KV Oostende (full name: Koninklijke Voetbalclub Oostende, also known as KVO or De Kustboys – "The Coast Boys") was a Belgian professional football club based in Ostend (Oostende), West Flanders, on the North Sea coast.
Founded in 1904 (with the modern entity often traced to a 1981 merger of AS Oostende and VG Oostende), the club played in red, yellow, and green colors and used the Diaz Arena (formerly Versluys Arena, capacity around 8,432) as its home ground.
Financial difficulties mounted in the early 2020s, exacerbated by ownership issues, accumulated debts (reported around €10 million), and failure to secure a professional license. After relegation from the Pro League in 2022–23, the club competed in the Challenger Pro League (second tier).
On 4 June 2024, the commercial court in Bruges officially declared KV Oostende bankrupt and dissolved the club after more than 120 years of existence. A proposed takeover fell through, and the club could not continue operations. Fans held emotional farewell events, with over 1,500 supporters attending one final gathering.
Shortly after the bankruptcy, the city of Ostend and KSV Diksmuide (a club from nearby Diksmuide that had just been promoted to the third tier) announced a collaboration/merger to preserve football in the area.
The new entity, Koninklijke Voetbalclub Diksmuide-Oostende
(often abbreviated KV Diksmuide-Oostende or KVDO), retained Diksmuide's matricule number (1972) and started in the lower divisions.