Near Scherpenheuvel we can find another sacred thing besides the famous church of Scherpenheuvel - the Paul Verdonckstadion of HO Testelt. We don't see this one popping up that often on other groundhopping website, but it is definitely an absolute gem and somewhat of a hidden treasure in the fields of Flemish Brabant.
HO Testelt started off in 1950 as FC Testelt and the first two decades the team existed they only played in the regional leagues. Maybe for obvious reasons, being a small town and all. But by the end of the 70s a magical period started for FC Testelt. In 1978 the team had already gone up to the top regional league and that year they even won promotion to the national divisions for the first time ever.
Even there they did great. In their first year they ended as fourth, but the year after (in 1980) they did even better and won their league. Third division was waiting. Even there the beginning was great. In their first year they ended on the third spot. But afterwards the results started to go down.
In 1983 they relegated back to fourth division and up until 1989 they would change a good result with a bad one only just avoiding relegation. In 1989 it was finally there - FC Testelt relegated back to the regional leagues. Unfortunately.
Not long after their relegation FC Testelt became Hoger-Op Testelt (no merger whatsoever), but the new name didn't inspire them. In fact, they even hit rock bottom at one point, relegating to the lowest regional league. In fact, HO Testelt just won their league, earning them a spot in the third regional league. Let's hope they are on their way back up.
We can't really find any information on the stadium itself, but it must have been built during their top period in the national leagues. It's an absolute eyecatcher and the wooden stand is amazing. You can almost hear the cheers in the national leagues through the wood.
If you haven't visited this one as of yet - what are you still doing reading this?
