Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: R Stade Waremmien FC (1972-2010, 2012-2023)

Stade Edmond Leburton, Waremme = Borgworm (formerly R Stade Waremmien FC)

Belgium, province: Liège = Luik

5 IX 2010 / R Stade Waremmien FC - KFC Weywertz 0-0 / Liège, Provincial League 1 (= BE level 5)

Timeline

1921 / Foundation of a football club in Waremme, which is given the name Stade Waremmien FC, with Paul Yans taking on the role of chairman. As yet without a ground of its own, matches are played at makeshift pitches situated in the hamlets of Bovenistier and Bettincourt.
1922 / A year following its foundation, Stade Waremmien FC joins Belgium’s Football Association. Bereft of a ground in the first year following its foundation, the club is offered a ground in Petit-Axhe, across the road from the landhouse of the Baron of Selys-Longchamps, who has been made honorary president of the club (for a more detailed survey of the club's history until 1972, visit the page on this website dedicated to this Stade Longchamps).
1972 / In its last season at Stade Longchamps, R Stade Waremmien FC clinches the title in National Division 4D, thus acceding to National Division 3. Having played at Longchamps for 50 years, the club now moves away to Stade Edmond Leburton, situated closer to the town centre. Contrary to its predecessor, the new stadium is owned by Waremme’s municipality – and its construction has been commissioned by the town's socialist council who named after its longtime socialist mayor (1947-87) who even briefly served as Belgium's prime minister (1973-74). Simultaneously, on the northern side of the new stadium, a pitch is put in place for the benefit of local recreational clubs, including Cosmo Waremme, which is sponsored by a local café, named Cosmos. Moreover, not far from the new stadium, at Site Haute Wegge, new training facilities are built for R Stade Waremmien around the same time. In spite of the new facilities having been put in place, the pitch at Stade Longchamps remains in use for lower team football and training purposes in the following decades.
1975 / Having had 3 hard seasons in D3, R Stade Waremmien FC now finishes in 15th place in National Division 3B, suffering relegation to D4 along with K Helzold FC.
1977 / Renting the future Belgian national player from R Standard de Liège for the 1977-78 season, R Stade Waremmien assures itself of the services of Guy Vandersmissen. Vandersmissen goes on to have a decent professional career, taking him back to R Standard de Liège before moving on to KFC Germinal Ekeren and RWDM, eventually hanging up his boots in 1998.
1981 / A force to be reckoned with in D4 in those years, Stade Waremmien manages a 2nd place in D4D in the 1980-81 season (a place the club also reaches in 1976, 1977, and 1982). Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club edges past KFC Zwarte Leeuw in R1 (3-3 on aggregate, winning on away goals), but loses the final against FC Assent after a penalty shoot-out.
1983 / Winning the title in National Division 4D, 1 point ahead of KFC Zwarte Leeuw, R Stade Waremmien FC returns to Division 3 after an absence of 8 seasons.
1984 / Dead-last in the final ranking in National Division 3B, Stade Waremmien drops back into D4 after just one year, taking with it the club finishing second-last, KFC Dessel Sport.
1994 / Having spent 10 seasons at D4 level, R Stade Waremmien FC now finishes last in National Division 4D, thus suffering relegation to Liège’s Provincial League 1 after 66 years of being a national league club.
1999 / After 5 years in Liège’s Provincial League 1, Stade Waremme wins promotion back to National Division 4.
2000 / Finishing in last place in National Division 4C, R Stade Waremmien FC descends into Provincial League 1 after just one season, with K Neeroeteren FC and KFC Witgoor Sport Dessel being the other clubs in D4C dropping out of the national divisions.
2007 / One of the low points in club history, Stade Waremme drops out of P1, thus finding itself in Liège’s Provincial League 2.
2010 / Winning the title in Provincial League 2A, 8 points ahead of closest followers Patro Lensois, R Stade Waremmien FC returns to Provincial League 1. In the summer of 2010, major renovation works get underway at Stade Edmond Leburton, involving, most importantly, the construction of a clubhouse, the removal of the gravel track around the main pitch, and the putting in place of a synthetic surface on that same pitch. Unable to use the ground in the meantime, R Stade Waremmien moves its first team football (back) to Stade Longchamps.
2011 / While the renovation works at Stade Edmond Leburton are ongoing, the pitch previously used by the meanwhile defunct recreational club Cosmo Waremme, is sown anew.
2012 / Inauguration of the renovated Stade Edmond Leburton, with its new clubhouse and 3G pitch on January 21st, 2012. The club abandons Stade Longchamps. Meanwhile, awaiting the construction of a new ground in Liège proper, RFC Liège moves its youth academy to Waremme for some years, subdividing it between Stade Longchamps and the synthetic pitch of Stade Edmond Leburton. Meanwhile, on the pitch, Waremme finishes runners-up in Provincial League 1, 7 points behind champions RFC Cité Sport Grâce-Hollogne. Subsequently, Waremme wins Liège’s promotion play-offs, successively defeating RFC Vyle-Tharoul and RFC Tilleur-Saint-Gilles. As such, the club qualifies for the interprovincial promotion play-offs, in which it defeats K Herk FC in the semis (2-1) only to suffer defeat in the final at the hands of RUS Genly-Quévy 89 (3-1). In a lucky-loser play-off, the club defeats RUSG Tertre-Hautrage (1-2), but with no extra promotion places falling free, a return to the national leagues does not follow.
2013 / Finishing 4th in Liège’s Provincial League 1, R Stade Waremmien qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it defeats RFC Warnant in R1 (0-1), but is knocked out by Solières Sport in the final (4-1). Also in 2013, two years after having been sown anew, Terrain Cosmo – officially known from now on as Stade Leburton terrain A2 – is taken in use by R Stade Waremmien for lower team football and training sessions.
2014 / After a close contest with Patro Lensois and FC United Richelle, Stade Waremme wins the title in Liège’s Provincial League 1, thus managing a return to National Division 4 after an absence of 14 years.
2015 / Having an excellent first season after its return to the national level, R Stade Waremmien FC finishes runners-up in National Division 4D, 13 points behind champions RFC Liège. In the promotion play-offs, the club is eliminated in R1 by RRC Hamoir (1-5).
2016 / In the 2015-16 season, R Stade Waremmien FC finishes in 5th place in National Division 4D. Qualifying for the promotion play-offs, the club is defeated by UR Namur in R1 (3-0), but still wins promotion thanks to winning a lucky-loser play-off against RES Couvin-Mariembourg (4-1) – although, due to extra promotion places being available, Couvin was also handed a ticket of the newly created ACFF Amateur Division 2, the new 4th level of the national league pyramid. The clubs not winning promotion or suffering relegation from National Division 4 that year, were placed in Amateur Division 3, the new 5th division of Belgian football. Having a decent cup run in the summer of 2016, Waremme reaches R5, in which it is eliminated by K Lierse SK in an encounter played at Stade Edmond Leburton (2-8). Also in the early months of the 2016-17 season, RCS Verlaine moves its first team football to Stade Edmond Leburton temporarily, while a major renovation is being carried out at the club’s own Stade des Six Bonniers – with the club returning to their home ground in the early fall of 2016.
2023 / Finishing last in ACFF Amateur Division 2, R Stade Waremmien FC drops back into Amateur Division 3 after 7 years, with RFC Seraing B and Solières Sport being the other clubs suffering relegation from the same division. Due to the artificial pitch in Stade Edmond Leburton having suffered due to its extensive use for matches and training sessions, it is deemed unsuitable for match purposes by Belgium’s FA. As a result, R Stade Waremmien has to play several of its home matches at the end of the 2022-23 season and the beginning of the 2023-24 season at the ground’s side pitch, Le Cosmo. By mid-September 2023, the club moved its first team football to its old ground, Stade Longchamps, while awaiting the commencement of works on the repair of the artificial pitch at Stade Leburton, which is meanwhile used only for training sessions.
2024 / Renovation works on the artificial pitch are due to get underway in the fall of 2024; as a result, the club has to prolong its stay at Stade Longchamps.

Note – Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-20 = match visit, September 2010 (4 months prior to the commencement of major works being carried out at the ground) / pictures 21-30 = non-matchday visit, February 2019 (current state of the stadium, with a new clubhouse and 3G pitch).