K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen

Sporting Lokeren
Full nameKoninklijke Sporting Club
Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen
Nickname(s)Tricolores
Founded22 January 1923; 101 years ago (22 January 1923)
Dissolved20 April 2020; 4 years ago (20 April 2020)
GroundDaknamstadion, Lokeren
Capacity12,136[1]

Koninklijke Sporting Club Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ˈspɔrtɪŋ ˌklʏp ˈloːkərən oːstˈflaːndərə(n), -rə ʔoː-]), often simply called Sporting Lokeren or Lokeren, was a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Lokeren, in the province of East Flanders. The club was founded in 1923 but ceased to exist in 2020 after going bankrupt.[2] A few days after the bankruptcy, the club announced that rather than dissolving entirely, it would merge with KSV Temse to form Lokeren-Temse, starting in the Belgian Second Amateur Division (fourth level).[3]

Lokeren first reached the first division in 1974–75. Since then, it had a short spell in the Second Division between 1993–94 and 1995–96. Lokeren had its most successful period in the 1980s, achieving second place in the league in 1980–81 as well as a Belgian Cup final the same year. Its best European result was reaching the quarter-final of the 1980–81 UEFA Cup. In the year 2000, the club merged with K Sint-Niklase SKE. They were registered to the Royal Belgian Football Association with the matricule number 282. Lokeren's colours were white, black and yellow. They played their home games at the Daknamstadion.

In 2012, Sporting Lokeren won the Belgian Cup, the club's first-ever honours, after beating KV Kortrijk in the Cup Final. They won their second Cup just two years later, after beating Zulte Waregem 1–0.

  1. ^ technische fiche sporting, sporting.be (last check 30 March 2018)
  2. ^ Sporting Lokeren failliet verklaard – rechtbank stelt curatoren aan hln.be, Yannick De Spiegeleir, 20 April 2020 (in Dutch).
  3. ^ Sporting Lokeren wordt na fusie met Temse KSC Lokeren-Temse sporza.be, 22 April 2020 (in Dutch)