FCV Dender EH
Belgian football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Football Club Verbroedering Dender Eendracht Hekelgem, also simply known as Dender or FCV Dender EH, is a Belgian professional football club based in Denderleeuw. The club will play in the Challenger Pro League following their loss against Lommel SK in the relegation play-offs.
| |||
| Full name | Football Club Verbroedering (Dender Eendracht Hekelgem) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1935 | ||
| Ground | Florent Beeckmanstadion, Denderleeuw | ||
| Capacity | 6,429[1] | ||
| Owner | Sihar Sitorus | ||
| CEO | Belinda Siahaan[2] | ||
| Head coach | Yannick Ferrera | ||
| League | Challenger Pro League | ||
| 2025–26 | Belgian Pro League, 16th of 16 (relegated via play-offs) | ||
| Website | www | ||
|
| |||
The club is named after former clubs KFC Denderleeuw Eendracht Hekelgem and Verbroedering Denderhoutem, which merged at the end of the 2004–05 season, and after the river Dender, which crosses the town of Denderleeuw. The home stadium of the club is Florent Beeckmanstadion, located in Denderleeuw. Their best league ranking was 12th place in the first division (in 2024–25). The club colours are blue, red, white and black.
History
Early history
Verbroedering Denderhoutem was founded in 1935[3] and registered to the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1943. They first reached the Promotion (4th-highest level in Belgian football) in the 1980s.[4] After several relegations and promotions in the provincial leagues and Promotion, the club finally reached the third division in 1998–99. They remained at that level except for one season in 2003–04 when they played in the Promotion. After one season back at the third level, Denderhoutem merged with fellow club KFC Denderleeuw EH from the third division.
Rise to the top tier
Verbroedering Dender won consecutively the third division A title (in 2005–06) and the second division title (in 2006–07), to reach the first division in 2007–08 for the first time in their history. They achieved promotion after beating Dessel 0–2 on the second division's 33rd match day on 13 May 2007. They finished at the 15th place in 2007–08 and again in 2008–09, though the club was relegated at the end of the 2008–09 season because the number of clubs in the first division was reduced from 18 to 16.
Post–top division history
The club was relegated from the Second Division in the 2011–12 season after finishing second bottom.
In the 2015–16 season, Dender qualified for the newly formed Belgian third tier named Belgian First Amateur Division. In the 2020–21 season, the division was renamed Belgian National Division 1 but the season was cancelled after one game due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium.
They won promotion back to the second tier, now renamed the Challenger Pro League, in the 2021–22 season. The promotion was not without controversy. On the penultimate game of the promotion play-offs against RFC Liège on 22 May 2022, Dender lost 1–0 which saw them move into second place and Liège move to first place. The following day, it was announced that Liège would receive a three-point deduction and a €1000 fine after failing to field enough U21 players in their 3–0 win against Dender back in March 2022.[5] As a result, Dender were awarded a 5–0 win and moved back to the top of the table. Liège released a statement to say that they would be appealing the decision.[6] However, the points deduction would turn out to be irrelevant. This is because Liège lost on the final game of the season against Knokke, while Dender won 1–0 against Dessel Sport.[7]
Return to top flight and relegation
Dender won promotion back to the Belgian Pro League in the 2023–24 season. They finished second in the Challenger Pro League to secure their promotion. This meant it would be the first time that the club had played in the top flight since 2009.[8] Before the start of the season, the club was dealt with the blow of the departure of manager Timmy Simons who left to join fellow top tier side Westerlo.[9] Vincent Euvrard, then manager of Zulte Waregem, was appointed manager of the club. The club would stay up in their first season back in the top flight, finishing 12th. The next season, Euvrard would leave to join fellow pro league club Standard Liège. Hayk Milkon, assistant manager of Club Brugge, was brought in as his replacement. On 25 February 2026, Milkon was dismissed with the club in last place and on a four-game losing streak. He was replaced by Yannick Ferrera on 26 February 2026. The club finished last place in the regular season and later last place in the relegation play-offs. However, due to the expansion of the league from 16 to 18 clubs at the start of the 2026-27 season, they qualified for the promotion/relegation play-offs against Lommel SK. They lost the first leg 2-3, and drew the second leg 0-0, confirming their relegation to the 2026-27 Challenger Pro League.
Honours
- Belgian Second Division / Challenger Pro League (level 2)
- Winners: 2006–07
- Runners-up: 2023–24
- Belgian Third Division A / Belgian National Division 1 (level 3)
- Winners: 2005–06, 2021–22
Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Yannick Ferrera |
| Assistant coach | Killian Overmeire |
| First Team Coach | Mario Kohnen |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Dany Verlinden |
| Fitness coach |  Barthélémy Delecroix |
| Video Analyst | Arthur Snoeks |
Players
Current squad
- As of 24 January 2026[10]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Notable players
Had international caps for their respective countries, held any club record, or had more than 100 league appearances. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries.
