2025–26 KAA Gent season

KAA Gent
2025–26 season
Manager	Ivan Leko; (until 8 December 2025); Rik De Mil; (from 10 December 2025)
Stadium	Planet Group Arena
	← 2024–25 2026–27 →
	All statistics correct as of 25 May 2025.

The 2025–26 season is the 126th season in the history of the KAA Gent as a football club, and the 37th consecutive season in Belgian Pro League. In addition to the domestic league, the team participated in the Belgian Cup.

Squad

As of 3 February 2026^[1]

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
3	DF	EST	Maksim Paskotši
4	DF	JPN	Daiki Hashioka (on loan from Slavia Praha)
7	FW	CIV	Wilfried Kanga
8	FW	POL	Michał Skóraś
10	MF	NED	Aimé Omgba
11	FW	SWE	Momodou Sonko
15	MF	JPN	Atsuki Itō
17	MF	BEL	Mathias Delorge
18	MF	BEL	Matisse Samoise
19	FW	SEN	Moctar Diop
20	DF	POR	Tiago Araújo
21	FW	ENG	Max Dean
22	MF	POR	Leonardo Lopes
23	GK	BEL	Tom Vandenberghe
24	MF	KOR	Hong Hyun-seok (on loan from Mainz 05)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
25	DF	MAR	Hatim Essaouabi
27	MF	BEL	Tibe De Vlieger
28	MF	BEL	Mohammed El Âdfaoui
29	DF	HAI	Jean-Kévin Duverne (on loan from Nantes)
30	GK	BEL	Kjell Peersman
31	GK	BEL	Bas Evers
33	GK	BEL	Davy Roef (captain)
35	DF	BEL	Gilles De Meyer
37	MF	ALG	Abdelkahar Kadri
39	DF	BFA	Abdoul Ayinde
44	DF	BEL	Siebe Van der Heyden
45	FW	CIV	Hyllarion Goore
57	DF	BEL	Matties Volckaert
62	MF	BEL	Wout Asselman

Out on loan

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


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	ANG	Núrio Fortuna (at Volos until 30 June 2026)
—	DF	CTA	Hugo Gambor (at Troyes until 30 June 2026)
—	DF	CMR	Samuel Kotto (at Reims until 30 June 2026)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	BEL	Pieter Gerkens (at Cercle Brugge until 30 June 2026)
—	FW	JPN	Daisuke Yokota (at Hannover 96 until 30 June 2026)
—	FW	BEL	Dante Vanzeir (at Cercle Brugge until 30 June 2026)

Transfers

In

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Date	Source
GK	Kjell Peersman	PSV Eindhoven	Transfer	25 July 2025	^[2]
DF	Siebe Van der Heyden	RCD Mallorca	Transfer	25 July 2025	^[3]
MF	Abdelkahar Kadri	K.V. Kortrijk	Transfer	30 July 2025	^[4]
DF	Maksim Paskotši	Grasshoppers	Undisclosed	4 August 2025	^[5]
MF	Michał Skóraś	Club Brugge	3 million	6 September 2025	^[6]
DF	Jean-Kévin Duverne	FC Nantes	Loan	8 September 2025	^[7]
FW	Hong Hyun-seok	1. FSV Mainz 05	Loan	14 January 2026	^[8]
FW	Moctar Diop	Lillestrøm SK	Transfer	23 January 2026	^[9]
DF	Daiki Hashioka	Slavia Prague	Loan	2 February 2026	^[10]

Out

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Date	Source
DF	Hugo Gambor	ES Troyes AC	Loan	27 August 2025	^[11]

Belgian Pro League

Regular season

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
2	Club Brugge	30	20	3	7	59	36	+23	63	Qualification for the Champions' play-offs
3	Sint-Truiden	30	18	3	9	47	35	+12	57
4	Gent	30	13	6	11	49	43	+6	45
5	Mechelen	30	12	9	9	39	37	+2	45
6	Anderlecht	30	12	8	10	43	39	+4	44

Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch)
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.^[12]

Matches

27 July 2025 1	STVV	3–1	KAA Gent	Stayen
	Lopes 77' (o.g.) Bertaccini 88' Itō 90+6'		Kanga 83' (pen.)	Referee: Put Bel

2 August 2025 2	Gent	1–0	La Louvière	Ghent
20:45	Ito 87'		Lahssaini 88'	Stadium: Planet Group Arena Attendance: 10,412 Referee: Nathan Verboomen

9 August 2025 3	Gent	2–3	Union Saint-Gilloise	Ghent
20:45 CEST	Goore 81' Samoise 85' Paskotsi 90+5'		Leysen 27' Khalaili 38' Rodríguez 51' Zorgane 73' 90+5' Sykes 85' Burgess 86'	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena

16 August 2025 4	Mechelen	1–1	KAA Gent	AFAS Stadion
	Bafdili 17'	Report	Gandelman 64'	Attendance: 11,905 Referee: Nicolas Laforge

31 August 2025 5	KAA Gent	1–1	Club Brugge
	Goore 90+9'	Report	Vanaken 54'

14 September 2025 6	Antwerp	1–2	Gent	Antwerp
13:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Tsunashima 17' Foulon 29' Bozhinov 36' Hamdaoui 74' Al-Sahafi 88'		Kotto 14' Van der Heyden 31' Skóraś 45+2' Samoise 47' Duverne 53'	Stadium: Bosuilstadion Attendance: 13,650 Referee: Lawrence Visser

19 September 2025 7	Gent	3–0	F.C.V. Dender E.H.	Planet Group Arena
	Kanga 6', 48' Kadri 83'	Report		Attendance: 10,923 Referee: Jan Boterberg

23 September 2025 8	Anderlecht	1–0	KAA Gent
	Stroeykens 68'	Report

28 September 2025 9	Cercle Brugge	2–4	Gent	Jan Breydel Stadium
	Ngoura 22' (pen.) Utkus 43'	Report	Skóraś 16' Itō 45+1' Gandelman 69' Surdez 87'	Attendance: 5,061 Referee: Bert Put

3 October 2025 10	Gent	2–1	Charleroi	Ghent
20:45 UTC+2	Itō 9' Samoise 26' Kanga 69' Gandelman 71'		Pflücke 28' Titraoui 50' Guiton 63' Camara 81' Blum 86'	Stadium: Planet Group Arena Attendance: 12,412 Referee: Lawrence Visser

19 October 2025 11	SV Zulte Waregem	4–1	Gent	Elindus Arena
	Claes 15' Araújo 25' (o.g.) Nyssen 41' Erenbjerg 81'	Report	Gandelman 78'	Attendance: 9,577 Referee: Erik Lambrechts

25 October 2025 12	Gent	4–0	Standard Liège	Planet Group Arena
	Van der Heyden 7', 45+4' Gandelman 17', 83'	Report		Attendance: 15,794 Referee: Nathan Verboomen

2 November 2025 13	OH Leuven	4–0	Gent	Den Dreef
	Ikwuemesi 32' Łakomy 43' Nyakossi 63' Teklab 80'	Report	Dean 90+4'	Attendance: 6,343 Referee: Wesli De Cremer

9 November 2025 14	Gent	1–1	KRC Genk	Planet Group Arena
	Gandelman 56'	Report	Oh 24'	Attendance: 16,226 Referee: Jan Boterberg

22 November 2025 15	K.V.C. Westerlo	0–0	Gent
		Report		Attendance: 5,987 Referee: Bert Put

30 November 2025 16	KAA Gent	1–2	STVV	Planet Group Arena
	Kanga 21'	Report	Muja 59' Gotō 66'	Attendance: 11,985 Referee: Lawrence Visser

6 December 2025 17	Union Saint-Gilloise	1–1	Gent	Brussels
18:15 CET	Mac Allister 70' 77'		Samoise 4' Kanga 86'	Stadium: Joseph Marien Stadium Attendance: 6,373 Referee: Simon Bourdeaud'Hui

14 December 2025 18	Gent	0–2	Antwerp	Ghent
13:30 CET (UTC+1)	Skóraś 90+1'		Kerk 30' Janssen 74' Valencia 83'	Stadium: Planet Group Arena Attendance: 14,747 Referee: Nicolas Laforge

21 December 2025 19	Club Brugge	2–1	KAA Gent
13:30	Vermant 22' Tresoldi 86'		Paskotši 53'

27 December 2025 20	Gent	2–0	K.V.C. Westerlo	Planet Group Arena
	Goore 18' Paskotši 23'	Report		Attendance: 10,838 Referee: Simon Bourdeaud'hui

18 January 2026 21	KAA Gent	4–2	Anderlecht
	Kanga 37' Tiago Araújo 81' Dean 84' Goore 94'	Report	Angulo 4', 43'

23 January 2026 22	Standard Liège	0–4	Gent	Stade Maurice Dufrasne
		Report	Kanga 11', 31', 84' Paskotši 88'	Attendance: 15,559 Referee: Lothar D'Hondt

30 January 2026 23	RAAL La Louvière	1–1	Gent	Easi Arena
	Gillot 81'	Report	Hong 56'	Attendance: 5,021 Referee: Massimiliano Ledda

7 February 2026 24	Gent	1–3	OH Leuven	Planet Group Arena
	Goore 54'	Report	Nyakossi 17' Schrijvers 25' (pen.) Maziz 70'	Attendance: 12,465 Referee: Kevin Van Damme

14 February 2026 25	Charleroi	2–3	Gent	Charleroi
18:15 UTC+2	Keita 67' Ousou 88'	Report	Itō 11' Dean 59', 71' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade du Pays de Charleroi Attendance: 6,112 Referee: Erik Lambrechts

20 February 2026 26	Gent	0–1	Cercle Brugge	Planet Group Arena
	Essaoubi 52'	Report	Vanzeir 45+1'	Attendance: 13,072 Referee: Jan Boterberg

1 March 2026 27	KRC Genk	3–0	Gent	Cegeka Arena
	El Ouahdi 4' Adedeji-Sternberg 48' Sor 90+1'	Report		Attendance: 16,270 Referee: Nicolas Laforge

8 March 2026 28	Gent	3–1	Mechelen	Planet Group Arena
	Dean 31' (pen.) Lopes 45+2' Cissé 83'	Report	van Brederode 69'	Attendance: 16,644 Referee: Lothar D'Hondt

13 March 2026 29	Gent	2–0	Zulte Waregem	Planet Group Arena
	Dean 38' Kanga 68' (pen.)	Report		Attendance: 15,754 Referee: Simon Bourdeaud'hui

22 March 2026 30	F.C.V. Dender E.H.	1–3	Gent	Dender Football Complex
	Ferarro 14'	Report	Dean 11' Kadri 65' Kanga 89'	Attendance: 3,214 Referee: Wesli De Cremer

Champions' play-offs

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Club Brugge (C)	10	8	1	1	32	9	+23	57	Qualification for the Champions League league phase
2	Union SG	10	6	2	2	16	10	+6	53	Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
3	Sint-Truiden	10	4	2	4	14	11	+3	43	Qualification for the Europa League play-off round^[a]
4	Anderlecht	10	3	2	5	16	23	−7	33	Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round
5	Gent (O)	10	0	6	4	4	14	−10	29	Qualification for the European competition play-off
6	Mechelen	10	1	3	6	9	24	−15	29

Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Regular season finishing position.^[13]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners
Notes:

↑ Union SG won the 2025–26 Belgian Cup and qualified for the Champions League through finishing in the top two, the Europa League play-off round berth was therefore transferred to Sint-Truiden.

Round	1	2	3	4
Ground	H	A	H	A
Result	D	L	D
Position

Updated to match(es) played on 19 April 2026. Source: ^{[citation needed]}
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

6 April 2026 1	KAA Gent	1–1	Mechelen	Planet Group Arena
	Dean 15'	Report	Antonio 90+5'	Attendance: 13,105 Referee: Jan Boterberg

12 April 2026 2	Anderlecht	3–1	KAA Gent	Constant Vanden Stock Stadium
	Verschaeren 79' Degreef 90+3' Bertaccini 90+6'	Report	Kanga 22' (pen.)	Attendance: 15,029 Referee: Lawrence Visser

19 April 2026 3	KAA Gent	0–0	STVV	Planet Group Arena
		Report		Attendance: 12,257 Referee: Jasper Vergoote

22 April 2026 4	Union Saint-Gilloise	0–0	Gent	Brussels
20:30 CEST		Report		Stadium: Joseph Marien Stadium Attendance: Joseph Marien Stadium Referee: Lothar D'Hondt

26 April 2026 5	KAA Gent	0–2	Club Brugge	Planet Group Arena
		Report	Vetlesen 4' Tzolis 89'	Referee: Erik Lambrechts

3 May 2026 6	Mechelen	1–0	KAA Gent	Achter de Kazerne
	Boersma 16'	Report		Referee: Simon Bourdeaud'hui

10 May 2026 7	KAA Gent	1–1	Anderlecht	Planet Group Arena
	Duverne 44'	Report	Lopes 11' (o.g.) Cvetković 45+2'	Referee: Nathan Verboomen

16 May 2026 8	STVV	1–1	KAA Gent	Stayen
	Soh 69'	Report	Kanga 45'	Referee: Lawrence Visser

21 May 2026 9	KAA Gent	0–0	Union Saint-Gilloise	Ghent
13:30 CEST		Report		Stadium: Planet Group Arena Referee: Jasper Vergoote

24 May 2026 10	Club Brugge	5–0	KAA Gent	Jan Breydel Stadium
	Forbs 21' Tresoldi 33', 41', 53' Tzolis 79'	Report		Referee: Erik Lambrechts

Belgian Cup

30 October 2025 Seventh round	Gent	5–0	Patro Eisden Maasmechelen	Gent
20:30 CET	Samoise 29' Van der Heyden 63', 85' Gandelman 81' Itō 88'	Report		Stadium: Planet Group Arena

3 December 2025 Eighth round	Cercle Brugge	1–3	Gent	Bruges
20:30 CET	Adewumi 34'	Report	Van der Heyden 9' Kadri 45+1' Goore 90+4'	Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium

15 January 2026 Quarter–finals	Anderlecht	1–0	Gent	Anderlecht
20:30 CET	Hazard 28' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Constant Vanden Stock Stadium

References

↑ "KAA Gent (team)". K.A.A. Gent. 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
↑ "PEERSMAN KIEST VOOR GENT" [PEERSMAN CHOOSES GENT] (Press release) (in Dutch). Gent. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
↑ UNKNOWN, NOT SAID, UNKNOWN, NOT SAID (2025-07-25). "Welkom, Siebe Van der Heyden!". K.A.A. Gent.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ Not mentioned, Not mentioned (30 July 2025). "KAA Gent Verwelkomt Kadri". kaagent.be.
↑ "Paskotši ruilt Zürich voor Gent" (in Flemish). KAA Gent. 4 August 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
↑ Galiński, Tomasz (6 September 2025). "3 miliony euro. Reprezentant Polski zmienił klub w Belgii" [€3 million. The Polish international has changed clubs in Belgium.]. sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 6 September 2025.
↑ "Duverne komt van Nantes naar Gent" [Duverne comes from Nantes to Ghent] (in Dutch). KAA Gent. 8 September 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
↑ "Welcome back, Hongi!" (in Dutch). KAA Gent. 2026-01-14. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
↑ "Moctar Diop tekent voor Gent" (in Dutch). KAA Gent. 23 January 2026.
↑ "Hašioka opouští Eden. Japonský reprezentant se vrací do Belgie na hostování". eFotbal.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 2 February 2026. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
↑ "Hugo Gambor est Troyen !" [Hugo Gambor is at Troyes!] (in French). ES Troyes AC. 27 August 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
↑ "Bondsreglement Titel 7: Competities" [Association Rules Title 7: Competitions] (PDF). Royal Belgian Football Association. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2020.
↑ "BOEK P" [BOOK P] (PDF). Belgian FA. Retrieved 3 May 2021.

[table_note_res_ELPO0.38383282738916-13] Union SG won the 2025–26 Belgian Cup and qualified for the Champions League through finishing in the top two, the Europa League play-off round berth was therefore transferred to Sint-Truiden.

[1] "KAA Gent (team)". K.A.A. Gent. 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2025.

[2] "PEERSMAN KIEST VOOR GENT" [PEERSMAN CHOOSES GENT] (Press release) (in Dutch). Gent. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.

[3] UNKNOWN, NOT SAID, UNKNOWN, NOT SAID (2025-07-25). "Welkom, Siebe Van der Heyden!". K.A.A. Gent.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[4] Not mentioned, Not mentioned (30 July 2025). "KAA Gent Verwelkomt Kadri". kaagent.be.

[5] "Paskotši ruilt Zürich voor Gent" (in Flemish). KAA Gent. 4 August 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.

[6] Galiński, Tomasz (6 September 2025). "3 miliony euro. Reprezentant Polski zmienił klub w Belgii" [€3 million. The Polish international has changed clubs in Belgium.]. sportowefakty.wp.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 6 September 2025.

[7] "Duverne komt van Nantes naar Gent" [Duverne comes from Nantes to Ghent] (in Dutch). KAA Gent. 8 September 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.

[8] "Welcome back, Hongi!" (in Dutch). KAA Gent. 2026-01-14. Retrieved 2026-01-14.

[9] "Moctar Diop tekent voor Gent" (in Dutch). KAA Gent. 23 January 2026.

[10] "Hašioka opouští Eden. Japonský reprezentant se vrací do Belgie na hostování". eFotbal.cz (in Czech). Czech News Agency. 2 February 2026. Retrieved 3 February 2026.

[11] "Hugo Gambor est Troyen !" [Hugo Gambor is at Troyes!] (in French). ES Troyes AC. 27 August 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.

[12] "Bondsreglement Titel 7: Competities" [Association Rules Title 7: Competitions] (PDF). Royal Belgian Football Association. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2020.

[14] "BOEK P" [BOOK P] (PDF). Belgian FA. Retrieved 3 May 2021.

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2025–26 season
Manager	Ivan Leko (until 8 December 2025) Rik De Mil (from 10 December 2025)
Stadium	Planet Group Arena
← 2024–25 2026–27 →
All statistics correct as of 25 May 2025.