OH Leuven

OH Leuven

Full Name: Oud-Heverlee Leuven
City: Leuven
Founded: 1957 (2002)
Stadium: Stadion Den Dreef (8000)
Colors: White
Previous: Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee (1957-2002)
Nicknames: OHL, OH Leuven

Description:

Oud-Heverlee Leuven was formed by the merger of three clubs in the Leuvens area - K. Stade Leuven, K. Daring Club Leuven, and Zwarte Duivels Oud-Heverlee from the nearby village of Oud-Heverlee. The city of Leuven instigated the merger, with the goal of creating one club for the city which could compete at the highest level. And in 2011-12 that will be happening as OH Leuven were last season's 2nd division champions and 1st division football returns to Leuvens for the first time in 61 years.

The club is technically a continuation of Zwarte Duivels (Black Devils) Oud-Heverlee and will maintain their matricule of #6142.

The other two merged clubs have a much more extensive ancestry. K. Stade Leuvens were founded in 1903 and had the matricule #18, meaning they were the 18th club ever to be founded in Belgium. Historically Stade Leuven are the biggest of the city's clubs, though they have played in the top flight for only one season, in 1949-50, and they have mostly been 2nd or 3rd division material. K. Daring Club Leuvens date from the 1940s and spent one season in the 2nd division, though at the time of the merger they were actually in the Belgian 6th division.

Stadion Den Dreef:

The Stadion Den Dreef (The Alley Stadium) is located on the campus of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Catholic University of Leuven), the largest university in Belgium with origins dating back to the 15th century. The stadium was previously known as Sportkot and is part of a larger sports complex of the university. Den Dreef was built for OH Leuven in 2002.