BELGIUM: RRC Nimysien (1925-1995) / RAS Nimy-Maisières (1995-2013) / RES Obourg-Nimy-Maisières (B) (2013-2019) / R Entente Mons Nord (B) (2019-2024) / R Entente Mons Nord (2024-2025)

Stade Evariste Mantannus, Nimy (formerly R Racing Club Nimysien / R Association Sportive Nimy-Maisières / B ground of R Entente Sportive Obourg-Nimy-Maisières / A & B ground of R Entente Mons Nord)

Belgium, province: Hainaut = Henegouwen

4 IX 2021 / FC Alliance - FC Cheminots Saint-Ghislain 2-0 / RGCCMB Division 2

Timeline

• 1908 / Foundation of a football club in Nimy, a village just north of Mons (or Bergen in Flemish), the capital of the Province of Hainaut. The new club is given the name Nimy Sportif de Mons. It is unclear where the ground of this club was situated.
• 1910 / After an existence of merely two years, Nimy Sportif de Mons is absorbed into Olympic Club (OC) de Mons.
• 1915 / In the midst of the German occupation of Belgium in World War I, Nimy Sportif is re-established. It is unclear where the pitch of this phoenix club was situated.
• 1921 / After an existence of six years, the second incarnation of Nimy Sportif folds, ceasing all activities.
• 1925 / A third successive club sees the daylight in Nimy, Racing Club (RC) Nimysien. It is unclear if this new club settled at Rue du Roi Albert right at the start of its existence – but it is clear this location must have been in use from the early 1930s at its latest.
• 1926 / Clinching the title in Hainaut’s Regional League 4B, 2 points ahead of closest rivals AEC Mons Reserves, RC Nimysien wins promotion to Regional League 3. Later that same year, as the Belgian FA introduces the system of registration numbers, RC Nimysien obtains number 502.
• 1929 / Champions in Hainaut’s Regional League 3B, 4 points ahead of closest followers Patria CS Dour, RC Nimysien wins promotion to Regional League 2. 
• 1931 / Finishing in third place in Regional League 2, RC Nimysien wins promotion to Provincial League 2 – the top level of Hainaut’s league pyramid, right below the national divisions, at that time.
• 1933 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2, RC Nimysien drops back into Regional League 2 along with the club in second-last place, SC Boussu-Bois.
• 1937 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Regional League 2B, RC Nimysien descends into Regional League 3 along with the club in second-last place, SC Pâturageois.
• 1939 / Although clinching the title in Hainaut’s Regional League 3B, 6 points ahead of closest followers ESC Horrues, RC Nimysien does not accede to Regional League 2 – probably due to the mobilisation of Belgium’s armed forces in the summer of 1939 interrupting regular league football.
• 1947 / In the first post-war football season, RC Nimysien wins the title in Hainaut’s Regional League 3B, 6 points ahead of closest followers CS Aulnois; as such, the club wins promotion to Regional League 2 (renamed Provincial League 2 in 1952, with a Provincial League 1 being introduced as the new top level of the provincial league pyramid in Hainaut that same year).
• 1956 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, RC Nimysien is retrograded into Provincial League 3 along with bottom club RC Estaimpuis.
• 1962 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, ahead of runner-up RLC Mesvinois, RC Nimysien manages a return to Provincial League 2 after six years.
• 1963 / Acquiring the royal epithet, RC Nimysien officially becomes Royal Racing Club (RRC) Nimysien.
• ± 1964 / As Evariste Mantannus, the mayor of Nimy and long-time president of RRC Nimysien, passes away, the club’s ground at Rue du Roi Albert – later renamed Avenue du Roi Chevalier – is officially renamed Stade Evariste Mantannus, with Mantannus’ widow performing the inaugural ceremony. 
• 1966 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, RRC Nimysien drops back into Provincial League 3 alongside bottom club FCDN Harchies.
• 1969 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3C, RRC Nimysien wins promotion to Provincial League 2 along with runner-up FC Arquennois.
• 1973 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B, RRC Nimysien descends into Provincial League 3 alongside bottom club US Grand-Reng.
• 1974 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, 5 points behind champions RLC Hornu, RRC Nimysien wins promotion to Provincial League 2 along with the aforementioned club as well as number three CS Erquelinnois due to additional promotion places being available.
• 1976 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, RRC Nimysien drops back into Provincial League 3 along with the club in second-last place, CS Jemappes.
• 1988 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, 4 points ahead of closest rivals FCDN Harchies, RRC Nimysien manages a return to Provincial League 2 after an absence of twelve seasons.
• 1994 / RRC Nimysien wins Hainaut’s Provincial Cup for the first and only time in its history, defeating RLC Mesvinois in the final at Mesvin’s own Stade Marcel Canon; with the match finishing in a 3-3 draw after regular play (two of Nimy’s goals by Basile Mazimbala, with one more added by Ferdin), the tie is decided in a penalty shoot-out, in which Michel Stoquart converts the decisive kick on behalf of Nimy.
• 1995 / In its last season as an independent club, RRC Nimysien manages a respectable fourth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B. Following the 1994-95 season, the club concludes a merger with Provincial League 4 club ASC Maisières (registration number 6988), resulting in the foundation of Royale Association Sportive (RAS) Nimy-Maisières, which retains Nimy’s number 502. First team football is played at Stade Evariste Mantannus in Nimy, with the pitches at Avenue des Espinois in Maisières remaining in use for lower team football and training sessions. The first chairman of the merger club is Guy Cardinal.
• 2000 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B with only 1 point obtained all season, RAS Nimy-Maisières descends into Provincial League 3 alongside the club in second-last place, FC Vacresse.
• 2001 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3C, RAS Nimy-Maisières suffers back-to-back relegations, descending into Provincial League 4 along with the club in second-last place, ESC Horrues.
• 2011 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4D, 6 points behind champions AEDEC Hyon, RAS Nimy-Maisières qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by US Neufvilloise B (1-5).
• 2012 / Finishing in fourth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4D, RAS Nimy-Maisières qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against ASC Baudour (3-1).
• 2013 / Finishing in joint first place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4D with RAS Honnelles, RAS Nimy-Maisières goes on to suffer defeat in a test match for the title against this club. Thus having to make do with a place in the promotion play-offs, the club knocks out JS Borina Quaregnon in R1 (2-3) and AS Pommerœul-Ville in R2 (3-1), only to suffer defeat in the final against US Solrézienne B (2-9). However, due to additional promotion places being available, the club wins promotion to Provincial League 3 through the backdoor. However, following the 2012-13 season, RAS Nimy-Maisières concludes a merger with FC Obourg (registration number 9146), resulting in the foundation of Royale Entente Sportive (RES) Obourg-Nimy-Maisières (sometimes referred to as RESONM), which retains registration number 502 of RAS Nimy-Maisières. Thierry Slosse becomes the new club’s first chairman. For the time being, the two grounds of RAS Nimy-Maisières – Stade Evariste Mantannus in Nimy and the Terrain de l’Avenue des Espinois in Maisières – as well as the Terrain de la Rue du Camp in Obourg are retained. For the 2013-14 season, first team football in Provincial League 3 is played at Stade Evariste Mantannus in the fall of 2013, with the venue changing to Rue du Camp in Obourg from January 2014 onwards. The ground in Maisières is used only for lower team football and training sessions.
• 2014 / Following the 2013-14 season, the second half of which saw first team football being played at Obourg’s Rue du Camp, the presidency of RES Obourg-Nimy-Maisières takes the decision to keep the club’s flagship team in Obourg. Nimy’s Stade Evariste Mantannus remains in use for lower team football, while the pitch is also used by recreational teams of the Royal Groupement Corporatif Centre-Mons-Borinage (RGCCMB) for some time.
• ± 2018 / After having been shared for one season and a half by neighbour club FC Casteau while major works were undertaken at that club’s ground at Rue de Lens, R Entente Mons Nord abandons its third ground at Avenue des Espinois in Maisières, taken over subsequently by pétanque and American football clubs.
• 2019 / Doing away with the long-winding RES Obourg-Nimy-Maisières, the club takes on a simplified name, Royale Entente (RE) Mons Nord.
• 2024 / Due to works being carried out at Rue du Camp in Obourg, R Entente Mons Nord plays the majority of its home games in the 2024-25 season at Stade Evariste Mantannus in Nimy.
• 2025 / Upon the completion of the works at Rue du Camp in Obourg, a ground meanwhile disposing of four pitches, Stade Evariste Mantannus is abandoned, as all activities are moved to Obourg. Subsequently, Stade Mantannus is taken over by the American football club, which had hitherto made use of the ground at Avenue des Espinois in Maisières.

Note 1 – Important parts of the information above have been derived from a booklet published on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of RAS Nimy-Maisières in 2000: “RAS Nimy-Maisières. 75 ans d’histoire”. Thanks to former chairman of the club, Jean-Marc Lhostte, for confirming some relevant details. 

Note 2 – Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-8 = non-matchday visit, August 2021 / pictures 9-24 = match visit, September 2021.

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