Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging Tessenderlo Hulst Engsbergen Schoot Sport Tessenderlo,more commonly known asThes Sportor simplyThes,is aBelgian association footballclub founded in 1942 based inTessenderlo,Limburg.The club colours are blue and yellow and the team currently plays in theBelgian National Division 1,the third tier of Belgian football. Their home stadium is the 3,000-seat capacity Gemeentelijk Sportpark.
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| Full name | Koninklijke Voetbalvereniging Tessenderlo Hulst Engsbergen Schoot Sport Tessenderlo | ||
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| Founded | 14 June 1942(as Heidebloem Voetbalvereeniging Hulst) | ||
| Ground | Gemeentelijk Sportpark, Tessenderlo | ||
| Capacity | 3,000 | ||
| Chairman | Wendy De Wit | ||
| Manager | Patrick Witters | ||
| League | Belgian National Division 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | Belgian National Division 1, 5th of 18 | ||
| Website | https:// thes-sport.be/ | ||
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History
editThe club was founded asHeidebloem Voetbalvereeniging Hulston 14 June 1942, joining theRoyal Belgian Football Associationjust a few months later. In 1943 the first dressing rooms were built next to the pitch inHulst,a village encompassed by the municipality ofTessenderlo.In 1970 a new sports centre was built, which was completed in 1973. At that time the club played at the lowest levels of Belgian football, mainly in the third and fourthprovincial levelinLimburg,at that time corresponding to the seventh and eighth level of Belgian football.
In 1992; the club obtained royal patronage for its fiftieth year of existence, thus becomingKoninklijke Heidebloem Voetbalvereeniging Hulst(Dutch:Royalheatherflowerfootball club Hulst). Two years later it succeeded for the first time to promote to the second provincial level, the sixth level of Belgian football and almost promoted again the following seasons, losing promotion play-offs twice. The club relegated in 1998 and started merger negotiations with two neighbouring clubs within Tessenderlo:VK Penarol Engsbergenfrom the village Engsbergen andSchoot Sportfrom the village Schoot. In preparation of the merger, the club becameKVV Thes Sport Tessenderloin 1999, with theacronymThes standing forTessenderlo,Hulst,Engsbergen andSchoot. The clubs in the end did not find a mutual agreement and continued to compete separately during the 1999–2000 season. Schoot Sport did not want to cooperate and would eventually cease to exist in 2002. Penarol Engsbergen did cooperate with Thes Sport in the youth leagues, but remained a separate club.
In 2001, the club moved from its accommodations in the commune of Hulst to the Gemeentelijk Sportpark closer to the centre of Tessenderlo. The terrain was available becauseLooi Sport,which was the original occupant, had gone defunct a few years before that in 1997. Meanwhile, Thes Sport started its rise in the ranks of Belgian football, promoting to the first provincial division in 2003 and even into the national leagues in 2005, before relegating back in 2009.
In 2015, the club again gained access to theBelgian Fourth Division,the lowest level of national football, at which time the merger with VK Penarol Engsbergen did complete and the latter ceased to exist.[1]Following a title in the2017–18 Belgian Second Amateur Division,the club promoted for the first time ever to the third level of Belgian football.
First-team squad
edit- As of 30 November 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules;some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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References
edit- ^"Fusie tussen Thes Sport en Penarol Engsbergen is een feit".29 January 2015.
External links
edit- Official website(in Dutch)
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