Germinal Beerschot

K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot is a Belgian football club based in Antwerp. They currently feature in the Belgian first division.

KFC Germinal Beerschot were established in 1999 as a merger between KFC Germinal Ekeren and K Beerschot VAC. The former was founded in Ekeren, a northern suburb of Antwerp while the latter was founded in 1899 at Het Kiel, a southern outskirt of Antwerp.

In 1942 Germinal Ekeren registered with the Belgian Football Association and in 1971 added the prefix “Koninklijk” (Royal in Dutch) to their name. They featured in the Belgian top flight for the first time in 1989 and finished 13th in the table. They finished third in the league in 1996 ad 1998 and featured in the UEFA Cup.

In 1999 they merged with Beerschot due to low attendance and other problems; Beerschot when then in the third division and they themselves were struggling financially. The new side, KFC Germinal Beerschot, maintained their position in the Belgian first division. They won the Belgian Cup in 2004-2005.

KFC Germinal Beerschot play their home matches at the Olympisch Stadion that can hold 12,771 spectators. They bear the nicknames De Ratten (The Rats).