Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: Salm-Union (1915-1921) / SS Salmienne (1921-1925, 1932-1951) / Entente Salmienne (1925-1932) / RSS Salmienne (1951-2017) / RCS de la Salm (2017-2020, 2022-2023, 2024-2025) / RCS de la Salm (B) (2020-2022, 2023-2024, 2025-)

Champ des Dames, Salmchâteau (B ground of RCS de la Salm, formerly Salm-Union / SS Salmienne / Entente Salmienne / RSS Salmienne / A ground of RCS de la Salm)

Belgium, province: Luxembourg

21 IV 2017 / RSS Salmienne - RUS Sartoise 1-1 / Belgian Luxembourg, Provincial League 2C (= BE level 7)

Timeline

1915 / Foundation of a first football club in the village of Salmchâteau, in the north of the Belgian Province of Luxembourg. The new club, founded at the instigation of Camille Michel, teacher in the nearby hamlet of Goronne, takes on the name Salm-Union. Although no absolute certainty exists on the matter, it is probable that the club played its home matches at Champ des Dames from the outset – with the club having settled here by 1925 at its latest.
1921 / Salm-Union takes on the new name Société Sportive (SS) Salmienne.
1923 / SS Salmienne joins the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB).
1925 / A merger is concluded between SS Salmienne and the first football club in Vielsalm, CS Vielsalm, resulting in the foundation of Entente Salmienne, with all activities moving to the Champ des Dames in Salmchâteau and Stade Saint-Gengoux in Vielsalm being abandoned. In the 1925-26 season, competitive football is played for the first time, with the club being placed in Division 3 of the Regional Competition of Vielsalm.
1926 / As the Belgian FA introduces its system of registration numbers, Entente Salmienne receives number 555.
1928 / As a new CS Vielsalm is founded in Vielsalm, the 1925 merger is effectively disentangled.
1932 / Entente Salmienne reverts to its pre-merger name SS Salmienne.
1934 / Runner-up in Luxembourg’s Regional League 3B, 6 points behind champions Entente Marche FC, SS Salmienne goes on to suffer defeat in a test match for an extra promotion place against EB Habay-la-Neuve, played in Bastogne (2-0).
1948 / Finishing in joint first place in Luxembourg’s Regional League 2A (due to be renamed Provincial League 2 in 1952) with OC Saint-Hubert, RSS Salmienne goes on to suffer defeat in a test match for the title against their rivals.
1951 / SS Salmienne obtains the royal epithet, thus officially becoming Royale Société Sportive (RSS) Salmienne.
1955 / Clinching the title in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2B following a 3-0 home win over JR Aye, RSS Salmienne wins promotion to Provincial League 1 for the first time.
1960 / Finishing in third-last place in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 1, RSS Salmienne drops back into Provincial League 2 after five years.
1962 / RSS Salmienne suffers relegation from Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2 into Provincial League 3.
1966 / RSS Salmienne finishes as joint runner-up in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 3D with ES Champlonaise, behind champions CS Vielsalm.
1968 / Clinching the title in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 3E, 1 point ahead of closest rivals US Givry, RSS Salmienne wins promotion to Provincial League 2.
1978 / Clinching the title in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2C with coach Jean-Claude Duvivier, RSS Salmienne wins promotion to Provincial League 1 after an absence of eighteen seasons at that level.
1979 / Picking up only 4 points in the course of the season, RSS Salmienne finishes rock bottom in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 1, thus descending into Provincial League 2 after just one year.
1986 / Finishing bottom of the table in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2C, RSS Salmienne drops back into Provincial League 3.
1987 / Finishing in joint first place in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 3 with ES Vaux-Noville, 1 point ahead of closest rivals CS Odeigne, RSS Salmienne only misses out on promotion due to Vaux having picked up one more win in the course of the season.
1988 / Runaway champions in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 3, 10 points ahead of closest followers US Gouvy, RSS Salmienne manages a return to Provincial League 2 after two seasons. The successful coach is Serge Huppertz.
1994 / Finishing bottom of the table in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2C, RSS Salmienne descends into Provincial League 3 alongside derby rivals RCS Vielsalm.
2000 / Finishing in joint first place in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 3F with FC Montleban, 8 points ahead of closest followers ES Bonnerue, RSS Salmienne is awarded the title thanks to having picked up one more win than Montleban in the course of the season. As such, the club wins promotion to Provincial League 2.
2004 / RSS Salmienne suffers relegation from Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2 into Provincial League 3.
2006 / RSS Salmienne wins promotion to Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2 after winning the promotion play-offs in Provincial League 3.
2014 / Finishing bottom of the table in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2C, RSS Salmienne descends into Provincial League 3 along with RJS Mageretoise, US Waha, and RFC Compogne-Bertogne.
2015 / Runner-up in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 3F, 1 point behind derby rivals RCS Vielsalm, RSS Salmienne has to settle for a spot in the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by R Amonines FC (0-1). Following a particularly good cup run, RSS Salmienne also qualifies for R1 of the Belgian Cup, in which RE Bertrigeoise proves too strong (4-2).
2016 / RSS Salmienne finishes as runner-up in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 3F, 1 point behind champions ES Winaloise.
2017 / In its last season as an independent club, RSS Salmienne finishes in ninth place in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2C. Following the 2016-17 season, a merger is concluded between RCS Vielsalm and RSS Salmienne, resulting in the foundation of Royal Cercle Sportif (RCS) de la Salm, with registration number 555 of RSS Salmienne being retained; number 3470 of RCS Vielsalm is erased from the Belgian FA’s membership list. The first chairman of the new club becomes Jean-Marie Thomas. First team football moves to the Champs des Dames in Salmchâteau, with the main pitch of the Stade Saint-Gengoux (Hermanmont) in Vielsalm and its side-pitch remaining in use for lower team football and training sessions.
2018 / Having started its existence in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2, taking the place of RSS Salmienne at that level, RCS de la Salm now finishes in second-last place in Provincial League 2C, thus descending into Provincial League 3 alongside bottom club RES Harre-Manhay.
2020 / First team football of RCS de la Salm moves to Stade Saint-Gengoux (Hermanmont) in Vielsalm, with the Champ des Dames in Salmchâteau remaining in use for lower team football and training sessions. That same year, RCS de la Salm merges its youth academy with the academies of neighbour clubs R Lierneux FC and RUS Sartoise in a newly formed youth academy club, which is given the name Jeunesse Unie Nord-Ardenne (JUNA) Salm-Sart-Lierneux, with this ‘club’ acquiring registration number 9796 upon being admitted as a new member of the Belgian FA.
2022 / In the summer of 2022, first team football moved back to the Champ des Dames in Salmchâteau, with Stade Saint-Gengoux (Hermanmont) in Vielsalm remaining in use for lower team football and training sessions.
2023 / First team football of RCS de la Salm moves from the Champ des Dames in Salmchâteau to Stade Saint-Gengoux (Hermanmont) in Vielsalm once again.
2024 / First team football of RCS de la Salm moves from Stade Saint-Gengoux (Hermanmont) in Vielsalm to the Champ des Dames in Salmchâteau after one season only.
2025 / First team football of RCS de la Salm moves from the Champ des Dames in Salmchâteau to Stade Saint-Gengoux (Hermanmont) in Vielsalm once again.

Note - Photos below taken on the occasion of the last game ever of RSS Salmienne prior to the merger with RCS Vielsalm in 2017. There were emotions all around, as, also on the side of RUS Sartoise, the manager - also former coach of Salmienne - and goalkeeper disputed their last game ever. Sadly for the latter, he had to concede a goal in the final seconds of the match (cp. photo 15 below).