The Anal Triangle (Anale Driehoek) in Belgium (Kontich - Aartselaar - Reet) might not be the most pleasant nickname, but it is very catchy. And we have to say football there is very catchy as well. In Kontich, there's a team working on their way back into the national leagues for quite some time now.
It all started in 1920 when Contich Football Club joined the Belgian FA. It wasn't a huge success as only two years later the team disappeared again. Contich Sport also tried in 1925, but they too only lasted for two years. All of their players made the move to the neighbouring Belgica FC Edegem in 1927.
But in 1939, a third attempt finally became a success. Kontich Athletiek Club was the continuation of Kontich Boys and Groeninghe Sport. Both of them already played for some years in the Antwerp local FA and decided to join forces. Eventually they joined the Belgian FA in 1941 as Athletiek Club Kontich. But Groeninghe Sport did keep a team in the Antwerp FA. The mayor however wanted one big team and urged for a final merger, which finally happened in 1942. Kontich Football Club was born.
Those first years were an immediate success. In only a couple of years, Kontich FC went through all the regional leagues in Antwerp and in 1954 they promoted to the national divisions for the first time. In that fourth division, the results remained great. After having missed out on a promotion a couple of times, they finally promoted to the third division in 1961. But that didn't go so well. After one year, Kontich FC relegated again and financially it became harder and harder. By 1975, the team was back in the third regional league.
There were a few attempts to save the team, but the problems never really disappeared. Eventually, to be able to remain a financially stable team, Kontich FC merged with Kontich Sport in 1991. Kontich Sport was a fairly young team which was founded as Football Club Buizegem in 1975. They never left the regional divisions though. The merger had its positive effects. The results improved again and in 1999 they found themselves back in the national fourth division.
In 2006, that national story was over. Ever since K Kontich FC is playing their games in the regional leagues. A financial reset a few years back had to make sure the team remained solvable. Right now they are in the top regional league and just missed out on promotion to the national levels again. It may be clear their ambition is still there. And they have the stadium for it as well. A nice mainstand is being surrounded by some real oldschool and almost unrecognisable terracing.
But K Kontich FC also has a lot of success with its women's team. Ever since the start of women's football in Belgium in 1971, they have been part of it. They even made it to the first division for a number of years. Kontich's story would become a bit wobbly in 2010 when they separated from the men's team and joined Germinal Beerschot with their own matricule number. GBA Kontich Football Club would quickly move to the care of Antwerp FC after the demise of Germinal Beerschot. But since 2014, the ladies are back with the original team. Right now they're playing at the top of the Belgian first division, the second level after the BeNe Super League.
If you want to enjoy our articles in Dutch, you can read them here.