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GROUND // La Moderne - Kluisbergen Sportief

Kwaremont will most likely sound very familiar with all cycling fans. The hills of Kwaremont have been driven in several cycling classics and tours. Other fans of life might know Kwaremont as the place where good beer is being brewed. But there's also some nice football history in Kwaremont and Kluisbergen.



To be completely honest, football in Kluisbergen is mostly the derby between KFC Kluisbergen and Kluisbergen Sportief. Both were originally founded as Sparta Ruien and Kwaremont Sportief. Ruien against Kwaremont. Sparta Ruien is the oldest of the two. They already started playing football in 1934, but they only decided the join the Belgian FA in '38. It would take until 2002 before the team would swap the name Ruien by Kluisbergen to become KFC Kluisbergen. For a very short time (from 1944 up until 1952) there was a Kwaremont Sportief, but the current one was only created in 1968. Not as a continuation of the original one though.



No continuation as the new Kwaremont Sportief came to exist thanks to a bet. Chairman for ages Paul Bilau was challenged to form a football team in 1968. It wouldn't take long before he got things done. The first players even were bought from the neighbours of FC Ruien (as they had changed their name from Sparta to FC). The next decades the lower regional leagues would be where Kwaremont Sportief would play their games. So for none of the wider Kluisbergen teams have ever reached the national divisions.



Somewhere along the way Kwaremont Sportief moved from Kwaremont to Berchem. We suspect this happened around 1984. Reason for our suspicion? In 1999 the team changed their name into Kluisbergen Sportief and gave as reason "since we have been playing for 15 years in Berchem our connection with Kwaremont is gone". But the deeper feelings still talk about the derby between Ruien and Kwaremont though.



After the name change and the dawn of the new millennium the team invested in a brand new stadium. Sure it's super modern (it even was renamed into La Moderne), but the nostalgic groundhopper will still like the typical standing area. The new stadium must have given them wings as in 2015 they managed to promote to the second regional league for the very first time. And to this day they still play there. One could say the team is living its best years ever.



If you want to enjoy our articles in Dutch, you can read them here.

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