{{short description|Belgian football club}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}} {{Infobox football club | clubname = Turnhout | image = KFC Turnhout.png | image_size = | fullname = Kempische Football Club Turnhout | nickname = | founded = 1912 | ground = Stadsparkstadion | capacity = 3,000 | chairman = | manager = | league = [[Belgian Division 3]] | season = [[2025–26 Belgian Division 3|2025–26]] | website = {{URL|https://www.kfct.be/}} | position = Belgian Division 3 VV B, 11th of 16 |pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=_whitestripes|pattern_ra1= |leftarm1=0000FF|body1=0000FF|rightarm1=0000FF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF |pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2= |leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF | }} '''KFC Turnhout''' is a Belgian [[association football|football]] club, from the municipality of [[Turnhout]]. The team competes in the [[Belgian Division 3]], the fifth level of the [[Belgian football league system]].
==History== KFC Turnhout was [[List of football clubs in Belgium|founded]] as ''Turnhout Sport'' in 1912 with [[Football in Belgium#Matricule numbers|matricule]] n°148. After World War I, the club was refounded as ''F.C. Turnhout'' with the same matriculation. Turnhout managed to advance through the lower leagues, to play twice in the first division: in 1931 and 1936.
The second division was their main stay afterwards, until the club was relegated to the third division in 1952. That same year the club was awarded the Royal title ''[[Koninklijke]]'', and was called ''K.F.C. Turnhout'' onwards. In 1963, again promotion to the first division was achieved, as second division club [[Waterschei SV Thor|Thor Waterschei]] that came in second that year was faced with a bribery scandal. However, the next year, Turnhout itself came under suspicion, and the club was relegated from the top flight even though it finished third last in the standings that year. [[File:Turnhout KFC Performance Chart.png|thumb|Historical chart of KFC Turnhout league performance]]
The next seasons, Turnhout played in the second division, until it was relegated in 1977 to the third division, where they would stay until 1990. In 1991, the 25-year top scorer of the club and second division, [[Luc De Rijck]], suffered a [[heart attack]] while visiting the club's physician. It became apparent later that the doctor had applied [[blood doping]] to the player, but because of a wrongful connection in the machinery, an [[air embolism]] developed in the player's body. The doctor later faced a [[criminal conviction]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archives.lesoir.be/le-deces-du-joueur-luc-de-rijck-devant-le-tribunal-corr_t-19930507-Z06QEN.html |title=Le décès du joueur Luc De Rijck devant le tribunal correctionnel de Turnhout. Une machine à réoxygéner le sang au coeur du débat |author=Eddy Surmont |date=7 May 1993 |publisher=[[Le Soir]] |access-date=23 September 2010|language=fr}}</ref>
During the 1990s, the club came close on several occasions to win promotion again to the first division, but failed each time in the play-offs. After financial problems, the club degraded to the fourth division, and the club's old ground, the ''Villapark'', had to be sold. New management took over the club, and the club was renamed to ''KV Turnhout''. In 2007, the club was sold to the Wadi Degla company of Egypt, which also owns [[Lierse SK (1906)|Lierse SK]] During the 2009–10 season, both Turnhout and Lierse played in the second division, therefore Wadi Degla suspended sponsorship of Turnhout for a year.
==Former players== *{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Swat Engelen]] (1921-41) *{{flagicon|CZE}} [[Tomáš Heřman]]
==Notable coaches== *{{flagicon|TUR}} [[Fuat Çapa]] (2001–04) *{{flagicon|BEL}} [[René Desaeyere]] (2006–09) *{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Luc Beyens]] (2009–10) *{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Eric Van Meir]] (2011) *{{flagicon|GER}} [[Daniel Simmes]] (2011–13) *{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Jo Christiaens]] (2020–22)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{in lang|nl}} [https://www.kfct.be/ Official website]
{{Belgian Pro League}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnhout}} [[Category:KFC Turnhout| ]] [[Category:Association football clubs established in 1912]] [[Category:Football clubs in Belgium]] [[Category:1912 establishments in Belgium]] [[Category:Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage]] [[Category:Sport in Turnhout|KFC Turnhout]] [[Category:Football clubs in Antwerp Province|KFC Turnhout]] [[Category:Belgian Pro League clubs]]