Sporting Hasselt was a club in decline a few years ago. An outdated stadium, few people… They just drifted around in the amateur series. Until Sam Kerkhofs and Rik Verheye suddenly bought in. That turned out to be a golden move.
Hasselt suddenly became a lot more popular. Kerkhofs knows better than anyone how to put something visually in the spotlight and made Hasselt a very popular club through social media. For example, they have 45,000 followers on Instagram.
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Hasselt is extremely popular
That is more than, say, clubs like KVC Westerlo or STVV. But it was not only online that there was a lot of resonance, also in the stadium itself. The fans found their way to Hasselt and few expected that. Hasselt was never really a football city, so it was not a priority for politics.
That is changing, because Hasselt is now receiving attention throughout Flanders. Recently there were even 4,000! fans for the derby against Belisia. Hasselt also promoted to the third highest level and is at the top there. The Challenger Pro League beckons.
Interest is increasing
This also means that there are vultures lurking around the club. Kerkhofs announced in Café Constant that he had already received requests from Turkish and American people to buy the club. That’s not going to happen for a while. Hasselt wants to continue to profile itself as a young and fresh Belgian club, preferably with as many Belgian talents as possible.
