Boma's birth year is revealed to be 1947, meaning he's aged fifty at this point. His actor Marijn De Valck is four years his junior.
Marc Vertongen (Herman Verbruggen) is absent which was not a first for the character during the seventh season. He is also missing from "Zwarte liefde" (season 7, episode 9). When the team plays the charity match to Boma's benefit, Xavier takes Marc's spot between the posts and Bieke takes over Marc's job as a reporter for Boma's radio station Radio Hallo.
Naturally in "De optimist" a tribute is paid by basically the whole team - by the actors and all involved behind the scenes - to Marijn Devalck's "Balthazar Boma" character. The gold plaque, that Pol and Xavier reveal to him, reads: "to our Benefactor, Balthazar Boma (1947-1997), for Sausage and Homeland." Dimitri made a banner, it reads: "Tribute to my very best friend Balthazar Boma", while Boma and Dimitri had never been close friends. Like-minded self-employed men at best. Inside the cafe a banner hangs onto where the trophies, cups and the glasses are standing. It reads: "Tribute to our chairman."
Every reference to Boma shows that his first name is spelled with a 'z' except for the green sheet of paper on the wall with the phone numbers of important club members. That's because his name is spelled with an 's' in the first four seasons and the green sheet of paper has been there since the very beginning.
The title is a tribute to the Boma character but Herman Verbruggen is completely missing from it as he apparently could not contribute that time.