesting football background as well.
Including all subvillages of Hoeselt, there has been quite some football already. The borough of Werd had Blauwvoet Werm for fourteen years. Sint-Huibrechts-Hern enjoyed Voetbalvereniging De Zwaluw Sint-Huibrechts-Hern for only a year. And a bit further down the road, Standard Football Club Schalkhoven played for three years in Schalkhoven. Last but not least, Romershoven had Hand In Hand Romershoven for five years.
But the villages of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw, Alt-Hoeselt and Hoeselt itself had more success. In Alt-Hoeselt, L.S. Belgische Boerenbond Alt-Hoeselt managed to play from 1969 to 1983. And we could also find a General Motors Hoeselt (after a move to Bilzen, it's gone now), B.M. Knapen Hoeselt (also gone now) and a Roode Ster Nieuw Hoeselt (only for five years though). The other matricule numbers have become one in the meantime.
The first was Hoesseltsche Voetbalvereeniging - at least the first to join the Belgian FA. They started in 1926, but due to noble circumstances they cancelled their membership in 1932. After objections against a bribing scandal in their league, Hoesseltsche VV voluntarily pulled back and joined the Flemish FA. But the grass isn't always greener on the other side. The less appealing factor of the league and the far away games made the team decide to come back to the Belgian FA in 1934. The same club (although now it was named Hoesselt Voetbalvereeniging), but with a new matricule number.
The way up could kick off now and in 1946 the team managed to reach the national leagues for the very first time. Back then it was still the third division. Only for two years though, but in 1958 they were back. Again, only for a year, but with a return a decade later. The last two seasons of national football were in fourth division after the restructured divisions. The 70's brought more success and in 1973 the team went back to third division.
Even in third division, the successes didn't stop. In 1979, Hoeselt VV won the league and promoted to second division to play with the big boys. Great clubs such as KAA Gent, KV Kortrijk, Racing and KV Mechelen and the current number one in the Belgian first division R Union-St-Gilloise all visited the Caetsbeekstadion. Some of them even left empty handed.
Unfortunately, after a year Hoeselt VV relegated and the next few years the team would evolve from a warrior looking to promote to a fighter struggling to survive. In the end they relegated back to fourth division in 1991. A huge free fall followed. In just a couple of years time, K Hoeselt VV relegated to the third regional league. They never recovered from that. In 2001 they decided to merge with Hoeselt Sportkring. Their own matricule number disappeared.
Hoeselt SK was a younger team that was created in 1967 as Sportkring Hoeselt Onze Lieve Vrouwparochie (aha - there's the remaining village). The same year the name was changed into Hoeselt SK. They never managed to reach the national divisions though. The merger became a continuation of their matricule number, with a move to the infamous Caetsbeekstadion. There the merger continued as Koninklijke Sportklub Verbroedering Hoeselt.
But also their matricule number disappeared in time. As in 2016 KSV Hoeselt decided to merge again, this time with the neighbours from Alt-Hoeselt. The latter started their official activities in 1926 as well, although a team named De Morgenster was already formed directly after WWI. Some good results in local cups made them go official in 1926, but they only joined the Belgian FA in 1929. Alt-Hoeselt Voetbalvereeniging never managed to reach the national leagues either, even after having received the royal title in 1953.
Since 2016 the team plays with the matricule number of K Alt-Hoeselt VV and with the new name Koninklijke Voetbal Vereniging in the regional leagues. The first two years they played on the old KAVV grounds, but in the meantime they are back in the good old Caetsbeekstadion. That won't be for long either. A new stadium is being built. Once the new KVV Hoeselt has moved there, this absolute gem will forever disappear.
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