Football Club Verbroedering Dender Eendracht Hekelgem — known simply as Dender — came into its current form in 2005, when two clubs from the Denderleeuw area of the East Flanders province merged: Verbroedering Denderhoutem, founded in 1935, and KFC Denderleeuw Eendracht Hekelgem. Both clubs took their identity from the river Dender, which winds through the town, and that connection to the local landscape remains central to the club's character.
The newly merged club wasted little time making its mark. Dender won back-to-back promotions, claiming the Belgian Third Division A title in 2005–06 and the Second Division title in 2006–07, reaching the Belgian top flight for the first time in their history in the 2007–08 season. That first stint in the top division lasted just two years before they were relegated, in part due to a structural reduction in the size of the first division from 18 to 16 clubs.
A longer spell in the lower tiers followed, during which Dender rebuilt steadily. They won promotion back to the second tier in 2021–22 — a campaign not without controversy over a points-deduction dispute involving a rival club — and then secured a return to the Pro League in 2023–24 by finishing second in the Challenger Pro League. Their first season back in the top flight ended in a solid 12th-place finish.
Dender's identity is rooted in the small-town resilience of Denderleeuw, a community that has twice seen its club climb from the amateur game to the professional elite. The club colours of blue, red, white, and black reflect that merged heritage, and Florent Beeckmanstadion serves as the proud home of Belgian Pro League football in one of the country's smaller host cities.