Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: R La Hulpe SC (B) (±1995-2008) / R La Hulpe SC (2008-)

Stade René Soyer terr. 2, La Hulpe = Terhulpen (R La Hulpe SC, formerly B pitch of R La Hulpe SC)

Belgium, province: Walloon Brabant = Waals Brabant

17 VIII 2024 / R La Hulpe SC - RFC Grez-Doiceau 1-0 / Brabant ACFF, Provincial Cup

Timeline

1922 / Foundation of a football club in La Hulpe (Terhulpen), which takes on the name La Hulpe Sporting Club (SC). The club’s first pitch is situated at Chaussée de Bruxelles.
± 1925 / La Hulpe SC moves from Chaussée de Bruxelles to Avenue René Soyer – with the ground being named after the street, Stade René Soyer, which consists of just one pitch for the first seventy odd years of its existence.
1926 / With the Belgian FA introducing the system of registration numbers, La Hulpe SC obtains number 178.
1951 / La Hulpe SC obtains the royal epithet, thus officially becoming Royal La Hulpe Sporting Club, usually abbreviated to R La Hulpe SC or even RLHSC.
± 1995 / So far having disposed of just one pitch at the Stade René Soyer, R La Hulpe SC is now given the luxury of a second pitch on the other side of the clubhouse, which initially has a gravel surface.
2008 / Terrain 2 of Stade René Soyer, which had so far had a gravel surface, is equipped with a synthetic pitch. Due to the main pitch of the ground being notoriously liable to flooding, the club moves its first team football to this 3G pitch from the moment of its inauguration.
2010 / Finishing bottom of the table in P2A, R La Hulpe SC drops back into Provincial League 3 along with Sporting Erps-Kwerps and FC Verbroedering Hofstade.
2012 / Finishing in second-last place in P3B, R La Hulpe SC drops back into Provincial League 4 along with bottom club CS Biergeois.
2014 / Runners-up in P4A, 8 points behind champions RC Mélin, R La Hulpe SC wins automatic promotion to Provincial League 3 as one of the best runners-up in Provincial League 4.
2016 / Finishing bottom of the table in P3B, R La Hulpe SC drops back into Provincial League 4 along with the club finishing second from bottom, Alliance Huppaytoise. Following the 2015-16 season, separate league pyramids are created for Flemish Brabant on the one side (VFV) and Brussels and Walloon Brabant on the other (ACFF).
2018 / With R La Hulpe SC finishing in fifth place in its last season in P4(A), the club is placed in Provincial League 3 for the new season due to Provincial League 4 being abolished in ACFF Brabant’s provincial divisions.
2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short due to the first COVID lockdown in March 2020, R La Hulpe SC finds itself top of the table in ACFF Brabant’s Provincial League 3C, 7 points ahead of its closest rivals FC Schaerbeek B, after 23 of 30 matches played. As such, the club is placed in Provincial League 2 for the new season.
2024 / Runners-up in ACFF Brabant’s Provincial League 2B, 3 points behind champions RAS Saintoise, R La Hulpe SC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club successively defeats RRC Etterbeek (0-1), RUS Ophain (4-0), and RSD Jette B (2-1), resulting in the club acceding to Provincial League 1 for the first time in its history.