King Power's Football Family Comes Together In Leuven
- Leicester City fans met their OH Leuven counterparts at King Power at Den Dreef Stadium
- King Power, the owners of both clubs, provided free travel and hotel rooms for the Blue Army
- Foxes fans watched on as OHL drew 1-1 with KSV Roeselare in the Belgian Proximus League
- In January, a group of Leuven supporters will also travel to Filbert Way to see City face Watford
Like City, Leuven are owned by Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who laid on free accommodation and travel for over 100 lucky Foxes fans to visit King Power at Den Dreef Stadium.
Arriving in the picturesque city of Leuven as the sun set on Sunday afternoon, the visitors from Leicester watched OHL’s 1-1 draw with Belgian Proximus League rivals KSV Roeselare.
Foxes Fans Travel To Leuven
The Blue Army made the trip to Belgium on Sunday to watch OH Leuven's latest league fixture.
Father and son Peter and Jake Hill, among the winners of a ballot for tickets, were thrilled by the welcome they received from the locals in the bustling university city.
Early next year, the roles will be reversed when City play host to a contingent of OHL supporters on Filbert Way for the Premier League visit of Watford on Saturday 20 January (3pm kick-off).
“It’s been a long trip but an enjoyable one,” Peter told LCFC TV. “Everybody is enjoying themselves and the Leuven fans have been fantastic to us.
“We can’t say any more than thank you to everybody. From when we got to the hotel, they’ve been really hospitable. They’ve showed us lots of places to eat and they’ve all been brilliant.
“The atmosphere is fantastic. We are making a great noise. We’ve got one of our own here in Elliott Moore as well so we’re cheering him on too.”
During the match, both sets of supporters created a raucous atmosphere before, the following morning, the visiting Foxes fans enjoyed a tour of the Stella Artois brewery in the city's northern district.
Jake, meanwhile, added: “It’s been surreal to be honest, we’ve only been here a couple of hours but we've had a great time. We can’t thank the owners enough for this.
“It’s great to experience a different culture and to be in Europe again. We got a taste of it last season in the Champions League so, to see what’s going on here, we weren’t going to pass it up.
“It’s a close-knit environment here at the club. I’ve got to say, it’s been great, absolutely brilliant.”
Among the welcoming party to greet the Blue Army was Vincent Goovaerts, chairman of OHL’s supporters’ club, and he hopes a strong bond can now grow between the clubs.
“We are a club for families, that is what we try to be,” he explained. “We are currently performing very well in the second division and hoping for promotion.
“[King Power] have been great so far. They bought new players and developed the training ground and stadium too. We also have a new trainer in Nigel Pearson, who is doing a great job.
“This is a great way to bond with the supporters of Leicester. We are also doing the same in January and we hope to experience the same things there.”