K.S.K. Tongeren

Origins

Football in Tongeren dates to the formation of Cercle Sportif Tongrois, founded in 1908. The club's administrative identity is unusual even by Belgian standards: it did not originally hold matricule 54, the registration number it now carries. That number had belonged to a club from Welkenraedt, and became available after a 1932 merger under the federation's pre-1964 rules requiring merged clubs to take a new matricule; in 1947 it was reassigned to the Tongeren club, which thereby became, on paper, the city's oldest club.

1969 merger and rise to the top flight (1969–1983)

For decades the club shared the city with a rival, Patria FC Tongeren, the two competing in the lower national and provincial divisions. The rivalry ended in 1969, when the two merged to form Koninklijke Sportkring Tongeren. The merged club continued under Tongeren's matricule 54, while Patria's matricule 71 was struck off. The merged club rose quickly, winning successive promotions to reach the Second Division by 1971. It became an established second-tier side, reaching the final of the Belgian Cup in 1974, where it lost 4–1 to KSV Waregem. The team was managed by the Dutchman Frans Körver, in the first appointment of a career in which he won a record six promotions to the Eredivisie. The club's most successful period was built around the defender Lei Clijsters, who joined in 1977 and, according to the Belgian Pro League, developed Tongeren into the "best-footballing team" in the…