Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ʔɑtləˈtik ɑsoːˈɕaːsi ˈɣɛnt]; English: Royal Athletic Association Ghent), often simply known as Gent or by their nickname De Buffalo's (English: The Buffalos), is a Belgian professional sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders.

The new merger team was called Association Athlétique La Gantoise, and aside from gymnastics, the activities were broadened to athletics, boxing, cricket, cycling, fencing, hockey, swimming and tennis.

Different small teams were founded and some merged into Racing Club Gantois on 1 April 1899, which would later become the biggest challenger of KAA Gent.

Nevertheless, at the end of the 19th century the team already became a member of the UBSSA (Union Belge des Sociétés de Sports Athlétiques or the Belgian Union of the Athletic Sports Society, and although Racing Club Gantois was the elder team in the city, KAA Gent would receive a lower matricule number than Racing Club, which would receive 11.

The first season in the First League, 1913–14, was nevertheless very difficult for the team and only by means of a test match against Standard Club Liégois, relegation was avoided.

[15] A crucial role was played by a member of the Board of Directors, Marc Mortier, who consulted the Prime Minister of Belgium, Wilfried Martens, in order to establish an organisation named Foot Invest, to get the team financially back on track.

In 1990–91, the team played at the top of the standings for a long time, under the guidance of René Vandereycken and players such as Frank Dauwen, Eric Viscaal and Erwin Vandenbergh, but finally it ended on the third spot.

After defeating Lausanne-Sport, Eintracht Frankfurt and Dynamo Moscow, Gent played the quarter finals against Ajax.

[17] By the end of the 1990s the results improved again, and with coach Trond Sollied, KAA Gent qualified for European football once more in 1999–00.

With Leekens as a coach, KAA Gent made some impressive performances, such as the 4–1 victory over rival Club Brugge on 1 April 2006.

In 2006–07, despite a weak start of the competition, the team managed to reach the fourth place in the Belgian Pro League.

[21] Michel Preud'homme, who had just become champion of the Jupiler Pro League with Standard Liège, signed a contract for three seasons, together with his colleagues Manu Ferrera and Stan van den Buys.

[23] One week later, Gent also won the Belgian Cup for the first time in 26 years, defeating the other Bruges Pro League team, Cercle Brugge.

[24] On 17 July 2013, the club officially inaugurated their new stadium, the Ghelamco Arena, with a 2–0 win over VfB Stuttgart in a gala match.

[26] Gent were drawn in Group H, against Russian champions Zenit Saint Petersburg, the Spanish team Valencia and the French Lyon.

In matchday 2, they were beaten by Zenit 1–2 at Petrovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia; they were led 0–1 with a goal by Dzyuba and managed to bring the score to a 1–1 tie with a goal by Matton, but Russian international Shatov scored for Gent's first Champions League group stage defeat.

On matchday 4, at Ghelamco Arena, Gent beat Valencia 1–0, after Kums successfully converted a penalty kick in the 49th minute to obtain their historical first Champions League victory.

On matchday 5, at Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France, Gent beat Lyon 2–1; Ferri's 0–1 goal was conceded when Milićević brought the score to a tie, only for substitute Coulibaly to score the most dramatic goal of winners with the last touch of the match, in the 95th minute as Gent earned qualification in either Champions League or Europa League knockout phases.

On marchday 6, Gent won 2–1 against Zenit, finishing the group on second place and becoming only the second Belgian team to advance to the Champions League knockout phase, as Lyon beat Valencia, after Anderlecht in 2000–01.

In the first leg at Ghelamco Stadium, Gent were defeated 2–3 by Wolfsburg, after being led with 0–3 and managing to score two goals in the last ten minutes.

They faced Tottenham Hotspur, first winning at home in the Ghelamco Arena and then drawing in Wembley, thus advancing on aggregate.

Around 8000 KAA Gent fans attended the match in the away-end, after they were awarded an extra 1000 tickets for their excellent reputation.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

The Belgian player Roland Storme, central defender of KAA Gent in 1958–59, received the Golden Shoe award.

Another AA Gent player, the Egyptian Ahmed "Mido" Hossam was also presented with the Ebony Shoe 8 years earlier in 2001.

The Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy is an award that is annually handed out to the most valuable player of Belgian football club K.A.A.