Friday 29 March 2019

BELGIUM: US Ophain

Rue de Lillois, Ophain (US d'Ophain)

Belgium, province: Walloon Brabant

27 III 2019 / US Ophain - R Crossing Schaerbeek 0-1 / Brabant, Provincial Cup semi (= ACFF final)

Note 1: in the annals of Belgium's Football Association, there are two "US Ophains": the first one, bearer of matricule 716, were founded in 1926, but folded a mere six years later. In 1968, FC Rangers saw the daylight, which changed name to become US Ophain in 1970. The club's ground at Rue de Lillois disposes of two pitches and clubhouses; the current main pitch has been in use since ±1990.

Note 2: since 2017, Brabant's provincial clubs have been playing in two different pyramids, one Dutch-speaking and the other French-speaking; the cup competition has been divided in similar fashion, though a final is held between the winners of both finals - this being the only occasion left in Brabant's provincial football in which the two language communities meet. The match I visited was Brabant's 'francophone' final, although it was officially labelled as a semi-final - for obvious reasons. Whatever the status of the game, the encounter obviously caught the imagination as some 400 spectators showed up.
























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

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