Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: RUS Marbehan (1934?-2014) / RUS Marbehan (B) (2014-)

Complexe Sportif du Bois des Isles terr. 2, Marbehan (B ground of RUS Marbehan, formerly A ground of RUS Marbehan)

Belgium, province: Luxembourg = Luxemburg

19 VII 2026 / RUS Marbehan - ES Meix-le-Tige 1-1 / Belgian Luxembourg, Provincial Cup - group stage, group O

Timeline

1922 / Foundation of a football club in Marbehan, Belgian Luxembourg, which takes on the name Aurore Sportive (AS) Marbehan. It is unclear where the pitch of this club was situated. The club joins the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB), being placed in a provisional competition with clubs from Sainte-Marie, Mellier, Rossignol, and other villages in the surrounding area.
1923 / After a first year in a provisional competition, AS Marbehan is placed in Regional League 3, the lowest regular league division in Belgian Luxembourg.
1924 / Champions in Luxembourg’s Regional League 3, AS Marbehan wins promotion to Regional League 2, the top division of Belgian Luxembourg’s league pyramid at that time.
1925 / Managing only 1 point in the entire season, AS Marbehan finishes bottom of the table in Luxembourg’s Regional League 2, thus dropping back into Regional League 3 after just one season. In the following season, however, withdrawing from the regular league temporarily, the club prefers to play in a provisional competition yet again.
1926 / AS Marbehan clinches the title in Group A of the so-called Championnat Spécial, making a restart in Regional League 3 for the 1926-27 season. Later that same year, the club acquires number 180 as the Belgian FA introduces its system of registration numbers.
1928 / AS Marbehan wins promotion from Luxembourg’s Regional League 3 to League 2.
1931 / Suffering relegation from Luxembourg’s Regional League 2, AS Marbehan drops back into League 3.
1933 / After an existence of eleven years, AS Marbehan folds, ceasing all activities. Registration number 180 is erased from the Belgian FA’s official membership list.
1934 / After an absence of one year of organised football in Marbehan, a successor club is founded in the shape of Union Sportive (US) Marbehan, which acquires membership of Belgium’s Football Assocation under registration number 2123. The club settles on a location near the local wood processing plant, Lambiotte; hence the ground was usually referred to simply as Près des Usines (Lambiotte) or, in English, 'Near the factories (of Lambiotte)'. It is unclear to me if this location coincides with the current Complexe Sportif du Bois des Isles (any information regarding this matter is more than welcome; please get in touch!). For the 1934-35 season, US Marbehan is placed in a provisional competition, the so-called Championnat Régional.
1935 / Winning the title in Group A of the Championnat Régional, US Marbehan is placed in Belgian Luxembourg’s Regional League 3.
1936 / Clinching the title in Luxembourg’s Regional League 3A, US Marbehan wins promotion to Regional League 2 – still the top tier of Belgian Luxembourg’s provincial divisions at that time.
1952 / Regional League 2 is renamed Provincial League 1 in a reorganisation of the league pyramid.
1955 / Finishing in second-last place in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 1, US Marbehan descends into Provincial League 2, thus ending a spell of nineteen years at the top level of the provincial pyramid.
1983 / One year ahead of the club’s fiftieth anniversary, US Marbehan acquires the royal epithet, thus officially becoming Royale Union Sportive (RUS) Marbehan.
1985 / Finishing in joint first place in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2A with US Martelangeoise, RUS Marbehan goes on to suffer defeat in a tie-break match for the title against that club, thus missing out on an opportunity to return to Provincial League 1 after thirty years.
1993 / Finishing in second-last place in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2A, RUS Marbehan descends into Provincial League 3 after an uninterrupted spell of 38 years in P2.
1994 / Clinching the title in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 3B, RUS Marbehan manages an immediate return to Provincial League 2.
2000 / Clinching the title in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2A, RUS Marbehan wins promotion to Provincial League 1 after an absence of 45 years at that level.
2001 / Finishing bottom of the table in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 1, RUS Marbehan drops back into Provincial League 2 after just one season.
2002 / Finishing in third-last place in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2A, RUS Marbehan suffers back-to-back relegations, descending into Provincial League 3.
2003 / Runaway champions in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 3B, with an advantage of 11 points on its closest followers, RUS Marbehan manages an immediate return to Provincial League 2.
2014 / Finishing in second-last place in Luxembourg’s Provincial League 2A, RUS Marbehan descends into Provincial League 3, alongside RSC Athusien and bottom club SC Mussy. Also in 2014, more specifically in the month of May, after building works which took several years, a new clubhouse and stand are inaugurated alongside the training pitch of RUS Marbehan, situated on the other side of Rue des Prés. First team football is moved to this pitch, with the old main pitch on the northern side of the road being retained for lower team football and training sessions – as well as the occasional first team match in pre-season – until the present day.