Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: RFC Labuissière

Sunday, 13 August 2023

BELGIUM: RFC Labuissière

Rue de Binche, Merbes-le-Château (RFC Labuissière)

Belgium, province: Hainaut = Henegouwen

13 VIII 2023 / RFC Labuissière - RFC Chièvres 69 3-2 / Hainaut, Provincial Cup R3

Timeline

1933 / Traces of a recreational football club in the village of Labuissière in Hainaut have been found dating back to (at least) 1933. It is unclear what the name of this club was, or in which league association it played its matches – although it cannot have been the official Belgian Football Association. This club must have folded during the German occupation of Belgium at its latest.
1948 / A new football club is founded in Labuissière under the straightforward name FC Labuissière.
1949 / In the early months of 1949, FC Labuissière applies for membership of Belgium’s Football Association, being accepted under registration number 5128. The club starts its life in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3. The club’s first pitch is situated at Rue des Marbriers.
1964 / Clinching the title in Provincial League 3D, FC Labuissière accedes to Provincial League 2. In the following decade, the club alternates spells in Provincial League 2 (1964-67, 1969-70) and Provincial League 3 (1967-69, 1970-75).
1975 / Finishing second-last in Provincial League 3B, FC Labuissière descends into Provincial League 4, the new bottom division of Hainaut’s provincial league pyramid created 5 years previously, along with SC Bienne-Merbes and US Haulchin.
1979 / FC Labuissière wins the title in Provincial League 4E, 6 points ahead of closest followers US Piéton, thus finding its way back to Provincial League 3. In the following 16 years, the club alternates spells in P3 (1977-88, 1992-95) and P4 (1988-92).
± 1980 / With its pitch at Rue des Marbriers being replaced by housing – and no replacement having been prepared in time –, FC Labuissière is constrained to a wandering life for 2 or 3 seasons, playing its home matches at pitches of recreational clubs in Ressaix and Rouveroy.
± 1983 / After some 3 years, municipal authorities of Merbes-le-Château, of which Labuissière has been a part since 1977, put a newly created pitch at the club’s disposal, situated at Rue des Usines. However, the ground being situated close to the boards of the River Sambre, the pitch is regularly in a very bad state.
± 1993 / Having played at Rue des Usines for about a decade, with the state of the pitch increasingly being perceived as a liability, FC Labuissière finally finds a solution, being allocated a new pitch by the local church council. The club’s new ground is situated not in Labuissière proper, but at Rue de Binche in Merbes-le-Château.
1995 / Winning the title in Provincial League 3E with a comfortable advantage of 8 points over closest rivals JS Momignies, FC Labuissière manages a return to Provincial League 2 after an absence of 25 seasons.
1999 / FC Labuissière obtains the royal epithet, thus becoming Royal Football Club (RFC) Labuissière.
2000 / In what can be described as the heyday in club history, with 14 consecutive seasons in Provincial League 2, RFC Labuissière has its best season in 1999-2000, finishing in 4th place in P2C.
2005 / RFC Labuissière fields a B team in Provincial League 4 for the first time. In the following decades, RFC Labuissière B has featured in P4 on an on-and-off basis.
2009 / After 14 years in Provincial League 2, RFC Labuissière now finishes second-last in P2C, thus dropping back into P3 along with bottom club R Châtelineau Sport.
2010 / Suffering back-to-back relegations, RFC Labuissière drops out of Provincial League 3C along with AF US Saint-Amand-Brye and (again) R Châtelineau Sport. For the first time in 18 years, the club is back at the bottom of the league ladder.
2014 / Winning the title in P4F, 10 points ahead of derby rivals US Merbesars, RFC Labuissière manages a return to Provincial League 3.

Note 1 – Thanks to RFC Labuissière’s chairman Eddy Henry for providing important parts of the information given above.

Note 2 – Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1 & 4-26 = match visit, August 2023 / pictures 2-3 = non-matchday visit, April 2022.