FULL LUXEMBOURG NATIONAL DIVISION & PROMOTION D'HONNEUR (LEVELS 1-2) GROUNDS INDEX VIA GOOGLE MAPS (2025-26)
Extreme Football Tourism
Simply photos of matchday and stadium visits, mainly in Belgium and the Netherlands, occasionally in Britain or farther afield. Additionally, some historical information about grounds and clubs is provided. Others call it 'groundhopping', whereas I prefer 'football tourism'... but things have run slightly out of control: therefore, this is Extreme Football Tourism.
Wednesday, 26 August 2026
CHOOSE YOUR WAY TO EXPLORE THIS WEBSITE
Sunday, 16 August 2026
BELGIUM: URS Quiévrainoise (±1925-1979, 1981-2008) / AS Baisieux-Quiévrain 70 (2009-2017) / US Quiévrainoise 70 (2017-2024) / AS Quiévrain-Wasmuel (2025-) / RUS Hensies (B) (2025-2026)
Stade Communal - Rue de Valenciennes, Quiévrain (AS Quiévrain-Wasmuel, formerly URS Quiévrainoise / AS Baisieux-Quiévrain 70 / US Quiévrainoise 70 / B ground of RUS Hensies)
Belgium, province: Hainaut = Henegouwen
16 VIII 2026 / AS Quiévrain-Wasmuel - RFC Luingnois 0-1 / Hainaut, Provincial Cup R3
Timeline
- 1909 / Foundation of a football club in Quiévrain, a town in the Province of Hainaut, right on the border with France, not far from Valenciennes. The club saw the daylight after a revue performance on the occasion of the centenary of the local concert band, in which a footballer in full kit sang verses celebrating the glory of the game. The team composed of local youths which was formed in the aftermath of the performance, which was given the name FC Quiévrain, never joined the Belgian Football Association, instead playing occasional gala matches against other teams – including AEC Mons, which saw the daylight one year later, in 1910. It is unclear where the pitch of FC Quiévrain was situated – but it may have been on a plot of farmland opposite the Saulçoir farm, where a rival team settled, Albert Elisabeth, in one of the following years.
- 1914 / Upon the outbreak of World War I, activities of the two nascent football clubs in Quiévrain, FC Quiévrain and Albert Elisabeth, come to a standstill.
- 1915 / As football enthusiasts of the two pre-war teams in Quiévrain get together under the leadership of the Billemont brothers, a new club is founded, Union Sportive (US) Quiévrainoise, which does not join the Belgian FA yet. A plot of farmland is put at the disposal of the club by one of the founding members, Aimé Quinet, at Rue de Montroeul (‘Fours à Coke’), opposite of his parents’ farm. The club moved several times in the following four years, first to the Moulin Brûlé (Rue de Valenciennes) and later to the Ruelle de la Gare.
- 1916 / One year after its foundation, US Quiévrainoise joins the Belgian FA.
- 1919 / Moving away from the Ruelle de la Gare, US Quiévrainoise settles on a newly laid-out pitch at Ruelle Pitot (modern-day Rue du Petit Bruxelles), but moving back to Rue de Montroeul later that same year. Also in 1919, a rival club sees the daylight, Cercle Sportif (CS) Quiévrain, which joins the Belgian FA that same year, with a ground being laid out at Rue de l’Abattoir. Both clubs are placed in Hainaut’s Regional League 2 for the 1919-20 season.
- 1920 / In a reorganisation of the Hainaut football pyramid, the two clubs from Quiévrain are placed in Regional League 3 for the 1920-21 season. Meanwhile, US Quiévrainoise continues its odyssey across Quiévrain, moving from Ruelle Pitot to Rue du Transvaal, then to a pitch at the back of the Olivier sugar refinery, and later that same year to Rue de Valenciennes, alongside the Hogneau River.
- 1921 / After an existence of barely two years, CS Quiévrain folds, ceasing all activities, with a large part of its team joining US Quiévrainoise. In the following years, US Quiévrainoise becomes one of the focal points of leisure activities in the town of Quiévrain, with several other activities – some short-lived, others less so – being added to the myriad of activities, including athletics, tennis, drama, and even a library.
- 1922 / US Quiévrainoise finishes as runner-up in Hainaut’s Regional League 3B, with an equal number of points as champions FC Baudourois B.
- 1923 / In spite of finishing in a modest fifth place in Hainaut’s Regional League 3B, US Quiévrainoise wins promotion to Regional League 2, the top provincial level at that time, probably through co-optation.
- 1924 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Regional League 2A, US Quiévrainoise drops back into Regional League 3 after just one season, alongside bottom club AA Louviéroise.
- ± 1925 / Moving away from its pitch near the Hogneau River, US Quiévrainoise settles on a newly laid-out pitch, laid out at Rue de Valenciennes like its predecessor, but closer to the French border – which is where the main pitch of the Stade Communal is still situated today. In order to develop the meadow that was used as a playing field, the club was established as a cooperative society later on in the 1920s or 1930s; this made it possible, thanks to numerous shares purchased by the membership, to drain the land and even to install a small iron grandstand with changing rooms.
- 1926 / As the Belgian FA introduces its system of registration numbers, US Quiévrainoise sees itself attributed number 70.
- 1927 or 1928 / US Quiévrainoise manages a return to Hainaut’s Regional League 2 after winning promotion from Regional League 3.
- 1930 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Regional League 2A, US Quiévrainoise drops back into Regional League 3.
- 1931 / Champions in Hainaut’s Regional League 3B, ahead of runner-up FC Flénu, US Quiévrainoise wins promotion to Regional League 2 – meanwhile the second level of the provincial pyramid in Hainaut, below the recently introduced Provincial League 2.
- 1933 / US Quiévrainoise finishes as runner-up in Hainaut’s Regional League 2A, 1 point below champions FC Houdinois.
- 1935 / US Quiévrainoise finishes as runner-up in Hainaut’s Regional League 2A, 6 points behind champions US Baudour.
- ± 1943 / As footballing activities come to a standstill, the iron stand at the Stade Communal is taken apart in pieces and carried off by thieves.
- 1945 / After several years of near-inactivity, a new board takes over at US Quiévrainoise following the end of World War II and the liberation of the German yoke, with the club again taking its place in Hainaut’s Regional League 2.
- 1948 / Champions in Hainaut’s Regional League 2B, with an equal number of points as runner-up SC Frameries, but with a superior goal difference (+ 100 vs. +70), US Quiévrainoise wins promotion to Provincial League 2, the top level of Hainaut’s football pyramid, for the first time.
- 1949 / Finishing in third-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2 – 1 point short of CS Marcinelle, which saves its skin – US Quiévrainoise drops back into Regional League 2 after just one season, alongside RUS Binchoise and bottom club RUS Fleurusienne. The 1948-49 season remains until today the only post-war year in the history of football in Quiévrain with a club at the top provincial level.
- 1952 / With a Provincial League 1 being formed as the new top level of the Hainaut pyramid and Regional Leagues 2 & 3 being replaced by Provincial Leagues 2 & 3, US Quiévrainoise is placed in Provincial League 3 for the 1952-53 season due to its low league finish in the preceding year. Also in the summer of 1952, with the club having acquired the royal epithet in December 1951, US Quiévrainoise officially changes its name to become Union Royale Sportive (URS) Quiévrainoise.
- 1955 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, URS Quiévrainoise wins promotion to Provincial League 2.
- 1965 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B, URS Quiévrainoise drops back into Provincial League 3 alongside bottom club HS Tertre.
- 1968 / In Baisieux, a village closely situated to Quiévrain, a football club is formed, Association Sportive (AS) Baisieux, which acquires registration number 7195 upon joining the Belgian FA. The club settles on a pitch situated at Rue de Carochette.
- 1969 / AS Baisieux takes up its place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, with URS Quiévrainoise sitting at the same level at the time.
- 1970 / Finishing in third-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, AS Baisieux drops back into the newly formed Provincial League 4 alongside FC Quaregnon, US Frontière, FC Wihéries, SC Roisin, OC Blaton, SC Angre, AS Boussu, and bottom club CDF Española – with Baisieux destined to stay put at the bottom of the league pyramid for the following 23 years.
- 1973 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3A, 1 point ahead of closest rivals DC Bernissart, URS Quiévrainoise manages a return to Provincial League 2 after eight years.
- 1977 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, URS Quiévrainoise drops back into Provincial League 3, along with bottom club ASC Baudour.
- 1979 / As a thorough renovation of the Stade Communal at Rue de Valenciennes is undertaken, URS Quiévrainoise settles on a temporary pitch situated at Rue du Marais.
- 1980 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, 6 points ahead of closest followers FC HS Tertre, URS Quiévrainoise wins promotion to Provincial League 2.
- 1981 / After two years of renovation works, URS Quiévrainoise returns to the Stade Communal at Rue de Valenciennes, abandoning its temporary ground at Rue du Marais.
- 1983 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, URS Quiévrainoise drops back into Provincial League 3, alongside the club in second-last place, SC Bruyelle.
- 1993 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, URS Quiévrainoise descends into Provincial League 4 for the first time, alongside the club in second-last place, CDF Española. Humiliatingly for URSQ, local rivals AS Baisieux manage to escape P4 for the first time in 23 years, gaining promotion to Provincial League 3 via the play-offs following a fourth place in Provincial League 4C.
- 1994 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, AS Baisieux drops back into Provincial League 4 after just one season, alongside the club in second-last place, JUS Maubray.
- 1999 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4B ahead of US Neufvilloise and AS Pommeroeul-Ville, URS Quiévrainoise wins promotion to Provincial League 3 after an absence of six years at that level.
- 2002 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4A, 2 points behind champions SC Néchin, AS Baisieux wins promotion to Provincial League 3 via the play-offs.
- 2003 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, URS Quiévrainoise drops back into Provincial League 4 along with bottom club ASC Baudour.
- 2007 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4C, 7 points ahead of closest followers FC Harchies-Bernissart, URS Quiévrainoise wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
- 2008 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B alongside FC Havré, 14 points behind runaway champions FC Vacresse, URS Quiévrainoise fails to win promotion in the ensuing round of play-offs; what is more, burdened by debt, the club has to cease activities straight after the season, with registration number 70 being erased from the Belgian FA’s membership list. As such, the Stade Communal at Rue de Valenciennes remains unused for the 2007-08 season.
- 2009 / Probably at the invitation of municipal authorities, AS Baisieux moved into the Stade Communal in Quiévrain, taking on the new name AS Baisieux-Quiévrain 70 – the number 70 being a reference to the registration number of the former URS Quiévrainoise. The ground at Rue de Carochette in Baisieux is abandoned and turned into a children’s playground.
- 2011 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, 2 points ahead of closest rivals US Hensitoise, AS Baisieux-Quiévrain 70 wins promotion to Provincial League 2 for the first time.
- 2013 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B, AS Baisieux-Quiévrain 70 drops back into Provincial League 3 after two seasons, alongside bottom club FC Thulin.
- 2014 / Finishing in third-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, AS Baisieux-Quiévrain 70 saves its skin in a relegation play-off against FC Ostiches B (1-2).
- 2015 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3C, AS Baisieux-Quiévrain 70 drops back into Provincial League 4 along with Couillet Sport and RFC Ecaussinnois.
- 2016 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4C, 3 points ahead of runner-up RLC Mesvinois, AS Baisieux-Quiévrain 70 manages an immediate return to Provincial League 3.
- 2017 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, AS Baisieux-Quiévrain 70 drops back into Provincial League 4 after one year only, along with US Hensitoise and bottom club RSC Wasmes. However, following the 2016-17 season, the club has to cease its activities, with registration number 7195 being erased from the Belgian FA’s membership list. Later that year, in November 2017, a successor club is formed in the shape of Union Sportive (US) Quiévrainoise 70, which joins Belgium’s FA with registration number 9697.
- 2018 / Commencing its existence as a competitive club, US Quiévrainoise 70 is placed in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4, taking the place of the former AS Baisieux-Quiévrain 70 at the Stade Communal, Rue de Valenciennes.
- 2023 / In the best season in the club’s short existence, US Quiévrainoise 70 finishes in fourth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4D; qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club knocks out CS Forges in R1 (1-2), only to be eliminated in R2 against Bracquegnies Sports B (1-1 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out).
- 2024 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4B, US Quiévrainoise 70 is placed in the same division for the 2024-25 season, but has to withdraw before the start of the season, remaining inactive during the rest of the season.
- 2025 / As the restart of US Quiévrainoise 70 comes to naught, the club ceases to exist, with registration number 9697 being erased from the Belgian FA’s membership list. With the endorsement of municipal authorities, the club’s place at the Stade Communal had already been taken over by a new name in Hainaut’s football, Association Sportive (AS) Quiévrain-Wasmuel. This club had seen the daylight in 2016 as Athletic Club (AC) Quaregnon-Wasmuel, acquiring registration number 9652 and playing at Stade Louis Piérard in Quaregnon; in 2021, following a conflict with local authorities, the club moved to the Complexe Sportif des Cheminots in Wasmuel, taking on the new name FC Wasmuel one year later. In 2025, the move to Quiévrain and the name change described above followed. Also in the summer of 2025, the new inhabitants of the Stade Communal were involuntarily given a groundsharer; as extensive renovation works got underway at the Plaine Communal in Hensies, RUS Hensies moved its first team football to the Stade du Moranfayt in Dour, with that club being given permission by Quiévrain’s mayor to move part of the lower team football and training sessions to the Stade Communal at Rue de Valenciennes.
- 2026 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4B, with an equal number of points as FC Borina Quaregnon, but with a better goal difference (+69 vs. +53), AS Quiévrain-Wasmuel wins promotion to Provincial League 3. Meanwhile, in the summer of 2026, RUS Hensies sees its groundsharing agreement in Quiévrain rescinded in spite of the works at the Plaine Communal in Hensies not being completed yet, with lower team football and training sessions now partly moving to the Terrain Quai du Rieu in Pommeroeul.
BELGIUM: RUS Grand-Reng matr. 4209 (±1970-2019) / FC Grand-Reng (2019-2022) / RUS Grand-Reng matr. 9774 (2022-)
Stade Gaston Juste, Grand-Reng (RUS Grand-Reng matr. 9774, formerly RUS Grand-Reng matr. 4209 / FC Grand-Reng)
Belgium, province: Hainaut = Henegouwen
16 VIII 2026 / RUS Grand-Reng - ES Elouges-Dour 1-2 / Pre-season friendly
Timeline
- 1934 / Foundation of a football club in Grand-Reng, a village situated right on the Belgian border with France in the Province of Hainaut. The new club takes on the name Association Sportive (AS) Grand-Reng, acquiring registration number 2149 upon being accepted into the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB). It is unclear where the pitch of this club was situated.
- 1935 / After one year of competing in the reserves’ divisions, AS Grand-Reng was placed in Hainaut’s Regional League 3 for the 1935-36 season.
- 1936 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Regional League 3C, AS Grand-Reng withdraws its first team – and probably ceases activities altogether.
- 1937 / One year after the withdrawal from first team football, the registration number of AS Grand-Reng is struck from the membership list of the Belgian FA.
- 1944 / Immediately after the end of the German occupation of Belgium, a new football club sees the daylight in Grand-Reng, Union Sportive (US) de Grand-Reng. The new club acquires membership of the Belgian FA under registration number 4209, settling on a pitch laid on a plot of farmland somewhere between the southern outskirts of the village and the French border – probably in the area situated between Rue Vent de Bise and Rue Paul Pastur.
- 1945 / For its first season as a competitive club, US Grand-Reng is placed in Hainaut’s Regional League 3.
- 1948 / In spite of being runaway champions in Hainaut’s Regional League 3C, US Grand-Reng – probably voluntarily – did not win promotion to Regional League 2, with numbers two and three CS L’Elan Fayt-lez-Manage and US Bray, who finished 7 and 9 points behind them, taking their place.
- 1949 / Champions in Hainaut’s Regional League 3 (this time in 3E) for the second year running, finishing 2 points ahead of closest rivals Racing FC Gozéen, US Grand-Reng yet again does not win promotion – yet again, probably for financial reasons, unwilling to travel the longer distances involved in Regional League 2 football.
- 1952 / Champions in Hainaut’s Regional League 3, US Grand-Reng wins promotion to Regional League 2 – renamed Provincial League 2 for the 1952-53 season.
- 1956 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B, US Grand-Reng descends into Provincial League 3 alongside the club in second-last place, JS Thudinienne.
- 1958 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3E, US Grand-Reng manages a return to Provincial League 2, alongside runner-up Racing FC Gozéen.
- 1960 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B, US Grand-Reng drops back into Provincial League 3 after two years, along with the club in second-last place Morlanwelz Sports.
- ± 1961 / Gaston Juste, the mayor of Grand-Reng – also a former resistance fighter and a member of the Belgian Parliament for the Socialist Party – has a football pitch laid out in the village, at Rue Joseph Wauters. However, due to US Grand-Reng’s board being made up of locals with connections to the Roman Catholic party PSC (Parti Social Chrétien), the club refused to move into the newly laid-out ground, which bears the name of Juste himself.
- ± 1970 / US Grand-Reng gives in to the pleas of local authorities and mayor Gaston Juste, moving into the Stade Gaston Juste at Rue Joseph Wauters some ten years after it was laid out.
- 1972 / Finishing as runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, US Grand-Reng wins promotion to Provincial League 2 alongside champions FC Bray.
- 1973 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B, US Grand-Reng drops back into Provincial League 3 after just one season, alongside the club in second-last place, RRC Nimysien.
- 1974 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, US Grand-Reng suffers its second relegation in a row, descending into Provincial League 4, the bottom level in Hainaut’s provincial divisions since its creation in 1970, along with bottom club AFC Cuesmes.
- 1979 / US Grand-Reng finishes as runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4D, 2 points behind champions FC Genly-Noirchain.
- 1981 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4E, 4 points ahead of closest followers AC Ville-sur-Haine, US Grand-Reng manages a return to Provincial League 3 after seven seasons.
- 1988 / Former mayor of Grand-Reng, Gaston Juste, the driving force behind the stadium and the person after whom it was named, passes away at the age of 91.
- 1990 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3C, US Grand-Reng drops back into Provincial League 4 along with the club in second-last place, R Goutroux Sports.
- 1997 / Obtaining the royal epithet in January 1997, US Grand-Reng officially changes its name for the start of the 1997-98 season later that year, officially becoming Royale Union Sportive (RUS) Grand-Reng.
- 2004 / Finishing in fourth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4C, RUS Grand-Reng goes on to win the promotion play-offs, thus acceding to Provincial League 3 along with champions FC Ronquières-Hy 86.
- 2005 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3C, RUS Grand-Reng drops back into Provincial League 4 after just one season, along with bottom club FC Charleroi (matr. 9444).
- 2007 / Runaway champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4D, 17 points ahead of closest followers FC Rapid Symphorinois B, RUS Grand-Reng wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
- 2013 / Finishing in third place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3C, RUS Grand-Reng qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 against FC Ronquières-Hy 86 (2-1).
- 2014 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3C, 1 point ahead of closest rivals RFC Houdinois B, RUS Grand-Reng wins promotion to Provincial League 2, thus returning to that level after an absence of 41 years.
- 2016 / Finishing in third-last place place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2C, RUS Grand-Reng has to play a set of relegation play-offs against the clubs who finished in that same position in the two other P2 series, FC Brunehaut and FC Havré, but the play-off is broken off halfway through due to no extra relegation places being on the cards.
- 2017 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2C, RUS Grand-Reng drops back into Provincial League 3 after three years, along with the club in second-last place, FC Nalinnois.
- 2018 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3C, RUS Grand-Reng suffers back-to-back relegations, descending into Provincial League 4, alongside AJS Bonne Espérance Buvrinnes and RSC Naastois B.
- 2019 / Finishing rock bottom in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4E (0 points from 26 matches, goal difference -184), RUS Grand-Reng folds, ceasing all activities. Straightaway, a successor club is formed, FC Grand-Reng, which is accepted into the Belgian FA with registration number 9732. However, this new club does not field a first team yet, instead focusing on lower team football for the time being.
- 2021 / Having sat out the COVID lockdowns, FC Grand-Reng fields a first team in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4 for the first time.
- 2022 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4E in its only competitive season, FC Grand-Reng withdraws its first team – indeed folding altogether after an existence of barely three years. A new board is formed, which forms a new club, which takes on the name Renaissance Union Sportive (RUS) Grand-Reng, which joins the Belgian FA with registration number 9774. For the 2022-23 season, RUS Grand-Reng takes the place of FC Grand-Reng in Provincial League 4.
- 2023 / Finishing in fifth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4H, RUS Grand-Reng qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against RFC Molenbaix B (6-1).
- 2024 / With the first team of RUS Grand-Reng withdrawing from Hainaut’s Provincial League 4E before the end of the league season, the club’s B team in Provincial League 4H finishes the season in a tenth place.
- 2026 / With the first team of RUS Grand-Reng finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4D (0 points from 24 matches, goal difference -179), the club’s B team manages a respectable fourth place in Provincial League 4H; qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the team does not have to compete in R1 due to its adversary, RUSC Anderlues B, refusing to field a team (5-0 FF), but elimination follows in R2 against RSC Aulnoisien (3-2).
BELGIUM: SC Iberia (1964-1982) / UD Iberia (1982-1990) / Athletico Iberia Deportivo (1990-2006) / UCE Liège (B) (2006-)
Plaine des Manoeuvres terr. 2 "Iberia", Liège = Luik Grivegnée (B pitch of UCE Liège)
Belgium, province: Liège = Luik
16 VIII 2026 / UCE Liège Reserves - R Elan Dalhem Reserves 5-2 / Pre-season friendly
Timeline
- 1930 / The Liège International Exposition is held on the military training grounds in the northern neighbourhood of Bressoux. The army has to move away from this area, settling in the Bois-de-Breux neighbourhood in Grivegnée, to the east of the city-centre, on a plain referred to locally as Les Sarts. The location is known alternatively as Terrain de Robermont and, following the arrival of the soldiers, as Plaine des Manoeuvres.
- 1944 / Following the liberation of Belgium from the German yoke in October 1944, an American field hospital is set up on the Plaine des Manoeuvres.
- 1945 / After the end of World War II and the departure of the American army, the Belgian armed forces gradually leave their barracks in the centres of the large cities in the country, instead settling newly built facilities in rural areas, mainly near the borders of the country.
- ± 1950 / On the former military training ground in Bois-de-Breux, three football pitches are laid out, which are rented to local recreational clubs. The original club playing on pitch 1 of the Plaine des Manoeuvres was a corporate team known as Le Perron. Pitch 3 is later taken in use by a Spanish recreational club called Sevilla – but there must have been many other teams playing their football on the pitches of the Terrain de Robermont in the following years.
- 1964 / A new recreational club of Spanish immigrant workers in Liège sees the daylight, Sporting Club (SC) Iberia, which almost certainly settled on pitch 2 of the Plaine des Manoeuvres / Terrain de Robermont that same year. Most probably also in 1964, another Spanish club, US Española, which had been founded seven years previously, settled on pitch 1 of the Plaine des Manoeuvres, joining the official Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB) under a slightly adapted name, Unión Deportiva (UD) Española, acquiring registration number 6725 upon being accepted as a member club.
- 1975 / Foundation of a football club of Spanish immigrant workers in Liège; the new club, FC Deportivo Liège, does not apply for membership of the Belgian FA, though, instead preferring allegiance to recreational football. According to one (reliable) source, FC Deportivo played its football on a pitch not in Liège proper, but in Retinne – it is unclear if this was the Stade Pierre Cremers or another pitch in the same locality.
- 1976 / After twelve years in recreational football, SC Iberia joins the Belgian FA, being accepted as a new member club with registration number 8474. Earlier that same year, yet another Spanish immigrant workers’ football club was formed, Athletico Español de Liège, which joins the Belgian FA straightaway under number 8422. According to one source, Athletico’s pitch was situated in the Cointe neighbourhood, according to another at the Rue Sainte-Marguerite in the eponymous Sainte-Marguerite neighbourhood.
- 1977 / Two years after its foundation, FC Deportivo Liège joins the Belgian FA, acquiring registration number 8524 upon being accepted as a new member club.
- 1982 / A merger is concluded between SC Iberia and FC Deportivo Liège, resulting in the foundation of the new entity of Unión Deportivo (UD) Iberia, which retains Iberia’s registration number 8474 and settles on that club’s ground, i.e. pitch 2 of the Plaine des Manoeuvres.
- 1990 / A new merger is concluded, this time between UD Iberia and Athletico Español de Liège, leading to the foundation of Athletico Iberia Deportivo, which retains Iberia’s registration number 8474 and settles on that club’s ground, i.e. pitch 2 of the Plaine des Manoeuvres.
- 1997 / With the first thirty odd years of the history of the club being shrouded in clouds, we now find Athletico Iberia Deportivo in Liège’s Provincial League 4D, finishing in fourth place in that division and gaining promotion to Provincial League 3 via the play-offs.
- 2002 / Athletico Iberia Deportivo finishes in a respectable third place in Liège’s Provincial League 3B, but surprisingly we find the club in Provincial League 4 in the new season; this may have been down to a voluntary choice by the club to restart at the bottom of the pyramid or a punishment meted out by the Belgian FA for an irregularity of some sort.
- 2003 / Champions in Liège’s Provincial League 4B, 4 points ahead of closest rivals RUS Glontoise, Athletico Iberia Deportivo manages a return to Provincial League 3. No information is available regarding the last three years of club history of ‘Iberia’ (2003-06).
- 2006 / As Iberia’s neighbour club UDE Liège, as UD Española had been renamed in 2002, has to cease activities due to grave financial problems, this club is absorbed into Athletico Iberia Deportivo, which takes on the name Union des Clubs Espagnols (UCE) de Liège, retaining its own registration number 8422; number 6725 of UDE Liège is erased from the membership list of the Belgian FA. First team football moves to Española’s ground, pitch 1 of the Plaine des Manoeuvres, with pitch 2 (‘Iberia’) and 3 (‘Sevilla’) being retained for lower team football and training sessions.
- 2009 / UCE Liège, of which the first team plays in Provincial League 3, creates a B team, which is placed in Provincial League 4 and plays its home matches on pitch 2 of the Plaine des Manoeuvres.
- 2015 / Runner-up in Liège’s Provincial League 4G alongside SFC Saive B, 3 points behind champions RJS Chênéenne B, UCE Liège B qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Knocking out FC Herstal B in R1 (4-0) and AS Houtain B in R2 (2-4), the club reaches the final, in which R Baelen FC proves too strong (0-1). With an extra promotion place being at stake, the team qualifies for a lucky loser play-off, in which it edges past RFC Huy B in the semis (4-4 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out), going on to defeat R Banneux FC B in the final (6-2). As a result, UCE Liège B wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
- 2022 / Finishing bottom of the table in Liège’s Provincial League 3B, UCE Liège B drops back into Provincial League 4, alongside RFC Soumagne and RES Templiers-Nandrin B.
- 2024 / Finishing in fourth place in Liège’s Provincial League 4D, UCE Liège B qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by RSC Saive B (5-4).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
