BELGIUM: UD Española (1964-2002) / UDE Liège (2002-2006) / UCE Liège (2006-)

Plaine des Manoeuvres, Liège = Luik Grivegnée (UCE Liège, formerly UD Española & UDE Liège)

Belgium, province: Liège = Luik

2 IV 2018 / UCE Liège - RFC Warnant 2-2 / Liège, Provincial League 1 (= BE level 6)

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, after the arrival of the soldiers, as the 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 and following years / 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.
• 1957 / Foundation of a recreational club of Spanish immigrant workers in Liège; this club takes on the name Union Sportive (US) Española. The origins of US Española were in the Grivegnée neighbourhood, which might mean that the club started its existence on one of the pitches of the Plaine des Manoeuvres / Terrain de Robermont. 
• 1959 / Considering an affiliation with the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB) as an independent club, US Española allows itself to be absorbed into R Fléron FC (registration number 33) to play their football in the reserves’ leagues as one of Fléron’s lower teams.
• 1964 / As US Española’s partnership with R Fléron FC is disentangled, the club joins the Belgian FA in its own right under a slightly adapted name, Unión Deportiva (UD) Española, acquiring registration number 6725 upon being accepted as a member club. Most probably, UD Española settles on pitch 1 of the Plaine des Manoeuvres / Terrain de Robermont that same year, as the club was placed in Liège’s Provincial League 3. Also in 1964, a new recreational Spanish club saw the daylight, Sporting Club (SC) Iberia, which almost certainly settled on pitch 2 of the same sports complex, thus becoming the neighbours of UD Española, that same year.
• 1976 / After twelve years in recreational football, Española’s neighour club SC Iberia joins the Belgian FA, being accepted as a new member club with registration number 8474.
• ± 1980 / The recreational club playing its football on pitch 3 of the Plaine des Manoeuvres, Sevilla, ceases its activities. Their pitch is taken over by UD Española, who turn it into their training pitch, adding floodlights to the set-up. 
• 1982 / A merger is concluded between Española’s neighbour club SC Iberia and another Spanish immigrant workers’ club, 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 by Española’s neighbour club UD Iberia, this time with 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.
• 1995 / With the first thirty odd years of the history of the club being shrouded in clouds, we now find UD Española in Liège’s Provincial League 2, managing a respectable third place in Provincial League 2B.
• 1998 / UD Española finishes as runner-up in Liège’s Provincial League 2B, 6 points behind champions Entente Fexhe et Slins.
• 1999 / UD Española wins promotion from Liège’s Provincial League 2 to Provincial League 1 for the first time.
• 2000 / In the best season in club history, UD Española manages a fourth place in Liège’s Provincial League 1, with only RFC Union La Calamine, R Battice FC, and RFC Malmundaria gathering more points.
• 2002 / Liège’s municipal authorities help out UD Española, upgrading their dilapidate facilities at the Plaine des Manoeuvres. In exchange, the club adds the name of the city to its official name, thus becoming Unión Deportiva Española Liège – commonly abbreviated as UDE Liège. Meanwhile, having spent vast amounts of money on players to maintain its newly won status in Provincial League 1, the club finds itself in grave financial difficulties.
• 2003 / Finishing bottom of the table in Liège’s Provincial League 1 with coach Philippe Fernandez, UDE Liège descends into Provincial League 2, along with the club in second-last place, RFC Wallonia Waimes. The club may have dropped further down the league ladder in the following three years; further information on this matter is not available.
• 2006 / As UDE Liège has to cease activities due to grave financial problems, this club is absorbed into its neighbour, 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. Most probably, UCE Liège started out in Provincial League 3 – and the club was certainly playing at this level from 2008 onwards.
• 2012 / Finishing in third place in Liège’s Provincial League 3C, UCE Liège qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club eases past RUS Glontoise in R1 (4-0) and FC Warsage in R2 (5-1), going on to knock out RFC Bütgenbach in R3 (3-2) to reach the final, which results in a defeat (1-0) against Etoile de Faimes; however, following the forced relegation of Provincial League 2 club RFC Cité Sport Grâce-Hollogne, an extra place at this level comes available, which is taken by UCE Liège. 
• 2013 / Finishing bottom of the table in Liège’s Provincial League 2A, UCE Liège drops back into Provincial League 3 after just one season, alongside the club in second-last place, Etoile de Faimes.
• 2014 / Runner-up in Liège’s Provincial League 3B, 5 points behind champions RJS Chênéenne, UCE Liège qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out RUS Strée in R1 (3-2), only to suffer elimination in R2 at the hands of R Alliance Clavinoise SC (1-3). In the summer of 2014, Jean-Marie Raucq takes on the role of head coach at UCE Liège.
• 2015 / Clinching the title in Liège’s Provincial League 3B, 1 point ahead of closest rivals R Star Fléron FC, UCE Liège wins promotion to Provincial League 2. The successful coach is Jean-Marie Raucq.
• 2016 / Finishing in fourth place in Liège’s Provincial League 2B, UCE Liège qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against FC Warsage (3-3 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out).
• 2017 / Runaway champions in Liège’s Provincial League 2B, 15 points ahead of closest followers R Entente Blégnytoise, UCE Liège accedes to Provincial League 1, fourteen years after predecessor club UDE Liège last played at that level. The successful coach is Jean-Marie Raucq.
• 2018 / In its first season in Liège’s Provincial League 1, UCE Liège manages an excellent third place, missing out on the play-offs.
• 2019 / Finishing in third place in Liège’s Provincial League 1 for the second year in a row, UCE Liège qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against JS Fizoise.
• 2022 / Finishing in fourth place in Liège’s Provincial League 1, UCE Liège qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out R Aubel FC in R1 (3-1) and Etoile Elsautoise in R2 (2-3). Thus qualifying for the interprovincial play-offs for a ticket for the fifth and lowest tier of the national divisions, i.e. Amateur Division 3, UCE Liège stumbles over the first hurdle, ROC Meix-devant-Virton (3-0). After the 2021-22 season, coach Jean-Marie Raucq leaves the club, having led it to two promotions as well as the brink of national league football in eight seasons.
• 2024 / Finishing in twelfth place in Liège’s Provincial League 1 with coach Olivier Ledent, just 1 point short of RFC Sart-lez-Spa and RSC Beaufays – two clubs which stay up – UCE Liège drops back into Provincial League 2 after seven years, along with RFC Trooz, RA Melen-Micheroux, RCS Stavelotain, and bottom club JS Fizoise.
• 2025 / Finishing in third place in Liège’s Provincial League 2B, UCE Liège qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by R Herve FC (2-2 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out).

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