Early history Verbroedering Denderhoutem was founded in 1935 and registered to the
Royal Belgian Football Association in 1943. They first reached the
Promotion (4th-highest level in Belgian football) in the 1980s. After several relegations and promotions in the provincial leagues and Promotion, the club finally reached the
third division in
1998–99. They remained at that level except for one season in
2003–04 when they played in the Promotion. After one season back at the third level, Denderhoutem merged with fellow club KFC Denderleeuw EH from the third division.
Rise to the top tier Verbroedering Dender won consecutively the
third division A title (in
2005–06) and the
second division title (in
2006–07), to reach the
first division in
2007–08 for the first time in their history. They achieved promotion after beating
Dessel 0–2 on the second division's 33rd match day on 13 May 2007. They finished at the 15th place in 2007–08 and again in
2008–09, though the club was relegated at the end of the 2008–09 season because the number of clubs in the first division was reduced from 18 to 16.
Post–top division history The club was relegated from the Second Division in the
2011–12 season after finishing second bottom. In the
2015–16 season, Dender qualified for the newly formed Belgian third tier named
Belgian First Amateur Division. In the 2020–21 season, the division was renamed
Belgian National Division 1 but the season was cancelled after one game due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium. They won promotion back to the second tier, now renamed the
Challenger Pro League, in the
2021–22 season. The promotion was not without controversy. On the penultimate game of the promotion play-offs against
RFC Liège on 22 May 2022, Dender lost 1–0 which saw them move into second place and Liège move to first place. The following day, it was announced that Liège would receive a three-point deduction and a €1000 fine after failing to field enough U21 players in their 3–0 win against Dender back in March 2022. As a result, Dender were awarded a 5–0 win and moved back to the top of the table. Liège released a statement to say that they would be appealing the decision. However, the points deduction would turn out to be irrelevant. This is because Liège lost on the final game of the season against
Knokke, while Dender won 1–0 against
Dessel Sport.
Return to top flight Dender won promotion back to the
Belgian Pro League in the 2023–24 season. They finished second in the Challenger Pro League to secure their promotion. This meant it would be the first time that the club had played in the top flight since 2009. Before the start of the season, the club was dealt with the blow of the departure of manager
Timmy Simons who left to join fellow top tier side
Westerlo.
Vincent Euvrard, then manager of
Zulte Waregem, was appointed manager of the club. The club would stay up in their first season back in the top flight, finishing 12th. The next season, Euvrard would leave to join fellow pro league club
Standard Liège.
Hayk Milkon, assistant manager of
Club Brugge, was brought in as his replacement. On 25 February 2026, Milkon was dismissed with the club in last place and on a four-game losing streak. He was replaced by
Yannick Ferrera on 26 February 2026. ==Honours==