BELGIUM: RFC Malinois (B) (1911-1952) / KFC Malinois (B) (1952-1970) / KV Mechelen (B) (1970-±1981) / KV Mechelen (C) (±1981-2003) / Yellow-Red KV Mechelen (C) (2003-2022) / Yellow-Red KV Mechelen (D) (2022-2023, 2024-) / Yellow-Red KV Mechelen (B) (2023)

Sportcentrum Francis Dessain / Terrein Liersesteenweg, Mechlin = Mechelen = Malines (YR KV Mechelen youth academy, formerly youth academy of RFC Malinois / KFC Malinois / KV Mechelen)

Belgium, province: Antwerp = Antwerpen

11 XI 2023 / YR KV Mechelen B - KFC Houtvenne 1-2 / VFV Amateur Division 2B (= BE level 4)

Timeline

• 1904 / Foundation of Football Club (FC) Malinois, in the same year as Racing Club de Malines. Each represents a different part of Mechlin's society, with 'Racing' being a secular club - initially liberally inclined, later distinctly working-class - and FC Malinois' membership consisting mainly of Roman-Catholic bourgeoisie.
• 1911 / The club moves into a ground situated behind the local army base at Liersesteenweg - and which thus became known as 'Achter de Kazerne', or (in English) 'At the back of the Army Barracks'. Apart from the main pitch, soon to become a stadium, FC Malinois' president, canon Francis Dessain, brought together an amount of money to purchase 2,5 hectare of adjoining farmland. On it, several practice pitches were laid out - heralding the birth of the club's youth academy, still situated at Liersesteenweg today.
• 1951 / Francis Dessain, who served as chairman of the Belgian Football Association for the last eight years of his life, passes away at the age of 76.
• 1980 / In a thorough renovation of the youth academy of the by now renamed KV Mechelen at Liersesteenweg, a new clubhouse is erected. Upon the inauguration of the new facilities by Mechlin's mayor, Jos Vanroy, on October 17th, 1980, the ground is officially renamed Sportcentrum Francis Dessain.
• ± 1981 / Although the year of inauguration is no more than a wild guess, at some stage in the 1980s or 1990s, the city of Mechlin had a new communal sports park inaugurated at Provinciaal Domein De Nekker, which included a small stadium for athletics and football. Since, KV Mechelen - and its successor Yellow-Red KV Mechelen - made us of this ground for part of their youth academy. This stadium was the venue of the club's B team's home matches for many years, thereby diminishing the importance of the pitches at Liersesteenweg.
• 2022 / The home matches of Yellow-Red KV Mechelen's B squad, integrated into the national league pyramid at the start of the 2022-23 season, are moved to Bornem's Domein Breeven.
• 2023 / Due to the bad state of the pitch at KSV Bornem's Domein Breeven, YR KV Mechelen moves its B team's home matches to Sportcentrum Francis Dessain in October 2023. Meanwhile, a synthetic pitch is put in place at Breeven. 
• 2024 / YR KV Mechelen B moves back to Domein Breeven in Bornem in February 2024 upon the inauguration of the synthetic pitch.

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