BELGIUM: KSC Wielsbeke

Hernieuwenburg, Wielsbeke (KSC Wielsbeke)

Belgium, province: West Flanders

29 VIII 2010 / SC Wielsbeke - FC Izegem 1-2 / Belgium, Div. 3A

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

BELGIUM: SK Ooigem (1982-2000) / KSC Wielsbeke (B) (2000-)

Leieland, Ooigem (SC Wielsbeke, B pitch / formerly SK Ooigem)

Belgium, province: West Flanders

August 2010 / no match visited

 

BELGIUM: RSC Boussu-Bois (1921-1982) / R Francs Borains Boussu-Bois Elouges (1982-1985) / R Francs Borains matr. 167 (1985-1988) / R Francs Borains matr. 167 (B) (1988-2008) / R Boussu Dour Borinage (B) (2008-2014) / R Francs Borains matr. 5192 (B) (2014-2021, 2023-) / R Francs Borains matr. 5192 (C) (2021-2023)

Stade Saint-Charles, Boussu Boussu-Bois (B ground of R Francs Borains matr. 5192, formerly RSC Boussu-Bois Elouges / R Francs Borains matr. 167 A & B ground / B ground of R Boussu Dour Borinage)

Belgium, province: Henegouwen = Hainaut

August 2010 & February 2015 / no match visited

Timeline

• 1919 / Shortly after the end of World War I, with the British forces being hailed as liberators in Belgium following the defeat of the German occupiers, football is brought to the attention of the inhabitants of the Borinage region by the troops from overseas. In the mining town of Boussu, an improvised match is organised between a team of British soldiers and a group of local youngsters, who are assembled by Georges D’Haussy.
• 1920 / With the foundation of a football club being planned in Boussu, Rodolphe Lamy, an engineer at mining company Charbonnages Unis de l’Ouest de Mons – and a former football player in the Liège region – puts a plot of land owned by himself in Boussu-Bois-Saint-Joseph at the disposal of the local football enthusiasts. Before long, the ground is known as the Stade Saint-Charles, following the name of the neighbourhood where it is situated.
• 1922 / Following two years of recreational football on the Stade Saint-Charles, a veritable football club sees the daylight in Boussu, Sporting Club (SC) de Boussu-Bois. The nascent club enters two teams into Hainaut’s emerging regional divisions, with the first team being placed in Regional League 3.
• 1924 / Finishing in third place in Hainaut’s Regional League 3A, SC Boussu-Bois is placed in Regional League 2, the top tier of Hainaut’s provincial divisions at that time, in the 1924-25 season.
• 1926 / Upon the introduction of the system of registration numbers by the Belgian FA, SC Boussu-Bois acquires number 167.
• 1931 / Finishing in sixth place in Hainaut’s Regional League 2A, SC Boussu-Bois is placed in Provincial League 2, the new top level of Hainaut’s provincial divisions, in the 1931-32 season.
• 1946 / Clinching the title in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B, SC Boussu-Bois probably went on to win a championship play-off against the P2A champion, resulting in the club acceding to Promotion, the third and lowest tier of Belgium's national divisions, for the first time.
• 1947 / Finishing in thirteenth place in Promotion D, 1 point short of four clubs who all avoid the drop (RUS Tournaisienne, RAEC Mons, SV Wevelgem, and SC Wasmes), SC Boussu-Bois drops back into Provincial League 2 after one season only, alongside KFC Roeselare, Union Jemappienne, KVG Oostende, and bottom club R Knokke FC.
• 1948 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2, 1 point ahead of closest rivals Union Jemappienne, SC Boussu-Bois manages an immediate return to Promotion.
• 1951 / Acquiring the royal epithet, SC Boussu-Bois officially changes its name to become Royal Sporting Club (RSC) de Boussu-Bois.
• 1952 / Managing a third place in Promotion A, RSC Boussu-Bois is placed in the newly created National Division 3. 
• 1958 / Finishing bottom of the table in National Division 3A, RSC Boussu-Bois descends into National Division 4, alongside the club in second-last place, K Tubantia Borgerhout FC.
• 1959 / Finishing in third-last place in National Division 4B, RSC Boussu-Bois suffers back-to-back relegations, descending into Provincial League 1 along with R Stade Nivellois and bottom club RSC Wasmes. 
• 1961 / Clinching the title in Hainaut’s Provincial League 1 ahead of runner-up RFC Athois, RSC Boussu-Bois manages a return to National Division 4 after two years.
• 1963 / Finishing in third-last place in National Division 4D, RSC Boussu-Bois drops back into Hainaut’s Provincial League 1, along with RFCE Maurage and bottom club RFC Ecaussinnois.
• 1967 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 1 ahead of runner-up JS Athoise, RSC Boussu-Bois returns to the national leagues in National Division 4.
• 1970 / Finishing in joint third-last place in National Division 4C with RRC Gent and Stade Kortrijk, RSC Boussu-Bois only avoids relegation by virtue of its having managed nine victories – as opposed to eight by Stade Kortrijk, which drops back into Provincial League 1 along with RFC Houdinois and bottom club FC SV Wevelgem.
• 1971 / Runner-up in National Division 4B, 1 point behind champions R Wavre Sports, RSC Boussu Bois qualifies for the promotion play-offs, finishing bottom of a group behind the other Division 4 runners-up, R Fléron FC, KSC Grimbergen, and Hoogstraten VV – in an exercise which proved rather superfluous, given that no extra promotion places presented themselves.
• 1972 / Runner-up in National Division 4A, with an equal number of points as champions Racing Jet de Bruxelles SR, but with only 19 victories (against 20 wins for Racing Jet), RSC Boussu-Bois misses out on promotion by a whisker for the second year in a row. Yet again, the club has to make do with a place in the promotion play-offs, with one extra place in National Division 3 being at stake following the absorption of Division 3 club KVV Lyra into K Lierse SK. However, as in the previous season, RSC Boussu-Bois finishes bottom of the table with a home draw against VC Westerlo, and away defeats against RUW Ciney and RRC Gent, with the last-mentioned club walking away with the extra ticket.
• 1976 / Finishing bottom of the table in National Division 4A, RSC Boussu-Bois descends into Provincial League 1, alongside KFC Meulebeke, VV Eendracht Aalter, and R Excelsior Mouscron.
• 1977 / In spite of finishing in a meagre yet safe twelfth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 1, RSC Boussu-Bois drops back into Provincial League 2, along with RUS Binchoise, RUS Fleurusienne, ASH Monceau, and bottom club RSC Templeuvois – strikingly, given that Boussu gathered more points than the club in thirteenth place, RFC Hautrage, which avoided the drop. This may have had to do with financial malversations on the part of club officials, resulting in the club being punished with relegation, but no certainty is to be had on the matter.
• 1978 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, 3 points ahead of closest rivals FC Elougeois, RSC Boussu-Bois manages an immediate return to Provincial League 1.
• 1982 / In its last season as an independent club, RSC Boussu-Bois manages a sixth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 1. Following the 1981-82 season, a merger is concluded between RSC Boussu-Bois and FC Elougeois, which had just had an unsuccessful first season in National Division 4, resulting in relegation to Provincial League 1. The new club, created in a tight partnership between the respective chairman, Robert Urbain of RSC Boussu-Bois and Jean Zarzecki of FC Elougeois, is given the name R Francs Borains Boussu-Bois Elouges, which retains registration number 167 of RSC Boussu-Bois; number 2195 of FC Elougeois is struck from the Belgian FA’s membership list. Jean Zarzecki, who had devised the name Francs Borains to widen the appeal of the new merger club to the region as a whole, becomes the new club’s first chairman. Following the merger, all activities are moved to the Stade Saint-Charles in Boussu-Bois, with a phoenix club, SC Elouges, being created to take the place of FC Elougeois at the Terrain de Sainte-Odile in Elouges. R Francs Borains Boussu-Bois Elouges starts its existence in Hainaut’s Provincial League 1.
• 1983 / Runaway champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 1, 13 points ahead of closest followers SC Havré, R Francs Borains Boussu-Bois Elouges wins promotion to National Division 4.
• 1985 / Champions in National Division 4B, 2 points ahead of closest rivals K Merksem SC, R Francs Borains Boussu-Bois Elouges wins promotion to National Division 3, heralding a return to the third tier of the Belgian football pyramid 27 years after RSC Boussu-Bois last featured at that level. Also in 1985, the name of R Francs Borains Boussu-Bois Elouges is simplified to become R Francs Borains.
• 1986 / Following wins over the likes of CS Aulnoisien, K Sint-Truidense VV, and RFC Sérésien, R Francs Borains reaches the semifinal of the Belgian Cup, in which the club is knocked out by Cercle Brugge KSV (7-0 aggr.).
• 1988 / Moving away from the Stade Saint-Charles, R Francs Borains settles at the newly-built Stade Vedette, named after the eponymous coalmine nearby. The two grounds are literally just a stone’s throw away from each other, with the Stade Saint-Charles remaining in use for lower team football and training sessions. At some point, the former main pitch was subdivided into two half pitches for youth matches.
• 2008 / R Francs Borains changes its name to become R Boussu Dour Borinage.
• 2014 / The ownership of registration number 167 (R Boussu Dour Borinage) is sold to RFC Sérésien. Meanwhile, registration number 5192 of R Charleroi-Fleurus is purchased by the new board of the football club in Boussu; this results in the re-establishment of R Francs Borains, but now with registration number 5192 rather than 167.

Note – Below, a compilation of photos of two different non-matchday visit: pictures 1, 3, 5-7 & 13 = February 2015 / pictures 2, 4, 8-12 = August 2010.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author

BELGIUM: RRC Tournaisien (B) (1982-2002) / RFC Tournai (B) (2002-2003) / RFC Tournai (2003-)

Stade Luc Varenne (formerly Complexe Balamo), Tournay = Tournai = Doornik Kain-la-Tombe (RFC Tournai, formerly youth academy of RRC Tournaisien & RFC Tournai)

Belgium, province: Hainaut = Henegouwen

25 VIII 2010 / RFC Tournai - RAEC Mons 2-4 / National Division 2 (= BE level 2)

26 XI 2022 / RFC Tournai - RJS Taminoise 1-1 / ACFF Division 3A (= BE level 5)

Timeline

• 1903 / Foundation of Union Sportive (US) Tournaisienne, the football club of Tournay's liberal, anti-clerical bourgeoisie. The club, receiving number 26 upon the introduction of registration numbers in December 1926, obtains the royal epithet in 1928, thus becoming Royale Union Sportive (RUS) Tournaisienne. From its foundation onwards, 'Union' plays its football at Plaine des Hôpitaux - later renamed Stade Gaston Horlait, and even later Stade Magdeleine Lefebvre.
• 1908 / Foundation of Racing Club (RC) Tournaisien, the football club of Tournay's Roman-Catholic establishment. The club, receiving number 36 upon the introduction of registration numbers in 1926, obtains the royal epithet in 1933, thus becoming Royal Racing Club (RRC) Tournaisien. After spells at Chaussée de Douai (1908-11), Rue de la Culture (1911-19), and Stade Prior (Avenue des Sorbiers, 1919-23), 'Les Rats' settle at Stade de la Drève de Maire. Stade Prior remains in use for lower team football and training purposes in the following decades.
• 1951 / Winning promotion to National Division 1, RUS Tournaisienne has one season of top flight football before tumbling back into D2 the following year.
• 1956 / RRC Tournaisien wins Belgium's national cup by defeating RCS Verviétois (2-1) in the final played at Brussels' Stade du Heysel.
• 1958 / Winning promotion to National Division 1, RRC Tournaisien has one season of top flight football before tumbling back into D2 the following year.
• 1982 / RRC Tournaisien moves its youth academy from Stade Prior to a newly built site with two pitches, Complexe Balamo, situated at Rue de Breuze in Kain-la-Tombe, on the northern outskirts of Tournay.
• 2001 / At the instigation of Tournay's municipal authorities, merger talks are launched between RUS Tournaisienne and RRC Tournaisien, both playing in National Division 4 at that time. Tournay's mayor, Christian Massy, promises to build a new stadium if the two clubs can come to an agreement. Initially, the chosen location for the building project is Plaine des Manoeuvres, a location not far from Tournay's city-centre (a site later occupied by Tournai Hockey Club).
• 2002 / In its last season as an independent club, RUS Tournaisienne wins the title in National Division 4A, thus managing a return to D3 after an absence at that level of 18 years. After the 2001-02 season, the talks between the two clubs are sealed with a merger deal, concluded at Tournay's town hall in May 2002. Although an agreement had officiously been found months before, official confirmation was not given until after the passing of Luc Varenne (1914-2002), renowned Belgian sports journalist and lifelong supporter of RRC Tournaisien who was an entrenched enemy of a merger with Union - those involved considered it the best way of showing respect to the terminally ill radio reporter in the last weeks of his life. Thanks to the title obtained by RUS Tournaisienne, the new club, christened Royal Football Club (RFC) Tournai, which retains RUST's registration number 26, starts its life at National Division 3 level, playing its first team matches at Union's Stade Magdeleine Lefebvre for the time being, while a new stadium is built on top of Complexe Balamo, Racing's youth academy in Kain-la-Tombe.
• 2003 / Having played its first season at Stade Magdeleine Lefebvre, RFC Tournai moves into its newly built ground at Kain-la-Tombe. The new stadium, of which the main pitch is situated on the exact same spot as Complexe Balamo's terrain 1, is christened Stade Luc Varenne in honour of the sports journalist. It is made up of a huge main stand, with a covered terrace opposite and two smaller terraces behind the goals, with a total capacity of 7,552. Aptly, the inaugural ceremony of the stadium and its three side-pitches is performed by Luc Varenne's widow. In subsequent years, Union's Stade Magdeleine Lefebvre and Racing's Stade de la Drève de Maire are both demolished - in the former case to make way for an extension of the local hospital.
• 2007 / Clinching the title in National Division 3A, RFC Tournai registers the first tangible success in its young history, as the club accedes to National Division 2 - 37 years after one of its predecessor clubs, RRC Tournaisien, last played at that level. In May 2007, the final of the U17 European Championships is played at Stade Luc Varenne, with Spain defeating England thanks to an isolated goal by FC Barcelona talent Bojan Krkić.
• 2010 / With top flight club R Excelsior Mouscron from nearby Mouscron going bankrupt in January 2010, tentative merger talks between RFC Tournai and (what is left of) 'Excel' are held, but nothing comes of it. In the end, Mouscron allows itself to be absorbed by D3 club RRC Péruwelz (registration number 216), which changes its name to become R Mouscron-Péruwelz - with first team football moving to Mouscron's Stade Le Canonnier forthwith.
• 2011 / Following a spell of four seasons in D2, RFC Tournai drops back into National Division 3.
• 2012 / Having fielded an ineligible player, RFC Tournai is punished with a huge 32-point deduction. After having won the appeal case, though, the club saves its skin in D3.
• 2015 / RFC Tournai is relegated to National Division 4.
• 2016 / In a reorganisation of Belgium's national league pyramid, RFC Tournai is played in ACFF Amateur Division 3, the new fifth - and lowest - tier of the national divisions.
• 2023 / Finishing 4th in ACFF Amateur Division 3A, RFC Tournai qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it successively defeats RCS Onhaye (2-3 and penalties) and RSC Habay-la-Neuve to return to the 4th level of the football pyramid. A final is played against RFC Union La Calamine (which is also won, 2-0), but with an extra promotion spot being available, this match proves to have been superfluous.
• 2024 / Finishing in fourth place in ACFF Amateur Division 2, RFC Tournai qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Defeating RUS Binche in R1 (5-2), the club is eliminated in R2 by RU Tubize Braine-le-Comte (4-1), but due to extra promotion places being available to the newly created ACFF Amateur Division 1, RFC Tournai accedes to that level - the third step of the football pyramid - amounting to the club's second promotion in a row. 
• 2025 / Finishing bottom of the table in ACFF Amateur Division 1, RFC Tournai drops back into ACFF Amateur Division 2 after one season.
• 2026 / Finishing bottom of the table in ACFF Amateur Division 2, RFC Tournai suffers back-to-back relegations, descending into FFA Amateur Division 3, alongside Sporting Bruxelles and RSC Tilffois; however, due to the club going into administration, it has to drop back even one step further down the latter, thus commencing the 2026-27 season in Hainaut's Provincial League 1, i.e. the sixth tier of the Belgian football pyramid.

Note: Below, a compilation of photos of three different visits: pictures 1-8 = non-matchday visit, February 2020 / pictures 9-10, 14 & 22 = match visit, August 2010 / pictures 11-13, 15-21 & 23-34 = match visit, November 2022.

All photos: (c) W.B. Tukker / www.extremefootballtourism.blogspot.com. Publication of any of these images only after permission of author