Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: RSC Naastois

Sunday 3 March 2024

BELGIUM: RSC Naastois

Stade Luc Payen, Naast (RSC Naastois)

Belgium, province: Hainaut = Henegouwen

3 III 2024 / RSC Naastois - SC Néchin 2-7 / Hainaut, Provincial League 1 (= BE level 6)

Timeline

1938 / Foundation of a football club in Naast, which takes on the name Sporting Club (SC) Naastois. From the outset, the club’s home ground is a pitch close to the village centre, often referred to as the Stade des Quinze Bonniers – an obvious name, given that the pitch is situated at the Sentier des Quinze Bonniers.
1939 / SC Naastois joins Belgium’s Football Association, obtaining registration number 2768 upon being accepted as new member club.
1945 / SC Naastois starts the first post-war football season in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2. In the following two decades, the club alternates spells in P2 (1945-51, 1959-65) and P3 (1957-59, 1965-70) – with no data available concerning the years 1951-57.
1970 / Winning the title in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3C, SC Naastois manages a return to Provincial League 2 after five years.
1975 / Finishing in fourteenth place in P2B, SC Naastois drops back into P3 along with bottom club CS Erquelinnois.
1979 / Finishing in fifteenth place in P3C, SC Naastois descends into Provincial League 4 – probably for the first time in club history – along with bottom club JS Ragnicole.
1988 / Clinching the title in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4E, 5 points ahead of CO Trivières, SC Naastois manages a return to P3 after nine seasons. Also in 1988, celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, the club acquires the royal epithet, thus becoming Royal Sporting Club (RSC) Naastois.
± 1995 / In a purchase from the Princess de Mérode de Croÿ, Soignies’ municipality acquires a plot of land at the back of RSC Naastois’ only pitch. Subsequently, municipal authorities allow the club to add a much-needed second pitch to their park. Also around this time, a covered terrace is added to the set-up of the main pitch.
± 2000 / The Stade des Quinze Bonniers is renamed Stade Luc Payen in honour of RSC Naastois’ long-time volunteer, who had been the chairman of the club for some fifteen years in the 1980s and 1990s.
2003 / Finishing in third place in P3C, no fewer than 29 points behind champions CS Monceau-Hameau, RSC Naastois wins the play-offs, thus managing a return to Provincial League 2 after an absence of 28 seasons.
2005 / Finishing bottom of the table in Provincial League 2B, RSC Naastois drops back into P3 along with RLC Mesvinois.
2010 / A synthetic surface is put in place on Pitch 2 of Stade Luc Payen.
2013 / Title winners in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3C, 6 points ahead of closest followers RFCE Maurage, RSC Naastois finds its way back up to Provincial League 2.
2023 / Runners-up in Provincial League 2B, 2 points behind champions US Neufvilloise, RSC Naastois qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Successively defeating RFC Houdinois (3-2) and JS Team Roselies (1-2) in the first two rounds, the club qualifies for the final, a three-way tournament with USC Jemappes and R Jumet SC. Finishing in first place in the group, defeating both of its rivals (Naast-Jumet 3-2, Jemappes-Naast 0-3), RSC Naastois manages a historic promotion to Hainaut’s Provincial League 1 – with USC Jemappes joining them due to an extra promotion place being available as a result of FC Flénu acceding to the national divisions in the Interprovincial play-offs as an extra team from Hainaut. As the icing on the cake, RSC Naastois also conquers Hainaut’s Provincial Cup, defeating AC Estaimbourg in the final (1-0), held in RFC Tournai’s Stade Luc Varenne, with Aymeric Gorez scoring the decisive goal.