BELGIUM: R Wallonia Association Namur matr. 173 (1915-1941) / Wallonia Association Namur matr. 3635 (1941-1991, 1995-1998) / Wallonia Erpent Jambes (B) (1991-1995) / Racing Wallonia Saint-Servais (1998-2002) / UR Namur (2002-2018) / UR Namur Fosses-la-Ville (2018-2020) / Union Namur (2020-2023)

Stade Communal des Bas-Prés, Namur = Namen Salzinnes (Union Namur, formerly RWA Namur matr. 173 / WA Namur matr. 3635 / B ground of Wallonia Erpent James / Racing Wallonia Saint-Servais / UR Namur / Union Namur Fosses-la-Ville)

Belgium, province: Namur = Namen

27 IV 2008 / UR Namur - R Excelsior Virton 3-4 / National League 2 (= BE level 2)

2 VII 2011 / UR Namur - R Standard de Liège 0-4 / Pre-season friendly

Note 1: Founded in 1915, Wallonia Association (WA) Namur possibly played their football at the Stade des Bas-Près in Salzinnes from the club's foundation onwards; the club joined the Belgian Football Association in 1922, being attributed matricule 173 when the matricule system was introduced. In 1940, the royal epithet was acquired, with the club thus becoming RWA Namur. One year later, a merger was concluded with city rivals SR Namur Sports, resulting in the foundation of Union Royale (UR) Namur, retaining Namur Sports' matricule, 156, and playing their football at the latter's ground, Stade des Champs-Elysées. At the Stade Communal, however, a new club saw the daylight, also called Wallonia Association Namur, but with a new matricule (3625). This club was a constant factor in Namur's footballing landscape for 50 years before merging with Etoile Jaune Erpent, becoming Wallonia Erpent Jambes. First team football took place at Erpent's ground, while the Stade Communal most probably remained in use for lower team football and training purposes. Four years on, the club chose to change its name back to the old and familiar Wallonia Association Namur. Further complicating the club's history, WA Namur merged again in 1998, this time with Union Sportive (US) Namur, retaining the latter's matricule (4516) and becoming Racing Wallonia Saint-Servais. Finally, in 2002, this club was absorbed by none other than UR Namur. UR Namur moved into the Stade Communal, as their own Stade Michel Soulier (as the Stade des Champs-Elysées was officially known from 1977 onwards) had had to make way for the local hospital's car park in 2001; in the 2001-02 season, the club had to play at Jambes' Stade ADEPS. To make the move to Salzinnes more palatable, Namur's town council agreed to upgrade the Stade des Bas-Près, most notably adding a covered stand behind the western-end goal. For two seasons (2007-09), UR Namur played in National League 2 before tumbling back into the lower leagues. In 2018, constrained by financial difficulties and the resulting relegation into the provincial leagues, UR Namur concluded a merger with the much more modest village club Racing FC Fosses from Fosses-la-Ville - and the adoption of a new name Union Namur Fosses-la-Villes (often abbreviated to Union Namur F-L-V). Matricule 156 was retained, but the royal epithet was dropped. In 2019, Union Namur F-L-V absorbed a smaller provincial league club from Namur, Etoile Rouge Belgrade - and in 2020, the addition 'Fosses-la-Ville' was dropped from the club name. Eventually, in 2023, Union Namur were constrained to abandon their ground in favour of Jambes' Stade ADEPS. In a wry coincidence, like the Stade Michel Soulier two decades before, the Stade Communal des Bas-Prés, in uninterrupted use as a football stadium for over 100 years, will have to make way for a parking lot as well, in this case for Namur Expo, the event hall right next to the ground.

Note 2: Below, a compilation of photos of three different visits: pictures 1-2, 4-13 & 15-24 = match visit, July 2011 / pictures 3, 14 & 25 = match visit, April 2008 / pictures 26-27 = non-matchday visit, April 2022.

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