| Genre: | Sitcom |
| Creator: | Luc Beerten, Willy Vanduren and Bruno Raes |
| Open Theme: | De Kampioenen |
| Composer: | Guido Van Hellemont |
| Country: | Belgium |
| Language: | Dutch |
| Num Seasons: | 21 |
| Num Episodes: | 273 and 1 special |
| Producer: | Bruno Raes, Marc Scheers, Rik Stallaerts |
| Runtime: | 30 to 45 minutes |
| Channel: | VRT |
F.C. De Kampioenen (F.C. The Champions) is a long-running Flemish sitcom chronicling the (mis)adventures of a fictional local football team. It originally aired on the Belgian-Flemish channel TV1 (now Eén) between 1990 and 2011, for 21 seasons[1] with 273 half-hour-long episodes, making it one of the most successful comedy programs ever on Belgian television.
The series relies heavily on stereotypical characters and farce for its humour. The story is mainly set around a few male members of a local soccer club and their wives who regularly visit the club canteen before or after a training or match. Next to the field is another commercial property, owned by a hostile neighbour. Most of the episodes are based on misunderstandings or dirty tricks from these neighbours.
The series has had various directors, with Etienne Vervoort, Stef Desmyter, Johan Gevers, Willy Vanduren, and Eric Taelman having the biggest episode count, respectively. The most active writers have been Bart Cooreman, René Swartenbroekx, Knarf Van Pellecom, Anton Klee, and Frank Van Laecke.
Seasons 1–21 have all been released on DVD through Universal Pictures and Lime-Lights.
After the television series ended, 4 theatrical movies were released between 2013 and 2019. An 8 episode limited series return was planned for 2021, but the project was halted after the death of main cast member Johny Voners. Instead, a one-off 90-minute episode was filmed and released on December 25, 2020.
The popular celebrity comic album series, F.C. De Kampioenen still runs to this day.
| Character | Portrayed by | Seasons | 2020 TV Special | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | |||
| Balthasar Boma | colspan="21" | Starring | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Pascale De Backer | colspan="21" | Starring | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Oscar Crucke | colspan="4" | colspan="17" | Archive Footage | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Bieke Crucke | colspan="21" | Starring | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Xavier Waterslaeghers | colspan="21" | Archive Footage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Carmen Vandormael | colspan="21" | Starring | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Pico Coppens | colspan="4" | colspan="17" | Archive Footage | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Doortje Van Hoeck | colspan="21" | Starring | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Dimitri De Tremmerie | colspan="8" | colspan="11" | colspan="1" | Starring | |||||||||||||||||||
| Marc Vertongen | colspan="1" | colspan="1" | colspan="1" | colspan="1" | colspan="17" | Starring | |||||||||||||||||
| Pol De Tremmerie | colspan="4" | colspan="17" | Starring | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Bernard T. Waterslaeghers | colspan="8" | colspan="2" | colspan="11" | Archive Footage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Fernand Costermans | colspan="9" | colspan="1" | colspan="11" | Starring | |||||||||||||||||||
| Maurice de Praetere | colspan="12" | colspan="1" | colspan="2" | colspan="6" | Starring | ||||||||||||||||||
| Character | Portrayed by | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 2020 TV Special |
| Seasons | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Character | Actor | Seasons(s) | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balthasar Boma | 1–21 | Balthasar Boma is the rich owner of a sausage factory, yet almost nobody likes his products. It is revealed his company does not go bankrupt because the foreign, profitable companies of family members continue to pump money into the Boma factory. He is also chairman of the soccer club and owns the canteen and field. He believes he is an intelligent businessman, but often embarrasses himself by pronouncing English business terms incorrectly or by messing up Dutch sayings. Besides this, he usually dresses in costumes that others describe as being "made of curtains." These aspects occasionally lead to the soccer team making fun of him, after which he might threaten to sell the soccer grounds to their hostile neighbor. Luckily, he always changes his mind at the last minute. Balthasar is addicted to sex and frequently visits night clubs. In most seasons, he also tries to seduce Pascale, in which endeavor he partially succeeds. Finally, he starts a relationship with Goedele, which largely puts an end to his sexual debauchery. | ||
| Pascale De Backer | 1–21 | Pascale De Backer leases the soccer canteen from Balthasar Boma. She has a friendly attitude, but can be rather pretentious and likes to keep up appearances. Every time something bad or embarrassing occurs, she wonders aloud what her - rich and successful - sister Madeleine would think about it. In the first seasons, Pascale is married to the club's original trainer Oscar Crucke, with whom she has a daughter Bieke. Later on, she starts an on-again, off-again relationship with Balthasar Boma, who however keeps cheating on her. She eventually falls in love with municipal worker Maurice de Praetere, whom she later on discovers to be a nobleman and castle owner, much to her delight. | ||
| Oscar Crucke | 1–4 | Oscar Crucke is the original trainer of the soccer team. During his youth, he was a successful soccer player, but that part of his life ended after he was forced to marry his pregnant then-girlfriend Pascale De Backer. Over the course of his presence in the series, Oscar tries to act as the head of his family, but gets constantly opposed by his frustrated wife and their adolescent daughter Bieke. The bad results of his team and the suggested sexual tension between his wife and Balthasar Boma, add up to Oscar seeing himself as a failure. He is last seen in episode 52, the final episode of season 4. In the original episode he literally vanished during a magical trick.[2] In reruns the scène is adjusted: Oscar leaves the canteen in a hurry after he realizes his father booked a trip to Tenerife, the same destination as nemesis Georgette Verreth.[3] At the start of season 5, it is told that he converted to Hare Krishna and now lives in Kathmandu.[4] | ||
| Maurice de Praetere | 13–21 | Maurice de Praetere is a handyman who works at the town hall. He is a rather mysterious man and many good and bad secrets about him are revealed over time: he is a nobleman but forbids Pascale to tell anyone, he has/had a gambling and alcohol addiction, he is well befriended with Philippe of Belgium, ... He has impressive encyclopaedic knowledge and constantly uses this in social encounters. Maurice first appears in episode 168, in which he comes to help redecorate Pascale's living room. Eventually, he and Pascale start a relationship, which leads to Pascale's former lover Balthasar Boma hating him. The development of their romance is interfered with by Maurice's very demanding mother, whom he does not want to neglect, not even in favor of Pascale. After his mother's death, he inherits a (uninhabitable) castle. Yet he insists on maintaining their normal life. | ||
| Xavier Waterslaeghers | 1–21 | Xavier Waterslaeghers is the team's goalkeeper. He has a long career in the Belgian army, but never achieved a big promotion. This does not bother him at all, because any responsibility would threaten the spare time he spends drinking beer. Xavier is heavily dominated by his wife Carmen and therefore spends as much time as possible at the canteen, rather than to be at home. His libido is also a lot lower than hers, which adds up to his escapism. In the early seasons, Xavier has a side job as an insurance broker. Later on, Carmen forces him to work at her newsagents, followed by her friterie. Finally, he ends up working part-time at the canteen. After Oscar Crucke left, Xavier was promoted to trainer, but after a few seasons, he passed on that role to Pol De Tremmerie. Carmen has never really forgiven Xavier for making her lose the status of trainer's wife. Xavier died during a military operation in Ethiopia. | ||
| Carmen Vandormael | 1–21 | Carmen Vandormael, often called by her husband's name Waterslaeghers, is the wife of Xavier. She has a dominant and extrovert attitude and dresses in eye-catching clothes, often showing cleavage and containing bright colors or feline prints. She has a form of grandiosity. Carmen is the cleaning lady at Balthasar Boma's mansion, but refers to herself as his "Hygiene Manager". Later on the series, she starts combining this job with other professions, such as operating a newsagents and a friterie, before eventually fulfilling her dream of becoming a television celebrity as the host of a phone-in quizz. She only keeps the job because she is laughed at by the viewers, but she does not want to acknowledge/realize this. Carmen loves all kinds of gossip, often leading to misunderstandings that affect the people around her. She does not fear name-calling when she expects someone to have done something wrong. | ||
| Pico Coppens | 1–4 | Pico Coppens is the striker of the soccer team for the first four seasons of the series. He is a school teacher who makes extra money by repairing televisions. He is also an active member of a local political party opposite of Balthasar Boma's, which leads to a difficult understanding between the two of them. Pico is however the only good player of the team, which forces chairman Boma to keep him around. Pico is married to Doortje and during the third season, they get a son named Billie. It is rumored that Pico flirts with other women, but there is no proof he actually cheats on Doortje. That is until the start of season 5, where it is explained that Pico and Doortje have got divorced because he had an affair with one of his female colleagues, and that he has subsequently left the team. Pico is last seen in episode 52, the final episode of season 4. | ||
| Doortje Van Hoeck | 1–21 | Doortje is a shy and somewhat strait-laced lady who can nevertheless be assertive when necessary. She is first married to Pico, who abandons her and their child Billie. Doortje starts off as a secretary at Dimitri's garage and later on becomes Boma's secretary. She finds love again with Pol, although their relationship goes through many ups and downs, especially because she feels like he loves his soccer game more than her. The others often mock her because of her puritanical lifestyle and her vegan cooking. She once is told she has no humor, since then she occasionally tries to make fun jokes and humorous comments, but she mostly fails. | ||
| Pol De Tremmerie | 5–21 | Pol is a nephew of Dimitri's and lived in Africa for some years. Now he is a schoolteacher. Pol starts as the team's new striker, but after an injury he becomes their trainer. Most times he is a very nice and socially engaged guy, although sometimes he seems to have gained some of his uncle's traits, especially in terms of being stingy. The only thing he does not care spending money on, is soccer. It is made clear on many occasions that he is more interested in soccer than in Doortje. | ||
| Bieke Crucke | 1–21 | Bieke is Pascale and Oscar's daughter. She is a clever woman and resolves disputes in many episode. Early on the series, she is a dissolute student dating various guys at once. She moved to the United States for her studies, but unexpectedly returned with a vague explanation. She falls in love with Marc, with whom she marries and gets a daughter. Bieke starts her career as a journalist and eventually becomes a marketer. She is offered a job in the United States and moves once again but the company goes broken and she returns. Afterwards she starts up an event company. Bieke does not get along with Boma, for reasons such as his vulgar attitude and his unhealthy meat business, and mainly because of the sexual tension between him and her mother. | ||
| Marc Vertongen | 1, 3–21 | Marc fell in love with Bieke, which at first pleased Pascale because he was studying to become a doctor. However, he is a clumsy, naïve, childish jack of all trades. Marc started off as the team's goalkeeper, but later got the position of striker, although he can't play soccer at all. He has worked as a policeman, undertaker, ice cream seller, cook, animal keeper, soldier, assistant in Carmen's friterie... Since the start of the series he has been a volunteer DJ at Radio Hallo. This is the only job he has been able to keep throughout the series, although he was once fired after he burnt down the studio by accident. Thanks to Maurice he gets a fulltime job at the municipality as "substitute for all kind of tasks". He helps Pascale with the meals served in the canteen. | ||
| Dimitri De Tremmerie | 1–8, 20 | Dimitri (nicknamed DDT) is the first antagonist of the series. He is the owner of a garage which is located next to the soccer field. The cars he sells are wrecks and he charges much money for repairs he never did. He is a shady, stingy man who dislikes the soccer team. The main reason for that is because the players frequently kick a ball through one of his windows. The times when Boma threatens to quit sponsoring the soccer team, DDT always tries to persuade him into selling the field to him, as he wants to turn it into a huge parking lot. In most episodes, DDT either tries to sabotage the team, or deceive them to earn more money. Although he is far from being friends with the team, there are also times when they do get along with each other. In the final scene of season 8, DDT is seen being arrested. In the opening scene of season 9, it is explained that he was sent to jail after being found guilty of tax fraud. Years later, at the end of season 20, DDT returns for one episode after having escaped. | ||
| Bernard Theofiel Waterslaeghers | 9–10 | Bernard (nicknamed BTW) is a cousin of Xavier who buys the garage after DDT is sent to jail. He becomes the second antagonist. BTW starts a chic restaurant and wants to earn Michelin-stars. Due to his arrogance, pedantry and the long waiting times most people leave the restaurant early. He is able to prepare high-quality dishes, but due to unexpected events the end result is more than once a failure. In season 10, he gains a pet rabbit, which he wanted to slaughter first to cook for his guests... until he looked the rabbit in its cute little eyes. In the final episode of season 10, he sells his restaurant to Fernand for a very cheap price after he received a fake letter which said that the municipality was going to demolish it. | ||
| Fernand Costermans | 10–21 | Fernand is the shady owner of an "antique shop" and is the third antagonist in the series. He buys Bernard's restaurant at a knock-down price in the final episode of season 10 after making him believe the building is due for demolition. He tries to convince his customers that his goods are high quality and have belonged to very important persons. In reality, Fernand sells only junk, mostly stuff found on rubbish dumps. Fernand is very stingy and is always trying to wangle money out of people, especially Marc. When customers are reluctant to buy, he tries to persuade them by telling them he has a wife and seven sick children to support. Although nobody believes this fact, they turn up in last episode but all of them are perfectly healthy. Fernand is in love with Carmen and does almost everything to get closer to her. | ||
| Nero | portrayed by different dogs | 3-21 | Nero is Carmens Yorkshire Terrier. She got the dog as a present after she feigned MDD. The dog is named after Nero from the albums The Adventures of Nero. Carmen adores and treats the dog as her own child and gives him better treatment than Xavier. Although it is a male, she puts him in similar clothes and accessories that she's wearing . Carmen is convinced that Nero can be used for all possible dog tasks: guard dog, fighting dog, sniffer dog, circus dog, rescue dog .. All of these tasks fail except the acting in a commercial, but Carmen withdraw after she found out the commercial was about cat food and Nero was the underdog. |
| Character | Actor | Seasons(s) | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgette Verreth | 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16 | Georgette is DDT's dominant mother. She believes her son runs a well-managed business. During the rare moments where it gets clear to her that the opposite is true, she mostly blames secretary Doortje for it and even tries to replace her, much to DDT's frustration. Georgette is meanwhile determined to find the right wife for her son, which also displeases him. After Dimitri is jailed, she appears one more time to sell the garage and two more times to visit her cousin Pol. Her final appearance is in season 16. In season 20, it is mentioned that she has passed away and donated her savings to Pol. | ||
| Germain Vandesijpe | 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 | Germain is Xavier's stereotypical strict army colonel, but off work he is mostly a close friend of Boma. Germain and Boma spend a lot of time at the local nightclub, named the pussycat, even though Germain is married. He is last seen in season 13, after which a new character appears as colonel. | ||
| Seppe Van De Kruis | Daan Hugaert | 6, 10 | A colleague and good friend of Xavier. | |
| Marie-Paule Vertongen | 7, 14, 15, 19, 20 | The mother of Marc Vertongen. She runs a funeral home together with her husband Theo. | ||
| Theo Vertongen | 7, 14, 15, 19, 20 | The father of Marc Vertongen. He runs a funeral home together with his wife Marie-Paule. | ||
| Madeleine De Backer | 7, 11, 15, 19, 21 | Madeleine is the rich sister of Pascale. She lives in a big mansion, drives a very expensive car, visits exotic locations, attends exclusive parties, and so on. Pascale is very jealous of Madeleine and whenever something bad of embarrassing happens, she fears "what Madeleine would think about it." | ||
| Jean-Luc Grootjans | 8, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 | Jean-Luc is a competitor of Balthasar in all ways. Jean-Luc also has a meat processing factory, has a soccer team, owns Radio Figaro and is befriended with the mayor. | ||
| Jerôme Dubois | 11, 15, 19, 21 | Jerôme is married to Madeleine, but their relationship is not very stable. Jerôme gets intimate with other women as soon he drinks one sip of hard liquor, much to Madeleine's embarrassment. | ||
| Billie Coppens | 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 | Billie is the son of Doortje and Pico. He was born in season 3, but grew up off-screen until his return in season 11 as a then 13-year-old boy. In the following seasons, he wants to be a cool teenager with girlfriends, fashion, tattoos, motorcycles and rock music whereas his mother wants to raise him very conservative. He has a much better bond with his stepfather Pol, except when it comes to his lack of interest in sports. Billie also likes to spend time with Boma, whom he calls "Copain". It is unknown whether he has contact with his biological father Pico. In the regular series Billie is last seen in season 18, when moving from Pol and Doortje's apartment to a dormitory. In the 2020 Christmas special, he returns: it is revealed he lives in the United States and works as a Chippendales strip dancer. | ||
| Helga Botermans | Kadèr Gürbüz | 12, 14, 16, 20, 21 | A psychologist with many different appearances over the years, each as a psychologist in a different field. Every time it turns out that she is a bit crazy and totally fails in her job | |
| Saartje Dubois | 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 | Saartje is the granddaughter of Jerôme and Madeleine and often works in the soccer canteen. She goes to the same school as Billie and often hangs out with him. They are both sexually interested in each other, but Saartje backs off every time Billie is unable to stand up against his conservative mother. | ||
| Freddy Van Overloop | 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21 | Freddy is the local mayor. He is a close friend of Balthasar. Thanks to him, Balthasar easily manages to keep his polluting factory running, which would be far more difficult if the correct regulations were followed. It is clear Freddy is a hedonist and does not take his role as mayor very seriously. One example is the fact that he hires the clumsy Marc Vertongen as a municipal worker just so he could get some laughter in between work. Also, various scenes suggest he is having an affair with his younger secretary. | ||
| Senne Stevens | Ludo Hellinx | 13, 15, 17, 19 | A colleague and good friend of Xavier. | |
| Goedele Decocq | 19, 20, 21 | Goedele is an anthropologist who travelled around the world. She meets Balthasar Boma in Fernand's shop. Balthasar immediately falls in love with her, but she claims to be not interested in him. Goedele already had a marriage that failed, since then she does not trust men anymore. At some point, Balthasar demands her to kiss him. After the kiss, she realizes she does love him. They start a relationship and Goedele soon moves into Balthasar's mansion, together with her son Ronald. | ||
| Ronald 'Ronaldinho' Decocq | 20, 21 | Ronald is the son of Goedele. As he likes everything which is related to Brazil he is convinced his father is a talented Brazilian soccer player, most probably Ronaldinho. He dreams to become a famous soccer player, but is not aware he is not that talented at all. He thus fits the FC De Kampioenen soccer team pretty well. Ronald gets along really well with his stepfather Boma, certainly because of their shared passion for women and partying. |
In October 2019 plans were announced to film a 22nd season consisting of 8 episodes. The future of this project was left in limbo after the death of main cast member Johny Voners in March 2020, as several cast members came forward expressing they did not like the idea of continuing the franchise without him.
In July 2020, it was announced that the cast would instead reunite to film a 90-minute episode, which will be set during Christmas time and address the loss of Voners' character. The episode was released on December 25, 2020. Returning main cast members from the television series include Marijn Devalck, Danni Heylen, An Swartenbroekx, Loes Van den Heuvel, Ann Tuts, Herman Verbruggen, Ben Rottiers, Jaak Van Assche, Tuur De Weert, and Jacques Vermeire, alongside recurring cast members Machteld Timmermans, Niels Destadsbader, Rob Teuwen, and Luk D'Heu. Johny Voners and Carry Goossens appear in flashbacks scenes through archive footage, which also include brief shots of Walter Michiels, Jakob Beks and some of the former guest stars.
A first attempt to create a theatrical movie was done in 1993. However, the film was cancelled as actor Carry Goossens decided to work for a competing broadcasting company (vtm) and actor Walter Michiels was fired due to his alcohol abuse. Furthermore, Jacques Vermeire had his own film plans and his movie Max was to be shot and released in same period.
A new scenario was written in 2008 but rejected by most of the actors.
In 2011 a complete new story was written which was accepted by the actors. Due to funding issues it took until April 2013 before filming started. The movie was released in December 2013 as "F.C. De Kampioenen: Kampioen zijn blijft plezant" which can be translated as "F.C. The Champions: being a champion remains fun".[5]
Returning main cast members from the television series include Marijn Devalck, Danni Heylen, An Swartenbroekx, Johny Voners, Loes Van den Heuvel, Ann Tuts, Herman Verbruggen, Ben Rottiers, Jaak Van Assche, and Tuur De Weert, alongside recurring cast members Machteld Timmermans, Niels Destadsbader, Lea Couzin, Fred Van Kuyk, Leah Thys, and Michel De Warzee.
De Kampioenen head to France, but the journey has some unexpected events. Pol and Doortje just married and Doortje wants to go on honeymoon to Lourdes. Pol sabotages the trip so he can go to Saint-Tintin. Doortje finds out the truth and enters a convent. The coach bus is an outdated model driven by Fernand Costermans who hides a pig in the trunk so he can search for truffles. Everybody is tired of Carmen's involvements, so Xavier decides to leave her behind at a road house. Bieke is brassed off with the childish behavior of Mark and starts a romance with a Frenchman. Pascale is obsessed by châteaus and demands Maurice to finally renovate his mother's castle or to buy another one.
Ronald finds out the real intentions of the sheik, but is kidnapped by Tartuffe before he could inform De Kampioenen. Carlita, a hitchhiker travelling with De Kampioenen, is actually a helper of Tartuffe. She has a guilty conscience and sets up a rescue operation together with De Kampioenen.
In August 2014, there were rumors of a second movie which were confirmed in October 2014. It was released on October 28, 2015.
Returning main cast members from the television series include Marijn Devalck, Danni Heylen, An Swartenbroekx, Johny Voners, Loes Van den Heuvel, Ann Tuts, Herman Verbruggen, Ben Rottiers, Jaak Van Assche, Tuur De Weert, Jacques Vermeire, and Carry Goossens, alongside recurring cast members Machteld Timmermans, Niels Destadsbader, and Luk D'Heu.
Meanwhile, their main antagonist DDT is released from prison. He wins from Boma in a game of poker and becomes owner of last one's Cadillac, the soccer canteen and the soccer field. Boma consults his lawyers and they confirm due to the fact he signed a paper in which he hands over these properties and with witnesses, DDT is now indeed the legal owner. Boma and Fernand set up a trap so DDT ends up in a container on a boat heading to Africa, not knowing Doortje is also in the trap by accident. DDT and Doortje manage to return to Belgium. He wants revenge and hires some bulldozers to demolish the pub next to the soccer field so he can build his new garage, not knowing the current building is classified and must remain as is.
In January 2016, it was confirmed that a third movie would be made. Filming started in the summer of 2017, and the movie was released in December 2017.
Returning main cast members from the television series include Marijn Devalck, Danni Heylen, An Swartenbroekx, Johny Voners, Loes Van den Heuvel, Ann Tuts, Herman Verbruggen, Ben Rottiers, Jaak Van Assche, Tuur De Weert, Jacques Vermeire, and Carry Goossens, alongside recurring cast members Machteld Timmermans, Niels Destadsbader, and Luk D'Heu.
The fourth movie was filmed early 2019 and released in December 2019.
Returning main cast members from the television series include Marijn Devalck, Danni Heylen, An Swartenbroekx, Johny Voners, Loes Van den Heuvel, Ann Tuts, Herman Verbruggen, Ben Rottiers, Jaak Van Assche, Tuur De Weert, Jacques Vermeire, Carry Goossens, and Jakob Beks, alongside recurring cast members Machteld Timmermans, Niels Destadsbader, and Luk D'Heu.
Since 1997 F.C. De Kampioenen has been adapted into a successful celebrity comic series, F.C. De Kampioenen, drawn by Hec Leemans.[6] This comic book series kept on running after the TV series discontinued. Also the role of Xavier kept unchanged after the passing of actor Johny Voners who played that role in the TV series.[7]