KFCV Alberta celebrates 80th anniversary: ​​“2024 will be a crucial year for survival” (Yellow)

The origins of KFCV Alberta date back to the Second World War. FC Heisport previously existed in Winkelomheide, but that club ceased to exist in 1938. In the early 1940s, some sports enthusiasts in the Hei, as residents affectionately call their village, started to get the itch again. They created a new club that they named after the nearby Albert Canal. Not much later, FC Heisport also rose from its ashes. It resulted in some infamous derbies between the two clubs.

According to some anecdotes from the book, they wanted to 100 years of Winkelomheide by René Veraghtert, Geert Vandecruys and Lorry Swerts from 2000 can often be tough. “An Alberta player was not selected to play football, after which a family member of that player decided to saw through the posts of the goal,” the book reads. “It was also once agreed to make ambush during the match during a derby. A Heisport supporter was encouraged to take the referee to task, so that Alberta would receive a hefty fine. The supporter took a bucket of water to pour over the referee’s head. The secretary was summoned to the Football Association. There he explained that there were quite a lot of insane people in Geel and therefore also in Winkelomheide. The event was classified and nothing further was said about it.”

Young twenties

In the 1960s, Heisport and Alberta merged to form Verbroedering Alberta, which now also has ‘royal’ in front of the name. But it wouldn’t have made much difference if the club’s history had come to an end about ten years ago. The association was in deep debt, there was no longer a single youth team and the number of members was rapidly decreasing. Until a group of young people in their twenties could no longer tolerate it and decided to take matters into their own hands.

“It took blood, sweat and tears, but the club is now financially healthy and we have 208 members, including ninety youth players.”

Toon Bens

Chairman KFCV Alberta

“It took blood, sweat and tears, but the club is now financially healthy and we have 208 members, including ninety youth players,” say chairman Toon Bens and secretary Cis Janssens. “Over the years we have been able to grow a team in all youth categories up to and including U12, really from the bottom up. Sometimes it is close, but at U9 we have teams again. In addition, since 2020 we also have a women’s team, all ladies of men who are already with us shot. Come on, not anymore, now they’re all exes (shatter). But that team is doing quite well with seventeen players and two trainers. Finally, we also have a café team.”

Community life

KFCV Alberta mainly taps into a source of players in its own village. “That may be less the case with the ladies, but it applies even more to the youth players,” say trainer Lorenzo Sterckx of the first team and youth representative Jo Fierens. “Several new allotments have been added in Winkelomheide in recent years, where mainly young families come to live. As a result, the potential for young players remains high. But a surprising number of players from their own village also play in the seniors, more than before. Apparently there was still a pack of young guys hidden somewhere in the Hei, a generation we didn’t know. Several of them once started here with the youth, but due to problems in the past, they started playing at KSAV Sint-Dimpna and have now returned to us.”

“Since 2020, there is also a women’s team, all ladies of men who already play with us. Come on, not anymore. Now they’re all exes”

Toon Bens

Chairman KFCV Alberta

The football club is (again) an inseparable part of community life. The board members point out that apart from the carnival association De Heiknuiters, scouts Sint-Aloysius and Alberta, not much is happening in Winkelomheide in terms of active club life.

“We try to take this into account by coordinating training sessions and football matches with the scouts’ activity days. And if people want to grab a pint on Sunday, it is possible here. When the club was closed for a year, we were often asked about this. That people lost their Sunday pint at the football. While afterwards we even considered opening the canteen to café-goers on weekday evenings.”

Looking for people over 50

Besides those favorable sounds, it is certainly not all roses and moonshine. Like every other (sports) association, the club is struggling with an acute lack of volunteers. A special phenomenon is occurring in Alberta. While other football clubs are largely kept afloat by an aging board and an army of retired volunteers, the van de Hei club has a major lack of older employees. The board still consists mainly of people in their early thirties.

“The fact that we are a family club is actually Alberta’s strength. I think I know everyone personally by name,” says chairman Toon. “It has always been friends who have continued to pull the cart here, because they could continue to play football under the church tower. But we simply don’t have the 50-plus generation here. We do miss that.”

“The seniors also have a surprising number of players from their own village, more than before. Apparently there was still a pack of young guys hidden somewhere in the Hei, a generation we didn’t know.”

Lorenzo Sterckx

Trainer A-kern

Other clubs praise the location of the grounds in the middle of nature on the edge of the village, but the biggest problem is the seriously outdated infrastructure. In recent years, the young team has completely renovated the roof – “when we started here, the canteen was full of coffee bags to catch the raindrops through the roof” – installed a new kitchen and renovated some of the changing rooms. “But our fields are completely outdated, we only have three changing rooms and the sanitary facilities would need to be completely renovated. Older people find such linen corner still have something nostalgic, but the younger generations really don’t anymore. We are convinced that new sanitary facilities and a renovated canteen can also have a positive effect on people who want to lend a hand.”

Financial support

“Six years ago, we fell out of the city’s multi-year planning due to the transition between two boards, so that we did not receive financial support like the other clubs for six years,” the chairman continues. “In 2019, the city council thought it was still a bit too early. I think we have proven ourselves now, the club is flourishing again. We hope that we will be there again after the next elections, otherwise it will be very difficult to save this. In that sense, this year represents a very crucial moment in our survival.”

“We did not receive financial support like the other clubs for six years. In 2019, the city council thought it was still a bit too early. I think we have proven ourselves by now”

Toon Bens

Chairman KFCV Alberta

In any case, the eighty-year-old club will celebrate his birthday on the day of Our Lord’s Ascension, Thursday, May 9, with a big family day. The program includes giant games, bouncy castles, a dribbling festival and panna football from 1 p.m.

“It has been since 2019 since we have organized an Alberta Day,” says chairman Toon. “Everyone is welcome, even those who don’t play football with us. Important elements that day are the medal presentation to the youth and at 6.30 pm the presentation of the golden shoe by mayor Vera Celis and sports councilor Nadine Laeremans to the men, women, reserves A and reserves B. A party will follow afterwards. . Our football camp for youth during the summer is also a great prospect. We already have seventy registrations for this, which is really promising.”