In the Antwerp area there is a small region on itself: Klein-Brabant. It mostly consists out of the villages Puurs-Sint-Amands and Bornem. And it's in Bornem we can find a colourful team with a full history and loads of years spent in the national divisions. Since this season they sadly enough play in the regional leagues after 17 years.
In the smaller villages being part of Bornem, other teams like KFC Volharding Wintam-Eikevliet, FCS Mariekerke-Branst and KVK Hingene are active as well. All of them followed the example of two teams from Bornem, but none of them would reach the level of those two. In the early 20s (1921 to be exact) Football Club Klein Brabant Puers was founded. Three years later, when the earlier mentioned team joined the Belgian FA, Vlug En Vrij Bornem (Quick and Free) was created as well. Another year later Vlug En Vrij joined the Belgian FA as well and the derbies could begin.
Vlug En Vrij was the first of the two that managed to reach the national divisions. From 1934 to 1936 they were part of third division, but after relegating back to the regional leagues they would never return again. During WWII Klein Brabant took over the title of best team in the village thanks to their promotion to third division. It wouldn't last long for them either and it would take quite a while before successes came back to Bornem. In the next few years the biggest changes were name changes. In 1954 Klein Brabant became a royal team and that same year they would change their name twice. For a short while it was KFC Klein Brabant before they became KFC Klein Brabant-Bornem. In 1962 Vlug En Vrij became royal as well, changing their name into KFC Vlug En Vrij Bornem.
For little over a decade, the two teams fought intensely in the regional leagues until a fresh wind blew through the village. Vlug En Vrij and Klein Brabant decided to join forces to get back to the national leagues. Sportvereniging Bornem was born in 1973; a year later the name was already changed into the current KSV Bornem. In fact it can be considered to be a continuation of KFC Klein Brabant-Bornem. And by the end of the 70s their initial goal was already achieved: fourth division and back in the national leagues. In 1982 they even promoted to third division. As of then, great years were followed by an occasional relegation and vice versa. Eventually the best years would take off in 2003 when they started their 17 year streak in third and fourth division (second and third amateur after the restructured competition set up).
Recently the team had to deal with some sportive and financial challenges. In 2020, after the Covid-19 season, KSV Bornem relegated back to the regional leagues and in the same year the village council meddled with the financial structure of the team. Bornem paid off all debts so the team could continue activities. All of this little over ten years after a merger between KSV Bornem and KVC Willebroek-Meerhof fell through. The fans had to endure quite a lot lately. The yellow/reds can however look towards a bright future and hopefully the national leagues will be part of that future quickly. Their beautiful Breeven stadium definitely deserves this. A stadium which contains more than just two covered stands, but also holds unexpected terracing, just like any groundhopper will most definitely love.
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