Yep, lost ground alert. This wonderful place can be found in Olen and hosted KFC Buul and SK Hezewijk. Right up until the point both teams hit the famous wall of financial struggles and merger stories. Something all too familiar for groundhoppers and especially lower league teams in Belgium unfortunately.
Cercle Sportif Olen was the very first team in Olen, all the way back in 1927. But very soon after they joined the Belgian FA they already ceased all activities. Olen was left empty handed again. But it wouldn't take long though. In 1931 everything started all over again with the foundation of Athletic Club Olen (remember the name). One year later Achter Olen VV joined AC Olen (again, remember this name as well). In 1935 FC Linda Olen joined the other two.
But then - in 1938 FC Buul joined the party. In the beginning they had a different place to play, but since 1941 they could call the Missestraat their home. Throughout the years the team would never make it to the national leagues, but still they extended their stadium to the beauty it was when KFC Buul had to cease all activities. This happened exactly 60 years after they started playing in the Missestraat. In 2001 KFC Buul had to cease all football activities due to financial problems. One of the landmarks in Olen was gone, long after Cercle Sportif was the first to quit.
For eight years straight the Missestraat was a lost ground apart from KAC Olen using it for their youth every once in a while. Until 2009 a solution for the stadium was found. In the meantime another team in Olen was created. SK Hezewijk started in 1975, so it was a fairly young team in Belgian football landscape. SK Hezewijk mainly played the lower regional leagues, but still their own accommodation they had been using since 1975 didn't meet the needed standards any longer. In 2009 they saw a solution in the Missestraat and the team moved over there. Wonderful news for everyone.
But the struggles for the lower league teams hit SK Hezewijk as well. In 2015 they threw the towel and asked the neighbouring Achter Olen VV (there we are) for a merger. AOVV accepted. The new team name became SK Achter Olen and they continued playing at the AOVV grounds. The Missestraat became a lost ground again and it's still like that today. With three teams quitting in Olen it still wasn't enough. SK Achter Olen merged with KAC Olen in 2017 and has become Olen United. Nowadays Olen has only Olen United and KFC Linda Olen, where it had at one point no less than five teams to support...
