2023–24 K.A.A. Gent season

K.A.A. Gent
2023–24 season
ManagerHein Vanhaezebrouck
StadiumGhelamco Arena
Belgian Pro League7th
Europe Play-offs1st
Belgian CupQuarter-finals
UEFA Europa Conference LeagueKnockout round play-offs
Top goalscorerLeague:
Tarik Tissoudali (15)
All:
Tarik Tissoudali (21)
Average home league attendance14,563[1]
← 2022–23
2024–25 →

The 2023–24 season is K.A.A. Gent's 124th season in existence and 35th consecutive in the Belgian Pro League. They are also competing in the Belgian Cup and the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Players

First-team squad

As of 8 February 2024[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK France FRA Paul Nardi
3 DF England ENG Archie Brown
4 DF Japan JPN Tsuyoshi Watanabe
5 DF Morocco MAR Ismaël Kandouss
6 MF Israel ISR Omri Gandelman
7 MF South Korea KOR Hong Hyun-seok
8 MF Belgium BEL Pieter Gerkens
9 FW Sweden SWE Momodou Sonko
10 FW Morocco MAR Tarik Tissoudali
12 DF Central African Republic CTA Hugo Gambor
13 MF Belgium BEL Julien De Sart
14 MF Japan JPN Daisuke Yokota
16 GK Japan JPN Daniel Schmidt
17 MF Denmark DEN Andrew Hjulsager
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Belgium BEL Matisse Samoise
19 FW Switzerland SUI Franck Surdez
20 DF Serbia SRB Stefan Mitrović
21 DF Cameroon CMR Brian Agbor
22 DF Senegal SEN Noah Fadiga
23 DF Nigeria NGA Jordan Torunarigha
24 MF Belgium BEL Sven Kums (captain)
25 DF Angola ANG Núrio Fortuna
26 GK Belgium BEL Louis Fortin
28 FW Belgium BEL Matias Fernandez-Pardo
29 FW Belgium BEL Laurent Depoitre
30 GK Belgium BEL Célestin De Schrevel
33 GK Belgium BEL Davy Roef

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules, some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF Belgium BEL Bram Lagae (at Dunkerque until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Australia AUS Keegan Jelacic (at Brisbane Roar until 30 June 2024)

Transfers

In

Pos. Player Transferred from Fee Date Source
DF Japan Tsuyoshi Watanabe Belgium Kortrijk €3,500,000 1 July 2023 [3]
MF Australia Keegan Jelacic Australia Perth Glory €180,000 1 July 2023 [4]
DF Morocco Ismaël Kandouss Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise €1,750,000 12 July 2023 [5]

Out

Pos. Player Transferred to Fee Date Source
DF Kenya Joseph Okumu France Reims €12,000,000 22 July 2023 [6]

Pre-season and friendlies

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

30 June 2023 Friendly KFC Merelbeke Belgium 1–9 Belgium Gent
19:00 UTC+2
8 July 2023 Friendly Lokomotiva Zagreb Croatia 2–1 Belgium Gent
14:00 UTC+2
12 July 2023 Friendly Utrecht Netherlands 0–2 Belgium Gent
17:30 UTC+2 Report
15 July 2023 Friendly Volendam Netherlands 1–2 Belgium Gent Alkmaar, Netherlands
13:30 UTC+2 Report Stadium: Sportpark Overdie
19 July 2023 Friendly Gent Belgium 4–2 Belgium Zulte Waregem
19:00 UTC+2 Report
Note: Match was played in two 60-minute periods.
21 July 2023 Friendly Gent Belgium 2–2 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns Bruges
13:45 UTC+2
  • Orban
Report Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium
22 July 2023 Friendly Gent Belgium v Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk Bruges
14:00 UTC+2 Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium

Competitions

Overall record

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
Belgian Pro League Regular season 30 July 2023 17 April 2024 Matchday 1 7th 30 12 11 7 53 38 +15 040.00
Europe Play-offs 29 March 2024 25 May 2024 Matchday 1 1st 10 8 0 2 27 10 +17 080.00
Europe Play-offs 2 June 2024 Final Winners 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
Belgian Cup 1 November 2023 16 January 2024 Seventh round Quarter-finals 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 066.67
UEFA Europa Conference League 27 July 2023 21 February 2024 Second qualifying round Knockout round play-offs 14 9 2 3 37 15 +22 064.29
Total 58 32 13 13 122 65 +57 055.17

Source: Soccerway

Belgian Pro League

Main article: 2023–24 Belgian Pro League

League table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
5 Cercle Brugge 30 14 5 11 44 34 +10 47 Qualification for the champions' play-offs
6 Genk 30 12 11 7 51 31 +20 47
7 Gent 30 12 11 7 53 38 +15 47 Qualification for the Europe play-offs
8 Mechelen 30 13 6 11 39 34 +5 45
9 Sint-Truiden 30 10 10 10 35 46 −11 40
Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Play-off.[7]

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
30 12 11 7 53 38  +15 47 7 6 2 34 18  +16 5 5 5 19 20  −1

Source: Worldfootball

Results by round

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
GroundHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAAHAHAAH
ResultWWWDDWDWDDLWWDDDWLWWLDLLLWDLDW
Position532241112333333333333445657787
Source: Worldfootball
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The league fixtures were unveiled on 22 June 2023.[8]

30 July 2023 1 Gent 3–2 Kortrijk Ghent
16:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 12,595
Referee: Lawrence Visser
6 August 2023 2 Mechelen 0–1 Gent Mechelen
16:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: AFAS Stadion
Attendance: 11,234
Referee: Nicolas Laforge
13 August 2023 3 Westerlo 1–3 Gent Westerlo
19:15 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Het Kuipje
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Wesli De Cremer
20 August 2023 4 Gent 2–2 Sint-Truiden Ghent
16:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Referee: Erik Lambrechts
27 September 2023 5 Antwerp 0–0 Gent Antwerp
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 13,077
Referee: Nicolas Laforge
Note: The match scheduled for 26 August 2023 was postponed due to the UEFA Champions League play-offs.
3 September 2023 6 Gent 2–1 Club Brugge Ghent
13:30 CEST (UTC+2)
Report
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 19,507
Referee: Jasper Vergoote
24 September 2023 8 Gent 2–1 Eupen Ghent
19:15 CEST (UTC+2)
Report
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Referee: Jan Boterberg
22 October 2023 11 Cercle Brugge 2–0 Gent Bruges
16:00 Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium
29 October 2023 12 Gent 3–1 Standard Liège Liège
18:30 CEST
Report
Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne
Attendance: 16,679
Referee: Belgium Nicolas Laforge
5 November 2023 13 Charleroi 1–3 Gent Charleroi
19:15 Stadium: Stade du Pays de Charleroi
12 November 2023 14 Gent 1–1 Anderlecht Ghent
18:30 CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
26 November 2023 15 Gent 1–1 Union Saint-Gilloise Ghent
13:30 CET
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 18,007
3 December 2023 16 Genk 2–2 Gent Genk
13:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Cegeka Arena
Attendance: 18,319
Referee: Nicolas Laforge
17 December 2023 18 Club Brugge 2–0 Gent Bruges
13:30 CET (UTC+1)
Report
Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium
Referee: Jonathan Lardot
21 December 2023 19 Gent 4–0 OH Leuven Ghent
20:45 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
27 January 2024 22 Gent 2–2 Westerlo Ghent
20:45 Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
11 February 2024 25 Gent 1–2 Cercle Brugge Ghent
Report Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
18 February 2024 26 Eupen 0–2 Gent Eupen
Report
25 February 2024 27 Gent 2–2 Antwerp Ghent
16:00 CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
2 March 2024 28 Standard Liège 4–2 Gent Liège
Report
10 March 2024 29 Union Saint-Gilloise 1–1 Gent Brussels
18:30 CET Report Stadium: Joseph Marien Stadium
17 March 2024 30 Gent 5–0 Charleroi Ghent
18:30
Report Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Referee: Jan Boterberg

Europe Play-offs


Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
10 8 0 2 27 10  +17 24 4 0 1 13 5  +8 4 0 1 14 5  +9

Source: Worldfootball

Results by round

Round12345678910
GroundHAAHAHAHAH
ResultWWLWWWWLWW
Position1111111111
Source: Worldfootball
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

29 March 2024 1 Gent 5–1 Standard Liège Ghent
20:45
Report
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 11,341
Referee: Nathan Verboomen
7 April 2024 2 Westerlo 0–3 Gent Westerlo
19:15 Report Stadium: Het Kuipje
14 April 2024 3 OH Leuven 2–1 Gent Leuven
19:15 Report Stadium: Den Dreef
20 April 2024 4 Gent 3–1 Mechelen Gent
Report Stadium: Planet Group Arena
23 April 2024 5 Sint-Truiden 0–2 Gent Sint-Truiden
Report Stadium: Stayen
27 April 2024 6 Gent 3–2 Westerlo Gent
Report Stadium: Planet Group Arena
4 May 2024 7 Mechelen 2–4 Gent Mechelen
Report Stadium: AFAS Stadion
12 May 2024 8 Gent 0–1 OH Leuven Gent
Report Stadium: Planet Group Arena
18 May 2024 9 Standard Liège 1–4 Gent Liège
20:45
Report
Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne
Referee: Kevin Van Damme
25 May 2024 10 Gent 2–0 Sint-Truiden Gent
20:30 Report Stadium: Planet Group Arena
Referee: Matonga Simonini

European competition play-off

2 June 2024 Genk 0–1 Gent Genk
13:30 Report
Stadium: Cegeka Arena

Belgian Cup

Main article: 2023–24 Belgian Cup
1 November 2023 Seventh round Patro Eisden Maasmechelen 1–3 Gent Maasmechelen
19:00 CET
  • Hadj-Moussa 46'
 Report
Stadium: Gemeentelijk Sportparkstadion Maasmechelen
6 December 2023 Eighth round Sint-Truiden 0–1 Gent Sint-Truiden
20:30 CET Report
Stadium: Stayen
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Erik Lambrechts
16 January 2024 Quarter-finals Gent 0–1 Club Brugge Ghent
20:45 CET Report
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 17,897
Referee: Erik Lambrechts

UEFA Europa Conference League

Main article: 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League

Second qualifying round

The draw for the second qualifying round was made on 21 June 2023.

27 July 2023 First leg Gent Belgium 5–1 Slovakia Žilina Ghent
20:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 8,904
Referee: Visar Kastrati (Kosovo)
3 August 2023 Second leg Žilina Slovakia 2–5
(3–10 agg.)		 Belgium Gent Žilina, Slovakia
20:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Štadión pod Dubňom
Attendance: 6,224
Referee: Dumitri Muntean (Moldova)

Third qualifying round

The draw for the third qualifying round was held on 24 July 2023.

9 August 2023 First leg Gent Belgium 5–0 Poland Pogoń Szczecin Ghent
20:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 11,326
Referee: Vassilis Fotias (Greece)
17 August 2023 Second leg Pogoń Szczecin Poland 2–1
(2–6 agg.)		 Belgium Gent Szczecin, Poland
18:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Stadion Miejski im. Floriana Krygiera
Attendance: 11,549
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)

Play-off round

The draw for the play-off round was held on 7 August 2023.

24 August 2023 First leg Gent Belgium 2–0 Cyprus APOEL Ghent
20:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 10,855
Referee: Sven Jablonski (Germany)
31 August 2023 Second leg APOEL Cyprus 1–2
(1–4 agg.)		 Belgium Gent Nicosia, Cyprus
20:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: GSP Stadium
Attendance: 14,100
Referee: Rohit Saggi (Norway)

Group stage

Main article: 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 1 September 2023.

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification MTA GNT ZOR BRE
1 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv 6 5 0 1 14 9 +5 15 Advance to round of 16 — 3–1 3–2 3–2
2 Belgium Gent 6 4 1 1 16 7 +9 13 Advance to knockout round play-offs 2–0 — 4–1 5–0
3 Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 6 2 1 3 10 11 −1 7 1–3 1–1 — 4–0
4 Iceland Breiðablik 6 0 0 6 5 18 −13 0 1–2 2–3 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
21 September 2023 1 Zorya Luhansk Ukraine 1–1 Belgium Gent Lublin, Poland
21:00
Report
Stadium: Arena Lublin
Attendance: 539
Referee: Daniele Chiffi (Italy)
Note: Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian teams were required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[9]
5 October 2023 2 Gent Belgium 2–0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv Ghent
18:45
Report Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 10,503
Referee: Abdulkadir Bitigen (Turkey)
26 October 2023 3 Gent Belgium 5–0 Iceland Breiðablik Ghent
18:45
Report Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 9,907
Referee: Robertas Valikonis (Lithuania)
9 November 2023 4 Breiðablik Iceland 2–3 Belgium Gent Reykjavík, Iceland
21:00 (20:00 WET)
Report
Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur
Attendance: 1,211
Referee: Julian Weinberger (Austria)
Note: Breiðablik played their first two home matches at the Laugardalsvöllur, in Reykjavík, instead of their regular stadium, Kópavogsvöllur, in Kópavogur, which did not meet UEFA requirements.
30 November 2023 5 Gent Belgium 4–1 Ukraine Zorya Luhansk Ghent
18:45
Report Nahnoinyi 82' Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 10,303
Referee: Evangelos Manouchos (Greece)
14 December 2023 6 Maccabi Tel Aviv Israel 3–1 Belgium Gent Bačka Topola, Serbia
21:00
Report
Stadium: TSC Arena
Attendance: 0[note 1]
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)
Note: Due to the Israel–Hamas war, Maccabi Tel Aviv played their remaining home matches at a neutral venue.[11]

Knockout round play-offs

Main article: 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League knockout phase
15 February 2024 First leg Maccabi Haifa Israel 1–0 Belgium Gent Budapest, Hungary
21:00
Report
Stadium: Bozsik Aréna
Attendance: 1,274
Referee: Willie Collum (SCO)
Note: Due to the Israel–Hamas war, Maccabi Haifa played their home matches at a neutral venue.[11]
21 February 2024 Second leg Gent Belgium 1–1
(1–2 agg.)		 Israel Maccabi Haifa Ghent
18:00
Report
Stadium: Ghelamco Arena
Attendance: 60
Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)
Note: Due to anticipated crowd trouble in protest against the Israel–Hamas war, no spectators were allowed to the Gent v Maccabi Haifa match.[12][13]

Notes

  1. ^ The match was played behind closed doors.[10]

References

  1. ^ https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/avebel.htm
  2. ^ "KAA Gent (team)". K.A.A. Gent. 2017.
  3. ^ "KAA Gent verwelkomt Tsuyoshi Watanabe | KAA Gent Website". KAA Gent.
  4. ^ "Welcome Keegan Jelacic! | KAA Gent Website". KAA Gent.
  5. ^ "Royale Union Saint-Gilloise Ismaël Kandouss quitte l'Union pour le KAA Gent". rusg.brussels. 2023-07-12. Archived from the original on 2023-07-12.
  6. ^ "Joseph Okumu, de la vitesse en charnière centrale | Stade de Reims". www.stade-de-reims.com.
  7. ^ "Bondsreglement Titel 7: Competities" [Association Rules Title 7: Competitions] (PDF). Royal Belgian Football Association. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Pro League: Union-Anderlecht en ouverture du championnat, le duel Hoefkens-Deila lors de la 10e journée, le calendrier 2023–2024 dévoilé". 27 June 2023.
  9. ^ "Decisions from today's extraordinary UEFA Executive Committee meeting". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Venues announced for UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League matches featuring Maccabi Haifa FC and Maccabi Tel Aviv". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  11. ^ a b "European Qualifier match between Belgium and Sweden declared abandoned with half-time result confirmed as final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Gent crash out of Europe in front of empty stadium as 10-man Maccabi Haifa hold on". OneFootball. 22 February 2024.
  13. ^ "KAA Gent and Israeli side Maccabi Haifa will meet with no fans over fears of Gaza-related trouble". San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. 19 January 2024.