{{Short description|Belgian football club}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox football club | clubname = Hamme | image = 130px | fullname = Koninklijke Football Club Vigor Wuitens Hamme | nickname = ''De Wuitens'' | founded = {{start date and age|1908|5|2|df=y}} | ground = Gemeentelijk Stadion Vigor Wuitens Hamme, Hamme | capacity = 6,000<ref name="SoccerwayVenue">{{cite web |title=Gemeentelijk Stadion Vigor Wuitens Hamme |url=https://int.soccerway.com/teams/belgium/kfc-vw-hamme/242/venue/ |website=Soccerway |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref> | chairman = Bart De Bruyne-Van den Broeck<ref name="Bestuur">{{cite web |title=Bestuur – K.F.C. V.W. Hamme |url=https://www.vwhamme.be/bestuur/ |website=vwhamme.be |publisher=K.F.C. V.W. Hamme |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref> | manager = Kim Verstraeten<ref name="HLNPromotie">{{cite news |last=Van Moortel |first=Renzo |title="We zijn klaar voor tweede amateurklasse": tienkoppig VW Hamme wint van Schoonbeek-Beverst en mag promotie vieren |url=https://www.hln.be/sport-in-de-buurt/we-zijn-klaar-voor-tweede-amateurklasse-tienkoppig-vw-hamme-wint-van-schoonbeek-beverst-en-mag-promotie-vieren~a51bcc81/ |work=Het Laatste Nieuws |date=6 May 2025 |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref> | league = Belgian Division 2 | season = 2025–26 | position = Belgian Division 2 VV A, 10th of 16 | pattern_b1 = _blackstripes | leftarm1 = 000000 | body1 = 0000FF | rightarm1 = 000000 | shorts1 = 000000 | socks1 = 0000FF | leftarm2 = FFFFFF | body2 = FFFFFF | rightarm2 = FFFFFF | shorts2 = FFFFFF | socks2 = FFFFFF | website = {{URL|https://www.vwhamme.be|vwhamme.be}} }}
'''Koninklijke Football Club Vigor Wuitens Hamme''', simply known as '''VW Hamme''' is a Belgian association football club based in Hamme, East Flanders. The club is affiliated to the Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) under ''matricule'' 211 and plays in the Belgian Division 2, the fourth tier of the Belgian league system.<ref name="Geschiedenis">{{cite web |title=Geschiedenis – K.F.C. V.W. Hamme |url=https://www.vwhamme.be/geschiedenis/ |website=vwhamme.be |publisher=K.F.C. V.W. Hamme |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref><ref name="Bestuur" /> The team's colours are blue and black, and the club is nicknamed ''De Wuitens''.{{efn|name=wuitens|''Wuitens'' refers to local Hamme folklore; see e.g. the recognised heritage group "Die Hamse Wuitens".<ref>{{cite web |title=Die Hamse Wuitens |url=https://immaterieelerfgoed.be/nl/erfgoederen/die-hamse-wuitens |website=Inventaris Immaterieel Erfgoed Vlaanderen |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref>}}
== History == The club was founded on 2 May 1908 as '''Vigor FC Hamme-sur-Durme''', initially joining the UBSSA, the forerunner of the Belgian FA. It affiliated to the RBFA in 1922 and received ''matricule'' 211 in 1926; in 1934 it was granted the royal designation and became K.F.C. Vigor Hamme.<ref name="Geschiedenis" /> The club first reached the national divisions in the 1930s and, during the World War II era, rose as high as the second tier (then known as Division 1).<ref name="Geschiedenis" />
On 1 July 1972, Vigor merged with local side Jonge Wuitens V.V. Hamme. The merged club adopted the name K.F.C. Vigor Wuitens Hamme and retained ''matricule'' 211.<ref name="Geschiedenis" /> After a difficult period that included relegation to the provincial leagues, Hamme returned to the national structure in the early 1980s and climbed back to the third tier in 1992.<ref>{{cite web |title=Voorbeschouwing Vigor Wuitens Hamme – Bocholt VV |url=https://www.bocholtvv.be/voorbeschouwing-vigor-wuitens-hamme-bocholt-vv/ |website=Bocholtvv.be |date=1 December 2018 |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref>
Hamme won Third Division A in 1996–97 to earn promotion to the second tier for the first time in almost half a century;<ref>{{cite news |title=Carl Meseure wil met VW Hamme terug naar tweede klasse |url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/vf3ol1bd |work=Het Nieuwsblad |date=12 April 2012 |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref> after one season it returned to the third level but won promotion again in 2002 and subsequently spent most of the 2000s in the second division.<ref>{{cite web |title=KFC Turnhout – VW Hamme: voorbeschouwing en selectie |url=https://www.kfct.be/nieuws/kfc-turnhout-vw-hamme-voorbeschouwing-en-selectie |website=KFC Turnhout (club site) |date=8 September 2018 |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref> In 2009, the club was relegated to the third tier,<ref>{{cite news |title=VOETBAL 3de Klasse: Vigor-Wuitens Hamme |url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/rm2dn1a7 |work=Het Nieuwsblad |date=12 August 2009 |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref> but it won the third-tier title again in 2015–16 amid the national league reform that created the amateur divisions; ''Sporza'' noted Hamme as champions of Third Division A as the new structure came into effect.<ref>{{cite web |title=Voetbalhervorming 2016–2017: de spelregels voor 1A, 1B en de amateurreeksen |url=https://sporza.be/nl/2016/04/29/voetbalhervorming-2016-2017-de-spelregels-voor-1a-1b-en-de-amate-1-2641838/ |website=Sporza |date=29 April 2016 |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref>
After several seasons at amateur level, Hamme missed out on the 2023–24 Third Amateur (Derde Afdeling VV A) title by a narrow margin,<ref>{{cite news |title=Westhoek kampioen in derde amateur A, VW Hamme strandt op tweede plaats |url=https://www.hln.be/voetbal/herbekijk-amateurvoetbal-live-op-hln-westhoek-kampioen-in-derde-amateur-a-vw-hamme-strandt-op-tweede-plaats~a2847631/ |work=Het Laatste Nieuws |date=29 April 2024 |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref> but in 2024–25 secured promotion via the play-offs, defeating Schoonbeek-Beverst 3–1 in Hamme.<ref name="TVOost">{{cite web |title=Vigor Wuitens Hamme pakt verdiende promotie naar tweede nationale |url=https://www.tvoost.be/nieuws/vigor-wuitens-hamme-pakt-verdiende-promotie-naar-tweede-nationale-200311 |website=TV Oost |date=4 May 2025 |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref><ref name="HLNPromotie" /> Local press described the win as a release for the club, achieved despite finishing runners-up in the regular season.<ref>{{cite news |title=VW Hamme trekt met man minder promotie over de streep: "Dit is een opluchting voor de hele club" |url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/regio/oost-vlaanderen/denderregio/hamme/vw-hamme-trekt-met-man-minder-promotie-over-de-streep-dit-is-een-opluchting-voor-de-hele-club/65365982.html |work=Het Nieuwsblad |date=4 May 2025 |language=nl |access-date=17 August 2025}}</ref> The result returned Hamme to the Belgian Division 2 for 2025–26.<ref name="HLNPromotie" />
== Stadium == Hamme play home matches at the Gemeentelijk Stadion Vigor Wuitens Hamme in Sportpleinstraat, Hamme. The ground has a capacity of approximately 6,000.<ref name="SoccerwayVenue" />
== Honours == {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |+Hamme honours !scope=col|Honour !scope=col|No. !scope=col|Years |- !scope=row|Belgian Third Division |align="center"|3 | 1941–42, 1996–97, 2015–16 |- !scope=row|Belgian Fourth Division |align="center"|2 | 1961–62, 1991–92 |}
==Notes== {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|http://www.vwhamme.be/}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamme}} Category:Association football clubs established in 1908 Category:Football clubs in Belgium Category:1908 establishments in Belgium Category:Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage Category:Hamme Category:VW Hamme Category:Football clubs in East Flanders