2023–24 K.A.A. Gent season

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.

K.A.A. Gent

2023–24 season
Manager	Hein Vanhaezebrouck
Stadium	Ghelamco Arena
Belgian Pro League	7th
Europe Play-offs	1st
Belgian Cup	Quarter-finals
UEFA Europa Conference League	Knockout round play-offs
Top goalscorer	League: Tarik Tissoudali (15) All: Tarik Tissoudali (21)
← 2022–23 2024–25 →

Players

First-team squad

As of 8 February 2024^[1]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  FRA Paul Nardi 3 DF  ENG Archie Brown 4 DF  JPN Tsuyoshi Watanabe 5 DF  MAR Ismaël Kandouss 6 MF  ISR Omri Gandelman 7 MF  KOR Hong Hyun-seok 8 MF  BEL Pieter Gerkens 9 FW  SWE Momodou Sonko 10 FW  MAR Tarik Tissoudali 12 DF  CTA Hugo Gambor 13 MF  BEL Julien De Sart 14 MF  JPN Daisuke Yokota 16 GK  JPN Daniel Schmidt 17 MF  DEN Andrew Hjulsager

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF  BEL Matisse Samoise 19 FW  SUI Franck Surdez 20 DF  SRB Stefan Mitrović 21 DF  CMR Brian Agbor 22 DF  SEN Noah Fadiga 23 DF  NGA Jordan Torunarigha 24 MF  BEL Sven Kums (captain) 25 DF  ANG Núrio Fortuna 26 GK  BEL Louis Fortin 28 FW  BEL Matias Fernandez-Pardo 29 FW  BEL Laurent Depoitre 30 GK  BEL Célestin De Schrevel 33 GK  BEL Davy Roef

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  BEL Bram Lagae (at Dunkerque until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  AUS Keegan Jelacic (at Brisbane Roar until 30 June 2024)

Transfers

In

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Date	Source
DF	Tsuyoshi Watanabe	Kortrijk	€3,500,000	1 July 2023	[2]
MF	Keegan Jelacic	Perth Glory	€180,000	1 July 2023	[3]
DF	Ismaël Kandouss	Union Saint-Gilloise	€1,750,000	12 July 2023	[4]

Out

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Date	Source
DF	Joseph Okumu	Reims	€12,000,000	22 July 2023	[5]

Pre-season and friendlies

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

KFC Merelbeke v Gent

30 June 2023 Friendly	KFC Merelbeke	1–9	Gent
19:00 UTC+2

Lokomotiva Zagreb v Gent

8 July 2023 Friendly	Lokomotiva Zagreb	2–1	Gent
14:00 UTC+2

Utrecht v Gent

12 July 2023 Friendly	Utrecht	0–2	Gent
17:30 UTC+2		Report

Volendam v Gent

15 July 2023 Friendly	Volendam	1–2	Gent	Alkmaar, Netherlands
13:30 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Sportpark Overdie

Gent v Zulte Waregem

19 July 2023 Friendly	Gent	4–2	Zulte Waregem
19:00 UTC+2		Report
Note: Match was played in two 60-minute periods.

Gent v Mamelodi Sundowns

21 July 2023 Friendly	Gent	2–2	Mamelodi Sundowns	Bruges
13:45 UTC+2	Orban	Report		Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium

Gent v Shakhtar Donetsk

22 July 2023 Friendly	Gent	v	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 v t e	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.^[6]

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

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H
Result	W	W	W	D	D	W	D	W	D	D	L	W	W	D	D	D	W	L	W	W	L	D	L	L	L	W	D	L	D	W
Position	5	3	2	2	4	1	1	1	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	5	6	5	7	7	8	7

Source: Worldfootball
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The league fixtures were unveiled on 22 June 2023.^[7]

Gent v Kortrijk

30 July 2023 1	Gent	3–2	Kortrijk	Ghent
16:00 UTC+2	Radovanović 8' (o.g.) Castro-Montes  24' Cuypers 30' Orban 71'	Report	Kadri 5' Montegnies  30' Mehssatou  56' Avenatti  40', 86' João Silva  90+5'	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 12,595 Referee: Lawrence Visser

Mechelen v Gent

6 August 2023 2	Mechelen	0–1	Gent	Mechelen
16:00 UTC+2	Belghali  35' Hairemans  90+1' Schoofs 90+5'	Report	Lavalée 54' (o.g.) Cuypers  65' Hjulsager  66' Fortuna  85'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 11,234 Referee: Nicolas Laforge

Westerlo v Gent

13 August 2023 3	Westerlo	1–3	Gent	Westerlo
19:15 UTC+2	Madsen 18' (pen.) Fixelles  67'	Report	Watanabe 35' Cuypers 60', 74' (pen.) De Sart  69'	Stadium: Het Kuipje Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Wesli De Cremer

Gent v Sint-Truiden

20 August 2023 4	Gent	2–2	Sint-Truiden	Ghent
16:00 UTC+2	De Sart  21' Orban 35' Torunarigha 58' Samoise  61'	Report	Koita 7' Delorge-Knieper 13' Godeau  54' Bocat  60'	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Referee: Erik Lambrechts

Antwerp v Gent

27 September 2023 5	Antwerp	0–0	Gent	Antwerp
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Muja  44' Kerk  45' Ekkelenkamp  82'		Torunarigha  54'	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.

Gent v Club Brugge

3 September 2023 6	Gent	2–1	Club Brugge	Ghent
13:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Hong 25', 49' Fadiga  79'  82'	Report	Vanaken 43'	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 19,507 Referee: Jasper Vergoote

Gent v Eupen

24 September 2023 8	Gent	2–1	Eupen	Ghent
19:15 CEST (UTC+2)	Kums 49' Tissoudali 58'	Report	Pantović 28'	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Referee: Jan Boterberg

Cercle Brugge v Gent

22 October 2023 11	Cercle Brugge	2–0	Gent	Bruges
16:00				Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium

Gent v Standard Liège

29 October 2023 12	Gent	3–1	Standard Liège	Liège
18:30 CEST	Torunarigha  27' Tissoudali 33' 40' Cuypers 36' Samoise  80'	Report	Vanheusden  47' Hayden  52' Kanga 67'	Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne Attendance: 16,679 Referee: Nicolas Laforge

Charleroi v Gent

5 November 2023 13	Charleroi	1–3	Gent	Charleroi
19:15				Stadium: Stade du Pays de Charleroi

Gent v Anderlecht

12 November 2023 14	Gent	1–1	Anderlecht	Ghent
18:30 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Ghelamco Arena

Gent v Union Saint-Gilloise

26 November 2023 15	Gent	1–1	Union Saint-Gilloise	Ghent
13:30 CET	Kums  43' Fofana  43' De Sart 45+3' (pen.)		Amoura  4' Puertas 55' Nilsson  66' Lapoussin  88'	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 18,007

Genk v Gent

3 December 2023 16	Genk	2–2	Gent	Genk
13:30 CET (UTC+1)	Sor 21', 51',  73' Fadera  66'		Tissoudali 12', 90+9' Kums  57' Fortuna  71'	Stadium: Cegeka Arena Attendance: 18,319 Referee: Nicolas Laforge

Club Brugge v Gent

17 December 2023 18	Club Brugge	2–0	Gent	Bruges
13:30 CET (UTC+1)	Thiago 24' (pen.), 41' (pen.)	Report	Kandouss  40'	Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium Referee: Jonathan Lardot

Gent v OH Leuven

21 December 2023 19	Gent	4–0	OH Leuven	Ghent
20:45 CET (UTC+1)	Samoise 4' Fofane 57' Cuypers 65' Watanabe 69'			Stadium: Ghelamco Arena

Gent v Westerlo

27 January 2024 22	Gent	2–2	Westerlo	Ghent
20:45				Stadium: Ghelamco Arena

Gent v Cercle Brugge

11 February 2024 25	Gent	1–2	Cercle Brugge	Ghent
		Report		Stadium: Ghelamco Arena

Eupen v Gent

18 February 2024 26	Eupen	0–2	Gent	Eupen
		Report

Gent v Antwerp

25 February 2024 27	Gent	2–2	Antwerp	Ghent
16:00 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Ghelamco Arena

Standard Liège v Gent

2 March 2024 28	Standard Liège	4–2	Gent	Liège
		Report

Union Saint-Gilloise v Gent

10 March 2024 29	Union Saint-Gilloise	1–1	Gent	Brussels
18:30 CET		Report		Stadium: Joseph Marien Stadium

Gent v Charleroi

17 March 2024 30	Gent	5–0	Charleroi	Ghent
18:30	Fernandez-Pardo 38' Gandelman 41', 48', 55', 67'	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

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	W	W	L	W	W	W	W	L	W	W
Position	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Source: Worldfootball
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Gent v Standard Liège

29 March 2024 1	Gent	5–1	Standard Liège	Ghent
20:45	Fernandez-Pardo 23' Gandelman 53' Gerkens 72' Kandouss 79' Tissoudali 83'	Report	De Sart 28' (o.g.)	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 11,341 Referee: Nathan Verboomen

Westerlo v Gent

7 April 2024 2	Westerlo	0–3	Gent	Westerlo
19:15		Report		Stadium: Het Kuipje

OH Leuven v Gent

14 April 2024 3	OH Leuven	2–1	Gent	Leuven
19:15		Report		Stadium: Den Dreef

Gent v Mechelen

20 April 2024 4	Gent	3–1	Mechelen	Gent
		Report		Stadium: Planet Group Arena

Sint-Truiden v Gent

23 April 2024 5	Sint-Truiden	0–2	Gent	Sint-Truiden
		Report		Stadium: Stayen

Gent v Westerlo

27 April 2024 6	Gent	3–2	Westerlo	Gent
		Report		Stadium: Planet Group Arena

Mechelen v Gent

4 May 2024 7	Mechelen	2–4	Gent	Mechelen
		Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Gent v OH Leuven

12 May 2024 8	Gent	0–1	OH Leuven	Gent
		Report		Stadium: Planet Group Arena

Standard Liège v Gent

18 May 2024 9	Standard Liège	1–4	Gent	Liège
20:45	Yeboah 17'	Report	Fernandez-Pardo 10', 66' Depoitre 80', 87'	Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne Referee: Kevin Van Damme

Gent v Sint-Truiden

25 May 2024 10	Gent	2–0	Sint-Truiden	Gent
20:30		Report		Stadium: Planet Group Arena Referee: Matonga Simonini

European competition play-off

Genk v Gent

2 June 2024	Genk	0–1	Gent	Genk
13:30		Report	Hjulsager 60'	Stadium: Cegeka Arena

Belgian Cup

Main article: 2023–24 Belgian Cup

Patro Eisden Maasmechelen v Gent

1 November 2023 Seventh round	Patro Eisden Maasmechelen	1–3	Gent	Maasmechelen
19:00 CET	Hadj-Moussa 46'	Report	Tissoudali 29' Hong 77' Kums 81'	Stadium: Gemeentelijk Sportparkstadion Maasmechelen

Sint-Truiden v Gent

6 December 2023 Eighth round	Sint-Truiden	0–1	Gent	Sint-Truiden
20:30 CET		Report	Cuypers 39'	Stadium: Stayen Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Erik Lambrechts

Gent v Club Brugge

16 January 2024 Quarter-finals	Gent	0–1	Club Brugge	Ghent
20:45 CET		Report	Thiago 17'	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.

Gent v Žilina

27 July 2023 First leg	Gent	5–1	Žilina	Ghent
20:00 UTC+2	Orban 23' De Sart 55' Cuypers 66', 85' Watanabe 76'	Report	Gidi  54' Javorček  68'  73' Kaprálik 79'	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 8,904 Referee: Visar Kastrati (Kosovo)

Žilina v Gent

3 August 2023 Second leg	Žilina	2–5 (3–10 agg.)	Gent	Žilina, Slovakia
20:00 UTC+2	Rusnák  56' Minárik  58' Kaprálik  28', 66' Bari 77' Nemčík  90+3'	Report	Hjulsager 30' Cuypers 62', 89' Tissoudali 69' Gerkens 72'	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.

Gent v Pogoń Szczecin

9 August 2023 First leg	Gent	5–0	Pogoń Szczecin	Ghent
20:00 UTC+2	Orban 13', 35', 64' Cuypers 40', 45+1' Torunarigha  41'	Report	Malec  29' Gamboa  80'	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 11,326 Referee: Vassilis Fotias (Greece)

Pogoń Szczecin v Gent

17 August 2023 Second leg	Pogoń Szczecin	2–1 (2–6 agg.)	Gent	Szczecin, Poland
18:00 UTC+2	Lončar  28' Koulouris 79', 86' Fornalczyk  82'	Report	Cuypers 90+5'	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.

Gent v APOEL

24 August 2023 First leg	Gent	2–0	APOEL	Ghent
20:00 UTC+2	Kandouss  29' Orban  34' Fofana 77' Hong 90+2'	Report	Chebake  19' Kvilitaia  39'	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 10,855 Referee: Sven Jablonski (Germany)

APOEL v Gent

31 August 2023 Second leg	APOEL	1–2 (1–4 agg.)	Gent	Nicosia, Cyprus
20:00 UTC+3	Dálcio  26' Chebake  29' Petrović  90+2' Roef 90+5' (o.g.)	Report	Samoise 28' Orban  33' Kandouss  72' Tissoudali 79'	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 v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MTA	GNT	ZOR	BRE
1	Maccabi Tel Aviv	6	5	0	1	14	9	+5	15	Advance to round of 16		—	3–1	3–2	3–2
2	Gent	6	4	1	1	16	7	+9	13	Advance to knockout round play-offs		2–0	—	4–1	5–0
3	Zorya Luhansk	6	2	1	3	10	11	−1	7			1–3	1–1	—	4–0
4	Breiðablik	6	0	0	6	5	18	−13	0			1–2	2–3	0–1	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Zorya Luhansk v Gent

21 September 2023 1	Zorya Luhansk	1–1	Gent	Lublin, Poland
21:00	Guerrero 70'	Report	Cuypers 67'	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.[8]

Gent v Maccabi Tel Aviv

5 October 2023 2	Gent	2–0	Maccabi Tel Aviv	Ghent
18:45	Tissoudali 39', 90+2' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 10,503 Referee: Abdulkadir Bitigen (Turkey)

Gent v Breiðablik

26 October 2023 3	Gent	5–0	Breiðablik	Ghent
18:45	Gandelman 10' Cuypers 15', 19' Tissoudali 43' Orban 69'	Report		Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 9,907 Referee: Robertas Valikonis (Lithuania)

Breiðablik v Gent

9 November 2023 4	Breiðablik	2–3	Gent	Reykjavík, Iceland
21:00 (20:00 WET)	Svanþórsson 16', 18'	Report	Orban 6', 54' (pen.), 69'	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.

Gent v Zorya Luhansk

30 November 2023 5	Gent	4–1	Zorya Luhansk	Ghent
18:45	Fofana 20' Batahov 49' (o.g.) Orban 55' Gandelman 75'	Report	Nahnoinyi 82'	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 10,303 Referee: Evangelos Manouchos (Greece)

Maccabi Tel Aviv v Gent

14 December 2023 6	Maccabi Tel Aviv	3–1	Gent	Bačka Topola, Serbia
21:00	Kanichowsky 9' Zahavi 24', 61'	Report	De Sart 49'	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.[10]

Knockout round play-offs

Main article: 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League knockout phase

Maccabi Haifa v Gent

15 February 2024 First leg	Maccabi Haifa	1–0	Gent	Budapest, Hungary
21:00	Kandil  57' Pierrot 65' Feingold  76'	Report	De Sart  90+3'	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.[10]

Gent v Maccabi Haifa

21 February 2024 Second leg	Gent	1–1 (1–2 agg.)	Maccabi Haifa	Ghent
18:00	Seck 69' (o.g.)	Report	Pierrot 4'	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.[11][12]

Notes

1. The match was played behind closed doors.^[9]

References

1. "KAA Gent (team)". K.A.A. Gent. 2017.
2. "KAA Gent verwelkomt Tsuyoshi Watanabe | KAA Gent Website". KAA Gent.
3. "Welcome Keegan Jelacic! | KAA Gent Website". KAA Gent.
4. "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.
5. "Joseph Okumu, de la vitesse en charnière centrale | Stade de Reims". www.stade-de-reims.com.
6. "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.
7. "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.
8. "Decisions from today's extraordinary UEFA Executive Committee meeting". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
9. "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.
10. "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.
11. "Gent crash out of Europe in front of empty stadium as 10-man Maccabi Haifa hold on". OneFootball. 22 February 2024.
12. Press, Associated (19 January 2024). "KAA Gent and Israeli side Maccabi Haifa will meet with no fans over fears of Gaza-related trouble". San Diego Union-Tribune.

External links

• Official website