Hof der dingen - Football shirt Nicolas Lombaerts – KV Oostende

It’s August 2013. Patron and entrepreneur Marc Coucke makes his grand entrance at football club KV Oostende — like a modern-day, albeit wealthy, Messiah. As the majority shareholder, he brought a wave of optimism to the football team. The stadium was renovated, and with the help of the former pharmaceutical CEO’s financial injection and perseverance, several star players were lured to join the football team. 

One of them was Nicolas Lombaert – player of the national football team who transfered from Zenit Saint Petersburg to KV Oostende in 2017. That same year, KV Oostende made history by qualifying for the Europa League for the first time. The team was unable to go any further in the competition after losing 4-2 in France against powerhouse Olympique Marseille and only securing a goalless draw during the home match a couple of weeks later. 

While KV Oostende was the clear underdog, their supporters filled the visitor section of the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille during the away game, proud of the team’s qualification after having only been promoted to Belgium’s first division a few years before. Marseille would go on to reach the finals in the Europa League that season. 

In 2018, Mark Coucke announced that he would be stepping down after purchasing rival football club RSC Anderlecht. He stated that he would remain a fan and would stay on as a minority shareholder. However, the club never fully bounced back from his departure. This culminated in a dark day for all Ostend supporters: on 4 June 2024, the club filed for bankruptcy due to the failure of obtaining a professional license, an insurmountable debt burden and a failed takeover. 

Today, the club is working on a comeback. On 13 June of the same year, it was revealed that KSV Diksmuide intended to collaborate with the city of Ostend to form a new team under the name Koninklijke Voetbalclub Diksmuide-Oostende. Both clubs joining forces will allow them to rebuild their future, slowly but steadily.

Who knows- maybe they’ll even become the National Champion in a couple of years? Two West Flemish clubs have already led the way and claimed the national championship title in the past: Cercle Brugge (3 times) and Club Brugge (19 times). 

Women's football has become increasingly popular in West Flanders as well, with the Cerkelladies (the local football club) even becoming national champions once. Both the Cerkelladies (Cercle Brugge’s women division) and Club Brugge have each one the Belgian Cup once. DVD Zuid-West-Vlaanderen also reached the cup final once, but did not win. 

This jersey worn by Nicolas Lombaerts was donated to us by Caroline Zonnekeyn. She purchased it at a charity auction in support of Kom op tegen Kanker (Stand up to Cancer).