BELGIUM: ES Biesmerée (1941-2012) / ES de la Molignée (2012-2023)

Terrain de la Rue du Fourneau, Biesmerée (formerly ES Biesmerée / ES de la Molignée)

Belgium, province: Namur = Namen

4 IX 2016 / ES de la Molignée - R Anhée FC 2-0 / Namur, Provincial League 1 (= BE level 6)

Timeline

• 1941 / Foundation of a football club in Biesmerée, a village in the southwestern part of the Province of Namur. The new club takes on the name Entente Sportive (ES) Biesmerée, acquiring registration number 3143 upon being accepted as a new member of the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB). ES Biesmerée never reached the national divisions in the course of its existence. It is unclear if ES Biesmerée played its football on the pitch situated at Rue du Fourneau from the outset.
• 2009 / Finishing in second-last place in Namur's Provincial League 2B, ES Biesmerée descends into Provincial League 3 along with RFC Somzée and bottom club FC Achêne.
• 2010 / Champions in Namur's Provincial League 3B, 5 points ahead of closest followers FC Ligny, ES Biesmerée manages an immediate return to Provincial League 2. 
• 2012 / In its last season as an independent club, ES Biesmerée narrowly avoids the drop, finishing in thirteenth place in Namur's Provincial League 2B. Following the 2011-12 season, the club absorbs US Mettet-Molignée (registration number 3267) from nearby Ermeton-sur-Biert (with a B pitch at Rue Saint-Job in Mettet). The new merger club is given the name Entente Sportive (ES) de la Molignée, with ES Biesmerée's registration number 3143 being retained. Henceforth, first team football is played in Biesmerée, with the pitch at Rue Germensau in Ermeton-sur-Biert being retained for lower team football and training sessions. It is unclear if the pitch at Rue Saint-Job in Mettet remained in use for some time after or if it was abandoned straightaway in 2012. ES de la Molignée takes over the place of ES Biesmerée in Provincial League 2B.
• 2013 / Following a conflict with Mettet's municipal authorities, ES de la Molignée is constrained to give up its B ground at Rue Germensau in Ermeton-sur-Biert.
• 2014 / Finishing in fourth place in Namur's Provincial League 2B, ES de la Molignée qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by JS Morialmé (1-1 & penalty shoot-out).
• 2016 / Champions in Namur's Provincial League 2B, 6 points ahead of closest followers Flavion Sport, ES de la Molignée accedes to Provincial League 1. In the following seasons, the club manages two respectable seventh place finishes at this level.
• 2022 / Finishing bottom of the table in Namur's Provincial League 1, ES de la Molignée drops back into Provincial League 2, along with the club in second-last place, FC Malonne 2000. In December 2022, following a disastrous first half of the season in Provincial League 2B, the club ceased its activities.
• 2023 / Registration number 3143 of ES de la Molignée is erased from the Belgian FA's official lists, marking the official end of the club's existence.

Note - ES de la Molignée missed two penalties (38th and 39th minute) in the match I attended at Rue du Fourneau.

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