BELGIUM: RCS Welkenraedt (1961-2015)

Stade Reine Fabiola, Welkenraedt = Welkenraat (formerly RCS Welkenraedt)

Belgium, province: Liège = Luik

9 IV 2015 / RCS Welkenraedt - RFC Wallonia Waimes 2-0 / Liège, Provincial League 2C (= BE level 6)

Note 1: CS Welkenraedt, founded in 1938, obtained membership of Belgium's Football Association under matricule 2667. In 1961, the club moved into the Stade Reine Fabiola - a topical name, given that Belgium's King Baudouin had married Fabiola Mora y Aragón the year before the ground's inauguration. The club became a Société Royale - RCS Welkenraedt - in 1988. RCS Welkenraedt never reached the national leagues, but were a regular feature in the higher echolons of Liège's Provincial League system, with a last spell in Provincial League 1 in 2008-09. Finally, in 2015, a merger was concluded with R Alliance Bruyère-Welkenraedt, resulting in the foundation of RFC Welkenraedt, retaining Alliance's matricule 1858. Following the merger, all activities moved to Alliance's ground, Stade Communal 'La Bruyère', which was thoroughly renovated in the following years; RCS's Stade Fabiola was abandoned, with the stand and terracing being knocked down, while the clubhouse has remained in use for local youth activities.

Note 2: Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-24 = match visit, April 2015 / pictures 25-31 = non-matchday (ruin) visit, August 2022.

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