Sven Kums

Sven Kums (born 26 February 1988) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Gent. He represented Belgium internationally at youth levels U18 through U21.

Sven Kums

Kums with Gent
Personal information
Date of birth	(1988-02-26) 26 February 1988 (age 37)
Place of birth	Asse, Belgium
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Gent
Number	24
Youth career
1995–1996	Dilbeek Sport
1996–2006	Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2008	Anderlecht	0	(0)
2007	→ Lierse (loan)	14	(1)
2008	→ Kortrijk (loan)	16	(5)
2008–2011	Kortrijk	100	(10)
2011–2013	Heerenveen	69	(4)
2013–2014	Zulte Waregem	29	(4)
2014–2016	Gent	65	(14)
2016–2017	Watford	0	(0)
2016–2017	→ Udinese (loan)	29	(0)
2017–2020	Anderlecht	66	(5)
2019–2020	→ Gent (loan)	22	(1)
2020–	Gent	163	(9)
International career‡
2005	Belgium U18	3	(1)
2006–2007	Belgium U19	6	(0)
2008–2009	Belgium U20	2	(0)
2008–2010	Belgium U21	12	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 5 June 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 18:02, 18 June 2012 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Born in Asse, Kums began his career at Dilbeek Sport, before joining Anderlecht in 1996.^{[citation needed]}

Anderlecht

He played in the youth and reserve teams for 10 years, and in 2006 he became part of the first team. In the first half of the 2006–07 season he did not feature in a single first team game. He was hoping to finally get a chance to play for Anderlecht's first team, but ended up playing for the second team every week.

Lierse (loan)

In January 2007, Kums moved to Lierse S.K. on loan.^[1] He made his debut in professional football on 10 February 2007 against FC Brussels. Kums played 14 games during his loan spell, scoring one goal. Lierse were relegated, and Kums returned to Anderlecht.

Kortrijk

In January 2008, he joined Second Division team K.V. Kortrijk on loan. There, Kums played 16 games, scoring 5 goals, helping KVK win the title and secure promotion to the Belgian Pro League. In June 2008, Kortrijk signed him to a permanent deal.^[2]

Heerenveen

In March 2011, Heerenveen announced that Kums would join their team for the 2011–12 season, the transfer fee was rumoured to be around €500.000. He played his first match in the Eredivisie on 6 August 2011 against NEC.

After two relatively successful seasons with Heerenveen, Kums returned to Belgium, signing a three-season deal with SV Zulte Waregem.

Zulte Waregem

He signed for Zulte Waregem in 2013. In one season for Essevee, he played 41 games, scoring 5 goals. The team finished 4th, and Kums' performances didn't go unnoticed.

Gent

On 1 July 2014, KAA Gent announced that Kums would join their squad that summer, signing a four-year contract. Kums had a successful season, and for the first time in club history, Ghent became Belgian champions.

Watford and Udinese

On 29 August 2016, Kums was sold to Watford but immediately sent on a season-long loan deal to Udinese.^[3][4][5]

Return to Anderlecht

On 2 June 2017, it was announced that Anderlecht acquired Kums from Watford.^[6] In his debut against Bayern Munich away in the UEFA Champions League, he was sent off after just 11 minutes.^[7]

Return to Gent

On 21 August 2019, Kums rejoined Gent on loan.^[8] His permanent transfer to the club was agreed upon on 20 January 2020.^[9] On 18 April 2022, he featured in the Belgian Cup final which ended in a 4–3 win on penalties over his former club Anderlecht.^[10] In May 2025, he announced his decision to retire from professional football at the end of the 2024–25 season.^[11]

International career

On 5 September 2008, Kums made his debut for the Belgium U21 national team against Slovakia.^[12]

On 2 October 2015, senior national team coach Marc Wilmots announced that he would call up Kums, along with teammates Matz Sels and Laurent Depoitre, for the international games against Andorra and Israel.^[13]

Personal life

His father Ludo Kums is youth coach at his current club R.S.C. Anderlecht.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 May 2025^[14]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[a]		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lierse (loan)	2006–07	Belgian Pro League	14	1	0	0	—		—		14	1
Kortrijk (loan)	2007–08	Belgian Second Division	16	5	2	0	—		—		18	5
Kortrijk	2008–09	Belgian Pro League	33	7	3	0	—		—		36	7
	2009–10		29	1	4	0	—		9[b]	0	42	1
	2010–11		28	2	2	0	—		1[b]	0	31	2
	Kortrijk total		106	15	11	0	—		10	0	127	15
Heerenveen	2011–12	Eredivisie	33	2	5	1	—		—		38	3
	2012–13		32	2	3	0	4[c]	0	—		39	2
	2013–14		4	0	0	0	—		—		4	0
	Total		69	4	8	1	4	0	—		81	5
Zulte Waregem	2013–14	Belgian Pro League	21	3	6	1	6[c]	0	8[b]	1	41	5
Gent	2014–15	Belgian Pro League	17	0	3	0	—		9	1	29	1
	2015–16		30	12	4	1	8[d]	2	10[e]	1	52	16
	2016–17		5	0	0	0	3[c]	0	—		8	0
	Total		52	12	7	1	11	2	19	2	89	17
Udinese (loan)	2016–17	Serie A	29	0	0	0	—		—		29	0
Anderlecht	2017–18	Belgian Pro League	25	0	2	0	5[d]	0	11[f]	0	43	0
	2018–19		21	5	1	0	3[c]	0	10[b]	0	35	5
	Total		46	5	3	0	8	0	21	0	78	5
Gent	2019–20	Belgian Pro League	22	1	1	0	9[c]	0	—		32	1
	2020–21		30	3	2	0	7[g]	0	6[b]	0	45	3
	2021–22		32	0	5	1	11[h]	2	6[b]	0	54	3
	2022–23		32	2	1	0	13[i]	1	7[j]	1	53	4
	2023–24		23	1	3	1	12[h]	0	7[k]	0	45	2
	2024–25		23	2	1	0	12[h]	1	0	0	37	3
	Total		163	9	13	2	64	4	26	1	266	16
Career total			500	49	48	5	93	6	84	4	725	64

1. Includes Belgian Cup, KNVB Cup
2. Appearance(s) in play-off
3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
5. One appearance in the Belgian Super Cup, nine appearances and one goal in play-off
6. One appearance in the Belgian Super Cup, ten appearances in play-off
7. One appearance in the UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League
8. Appearance(s) in UEFA Conference League
9. Two appearances in the UEFA Europa League, eleven appearances and one goal in UEFA Conference League
10. One appearance in the Belgian Super Cup, six appearances and one goal in play-off
11. Appearances in play-off

Honours

Gent

• Belgian Pro League: 2014–15
• Belgian Cup: 2021–22
• Belgian Super Cup: 2015

Anderlecht

• Belgian Super Cup: 2017

Individual

• UEFA Champions League Team of the Group Stage: 2015
• Belgian Golden Shoe: 2015
• Honorary Citizen of Dilbeek: 2016^[15]