Despite the fact that Belgium is so densely built, there are still a lot of places where it's mostly rural and above all very peaceful and quiet. Often the lower league football teams are king in those areas. This is also the case in Glabbeek in Flemish Brabant.
Glabbeek, which leans very close to Clabecq, Gladbeck and Mönchengladbach name-wise, has always been connected with the neighbouring village Zuurbemde. Sometimes they formed one village together, but other times they existed peacefully next to each other. These days, Zuurbemde is a part of Glabbeek. And that's the same in the world of football.
Zuurbemde was the first of the two to have its own football team. Maanschotters Zuurbemde was created in 1940, in full war time.Not long after that, Sporting Club Glabbeek joined the game. This happened in 1943. Both clubs were only active in the regional leagues in Brabant though. But soon the two would come together as one. The Liberation of Belgium changed a lot and in 1947 certain decisions in the village had a huge impact as well.
According to the archives at the Belgian FA, there is no official merger of Maanschotters Zuurbemde and Sporting Club Glabbeek. Although it's being recognised you could almost call it a merger. The two teams declared their desire to cease activities on the same day (March 15th, 1947) and a few years later Vliegende Zwaluwen Glabbeek-Zuurbemde rose out of the ashes. The old boards of both clubs were the main initiators of the creation of this new team. The name is actually an interesting anecdote. The old pitch of SC Glabbeek was placed under a bunch of electricity cables. These were constantly in use as resting area for swallows. Hence the name Vliegende Zwaluwen - Flying Swallows.
The new club would also only be active in the regional leagues. Vliegende Zwaluwen Glabbeek-Zuurbemde mainly played in the third and fourth regional league, although they did manage to play in the second regional league a couple of seasons. In the beginning of the 70s the football pitch was modernised, adding a new canteen, new stands and even some floodlights. Their stadium has a very fitting name by the way. 'De Kuip' (the pit) refers to the pitch being in an actual pit. It even took until the 80s before the pitch was leveled. Imagine the older games...
The club officially received the royal title in 2005 and changed its name into Koninklijke Vliegende Zwaluwen Glabbeek. There is no trace of Zuurbemde left, but the team holds the history in mind. KVZG is definitely worth a visit, containing some nice stands, a beautiful environment and a huge local support. Bravo Glabbeek!
If you want to enjoy our articles in Dutch, you can read them here.
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