F.C. De Kampioenen

- Season 17

(2006)

Billie has taken up the 'noble art of boxing' to impress his latest girl Lizzie, a relative of retired Belgian ring star Freddy De Kerpel. Pol and Boma gives their blessing to the manly pastime, but his black eye after a single sparring day starts Doortje on a crusade against such 'barbary' all the way to jail. Maurice promises to move n with Pascale and his mother agrees to enter a seniors home, but there's a long waiting list. The mayor promises his loyal assistant Maurice to get her on top of the list, but Boma, who still hopes to snatch impatient Pascale from his ...

The football team is in danger of losing its municipal subsidy, due to abysmal attendance. The sports alderman demands proof of popular support, which won't work unless the team can sell membership cards to make up for lacking spectators. The operation proves dangerous, due to grumpy people and grim guard dogs, but the same goes for Fernand's sabotage plans.

Marc keeps messing up job applications and Bieke meanly opposes him waiting tables at mother's. Finally he's hired as cook in rival football club's mess, but the foxy manager lures all customers there and Bieke's jealousy strikes again. Fernand goes missing. Pascale bugs Maurice beyond his patience over the secretive content of his locker.

Coach Pol cancels the team's season break to catch up, which infuriates the wives, who planned holidays for long. Fearing Bieke's blunt ultimatum 'me or them' and Marc's naive loyalty to the team is about to wreck their marriage, Pascale pays for a romantic honeymoon-catchup cruise. Carmen having injured her leg during flamenco practice with Xavier and Pol being blamed for the whole break idea at threat of bed strike, it's canceled and both couples book the same cruise. Hearing Boma arranged for Marc to be hired aboard as singers Hugo and Nicole's comical MC, with ...

Still on the cruise ship, Bieke is unhappy with Mark who has to work on board, Pascal wants to bring the two together, Olivier (who works on the ship) tries to sweet talk Bieke, Pol works out and Maurice films everything all the time.

The football club coffers are empty, so president Boma insists to raise money and accepts to follow the fire department's example and sell calendars, but spice it up like in the movie 'Calendar Girls' by featuring female nudes. Fearing the players' wives aren't fresh enough to sell well, the boys decide to secretly recruit younger foxes, but neither Boma's contacts nor seductive approaches in the mall yield more then rudeness or worse, so they grudgingly settle for their own girls. Mark is overheard telling so to Fernand, who is flogging a schoolmate-printer's freely ...

Pol finally convinces Doortje to give son Billie's latest infatuation a chance, only this time it's no girlfriend but a pet rat, albeit for a girl's sake. After Pascale plays a costly dirty trick on 'littering' Fernand, he decides to sabotage her business with cockroaches and the health inspector, Bomas' nightmare. Then they hear about a 'best neighbor' competition with a fat cash price.

Pol spares no effort to help class pupil Debbie who claims to be evicted by her parents for pregnancy, but it's only a crush ploy and soon starts a series of misunderstandings making even his team side with 'cheated-on' Doortje. Fernand thinks to get a great deal when a pauper offers him two statues from a famous sculptor, but when he reads in the paper of a suspiciously similar pair, desperately tries to sell them or collect a reward by 'discovering' them in tenants Marc and Bieke's home.

The mayor organizes a cycling competition. Pol is entered to win the prize for the empty club coffers, but his bicycle is stolen by Fernand, who fears his competition flight pigeons will be upset and sells it to Carmen, who decided to try herself. Finding that won't work as former Tour de France-winner Ludo Dierckxsens lets Pol borrow his carbon bike, Fernand resorts to secretly doping Pol's drink and anonymously reports it to the Ministry. Maurice's mysterious 'old friend' Vera and messed-up route indications overhaul everything.

Billie struggles with a history test, hears Pol curse school-kids should quit school as they learn nothing and 'promises to'. Pol being busy and Doortje having taken on a Chinese course, he gets tutored by idiot Mark and sleaze Boma 'their way', until his foxy classmate Liesje is welcomed, even begged to take over. Maurice's tireless devotion to is mother and the old winer get too much for Pascale, who drags him to a quack's 'smashing therapy', which sounds like a goldmine to fake antiques dealer Fernand.

When the nearby Trappist (Cistercian) abbey holds a beer course and competition, 'thirst' and wives' ambition for the 'historical accommodation arrangement' prize motivate Xavier, Fernand and reluctant Maurice to enter, Pol's refusal sees Doortje partake instead. With Bieke to a convention for three days, former pub employer Willeke, just dumped by hunky lover Kevin, assumes him single and moves shamelessly, yet fruitlessly. Contestants wriggling to win or get out, hospitable organizing monks and home-front are up for their own successive disappointments.

Billy has to do a business project with Tiffany, a nerdy girl who likes him, in order not to fail a subject at school.

Xavier's army unit is about to be deployed to Afghanistan, but he dares not tell Carmen, who soon finds the standard issue condoms in his backpack and assumes an affair. Given Pascale's disillusion about living with studious rather then romantic Maurice and his troublesome mother, rival Balthazar makes her jealous by presenting,g to the team his foxy new date, fellow entrepreneur Machteld Verstraeten.