BELGIUM: Daring Club Bernissartois (1943-1993) / ROC Diables Noirs Bernissart (C) (1993-2006) / FC Harchies-Bernissart (C) (2006-2022) / FC Harchies-Bernissart (B) (2022-)

Centre Omnisports du Préau, Bernissart (B ground of FC Harchies-Bernissart, formerly Daring Club Bernissartois / C ground of ROC Diables Noirs Bernissart & FC Harchies-Bernissart)

Belgium, province: Hainaut = Henegouwen

July 2025 / no match visited

Timeline

• 1943 / Foundation of a football club in Bernissart, a village in Hainaut on the French border to the west of Mons. The new club, which is given the name Daring Club (DC) Bernissartois, joins the Belgian FA with registration number 4247. It is unclear if the club already played at Terrain du Préau – later rebuilt as Centre Omnisports du Préau – from the outset.
• 1946 / Starting its life as a competitive club after the end of World War II, DC Bernissartois is placed in the bottom division of Hainaut’s provincial divisions, Provincial League 3.
• 1947 / Finishing in fourth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3A, DC Bernissartois wins promotion to Provincial League 2 along with champions FC Wiersien as well as RC Estaimpuis and CS Avenir Bruyelle due to extra promotion places being available following the creation of one extra Provincial League 2 division.
• 1949 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, DC Bernissartois drops back into Provincial League 1 along with US Leersoise, Excelsior Biévène, and bottom club CS Escanaffles.
• 1957 / DC Bernissartois finishes as runners-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3A, 6 points behind champions Excelsior Biévène.
• 1965 / Runners-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3A behind champions RUS Leuze, DC Bernissartois accedes to Provincial League 2 due to one extra promotion place being available.
• 1967 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, DC Bernissartois drops back into Provincial League 3 along with the club in second-last place, RLC Givry.
• 1973 / Runners-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3A, 1 point behind champions URS Quiévrainoise, DC Bernissartois wins promotion to Provincial League 2 as best number two club in P2, due to one extra promotion place being available.
• 1985 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, DC Bernissartois drops back into Provincial League 3 along with bottom club Union Ghlinoise.
• 1986 / Runaway champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, 10 points ahead of closest followers US Hensies, DC Bernissartois manages an immediate return to Provincial League 2.
• 1987 / DC Bernissartois finishes as runners-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, 4 points behind champions ES Acrenoise.
• 1993 / In its last season as an independent club, DC Bernissartois finishes in tenth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A. Following the 1992-93 season, the club concludes a merger with Olympic Club (OC) Diables Noirs (DN) Harchies (registration number 6430), in itself a merger club of FC Les Diables Noirs d’Harchies and Olympic Club Blaton, concluded only one year previously. The new club takes on the name Olympic Club (OC) Diables Noirs (DN) de Bernissart, retaining Daring Club Bernissartois’ registration number 4247. First team football moves to Terrain du Foyer in Harchies, with the pitch at Rue des Sapins in Blaton and Terrain du Préau in Bernissart being retained for lower team football and training sessions. Given that OC DN Harchies played its football in Provincial League 1, the new merger club starts its life at that level. 
• 1997 / Acquiring the royal epithet, the club officially changes its name to become Royal Olympic Club (ROC) Diables Noirs (DN) de Bernissart.
• 2006 / Probably pressed down by debt, ROC Diables Noirs Bernissart folds, ceasing all activities. Registration number 4247 is erased from the Belgian FA’s official lists. Straightaway, a phoenix club sees the daylight, FC Harchies-Bernissart, which acquires membership of the Belgian FA with registration number 9490. The new club plays its first team football at Harchies’ Terrain du Foyer, with Terrain de la Rue des Sapins in Blaton and Terrain du Préau remaining in use for lower team football and training sessions. 
• 2022 / FC Harchies-Bernissart is constrained to abandon its youth academy ground at Rue des Sapins in Blaton, leaving it with just Terrain du Foyer in Harchies (for first team football) and the Centre Omnisports du Préau in Bernissart (mainly used for training sessions).

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