Olsa Brakel

History

Olsa Brakel began in Nederbrakel when it joined the Belgian FA in 1952, playing under the full name Oud Leerlingenverbond Sint-Augustinus Nederbrakel and going by the short form Olsa Nederbrakel, with matricule number 5553. It started out in the Belgian Provincial Leagues. The club officially shortened its name to Olsa Brakel in 1975.

After spending four decades in the provincial leagues, it first reached the national level in 1990, comfortably holding its place in the Belgian Fourth Division. The next season it achieved its best-ever finish, coming second, but then entered a decline that ended with relegation back to the provincial level in 1997. Following another ten years there, it returned to the fourth division in 2007 and moved up to the Belgian Third Division in 2010, having placed third and benefiting from promotions caused by defaults and mergers at higher levels.

The 2016 Belgian football reform rebranded the third division as the Belgian Second Amateur Division, which dropped the club one level to tier four, where it still plays today. In the Belgian Cup, the club’s greatest success came in 2014–15, when it defeated top-flight side Westerlo 6–1 at home to reach the round of 16, where KV Mechelen eliminated it. In 2020–21 it again reached the round of 16, losing 6–1 away to league champions Club Brugge.

Did You Know?

• Olsa Brakel's full name is Koninklijke Oud Leerlingenverbond Sint-Augustinus Brakel, and it was originally called Oud Leerlingenverbond Sint-Augustinus Nederbrakel when it joined the FA in 1952.
• The club's matricule number is 5553, and it spent four decades in the Provincial Leagues before first reaching the national level in 1990.