Zulte Sportief was founded in 1950 and directly became a member of the
national association (
matricule n° 5381). The club
Zultse V.V. (with the same matricule) was started after the 1976 merger between Zulte Sportief and S.K. Zulte. In 2001, the team merged with
KSV Waregem, who had played in the first division for many years. No team from
Zulte ever achieved promotion to the second division before
SV Zulte Waregem in 2002. Zultse V.V., though, gained access to the
third division in 1995. The club finished 14th out of 16 for two seasons and was relegated the second time after the playoff. in a
UEFA Cup tie. In 1999, the season in which it came back, Zultse finished fourth in this division. Two years later, the new club became champion of the
3rd division A. The registered office of Zulte Waregem lies in Zulte, but the club is based in the stadium of KSV Waregem in
Waregem and the red and white colours of KSV Waregem prevail. The club got a chance to shine on the European stage during the
2006–07 UEFA Cup, reaching the round of 32, playing against English club
Newcastle United, although they lost 4–1 on aggregate. Their second European appearance was in the 2013–14 season, as Zulte Waregem finished second in
2012–13 Belgian Pro League and qualified for the
third qualifying stage of the
2013–14 UEFA Champions League, where they lost to
PSV (5–0 on aggregate). Zulte Waregem dropped to the
2013–14 UEFA Europa League play-off round, where they defeated
APOEL, drawing 1–1 at home and winning 1–2 in
Nicosia thanks to a late goal from
Jens Naessens. At the
group stage, they were drawn alongside
Rubin Kazan,
Wigan Athletic and
Maribor. Zulte Waregem started with a draw against Wigan. After, they lost to Rubin (4–0) and Maribor (1–3), but later managed to defeat Maribor at
Ljudski vrt (0–1) and Wigan at
DW Stadium (1–2). Finally, a loss against Rubin at home and Maribor's win over Wigan eliminated Zulte Waregem from the European competition. In the 2016–17 season, Zulte Waregem drew an average home attendance of 9,578. After a series of disappointing seasons in which the threat of relegation was narrowly avoided each time, things took a turn for the worse for head coach and club legend
Francky Dury in the fall of 2021. The relationship between him and a portion of the supporters also became increasingly strained, ultimately leading to his dismissal in January 2022. The
2021–22 season was managed by assistants
Timmy Simons and
Davy De fauw, but they too failed to achieve results. As a result, the team narrowly avoided the relegation playoffs. In June 2022, former club top goalscorer
Mbaye Leye was appointed as the new head coach. In 2022–23 season, Zulte Waregem fell victim to the new league restructuring, which meant that there would be as many as three relegations that season. Zulte, being the club with the statistically worst defence, ended up suffering relegation after 18 successive seasons in the top tier. On 18 April 2025, Zulte-Waregem secure champions of
Challenger Pro League and promotion to
Belgian Pro League from next season after defeat
RWD Molenbeek 2-1 in final matchweek with goal Tobias Hedl and
Jelle Vossen in 39th and 86th minute, respectively, return to top tier after two years absence and ended two years stint in second tier. == Stadium ==