Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: RJS Haccourtoise (±1972-2026)

Thursday, 6 August 2026

BELGIUM: RJS Haccourtoise (±1972-2026)

Complexe Sportif Joseph Stainier, Haccourt (formerly RJS Haccourtoise)

Belgium, province: Liège = Luik

August 2026 / no match visited

Timeline

1927 / Foundation of a football club in Haccourt, a village to the north of the city of Liège in the eponymous province, close to the border with the Netherlands; the new club takes on the name Haccourt FC, acquiring membership of the Belgian FA (URBSFA / KBVB) with registration number 997. It is unclear where the pitch of this club was situated.
1933 / After six years, Haccourt FC folds, with registration number 997 being struck from the Belgian FA’s membership list. In the following years, two new local clubs see the daylight, Jeunesse Sportive (JS) Hallembaye and Cercle Sportif (CS) Haccourt, with neither of those ever applying for membership of the Belgian FA.
1941 / CS Haccourt and JS Hallembaye both apply for membership of the Belgian FA in June 1941, but the secretary of the Provincial Committee of Liège, José Crahay, suggests that the two clubs merge to form one.
1942 / Following the suggestion of Mr Crahay, CS Haccourt and JS Hallembaye conclude a merger, Jeunesse Sportive (JS) Haccourtoise, which is admitted into the Belgian FA in January 1942 with registration number 3161. The first ground of the club is given as Terrain de la Maladrerie, possibly situated at Rue Michel – and most probably the pitch also used by one of the predecessor clubs. The club does not stay here, though, with successive moves being mentioned to the Rue Riga and the Rue de Loën, only to return to the Rue Michel by the mid-1960s at its latest.
± 1975 / Moving away from its pitch at Rue Michel, JS Haccourtoise settles on the newly laid-out municipal sports facility, the so-called Complexe Sportif Joseph Stainier, named after a former mayor of Haccourt, where it has two pitches at its disposal. The main pitch is surrounded by an athletics track, used by the local track & field club.
1984 / JS Haccourtoise wins promotion to Liège’s Provincial League 1 for the first and only time in its history.
1985 / Unable to cope with the level of play in the top division of the provincial pyramid in Liège, JS Haccourtoise drops back into Provincial League 2 after one season only.
1992 / Upon the club’s fiftieth anniversary, JS Haccourtoise acquires the royal epithet, thus officially becoming Royale Jeunesse Sportive (RJS) Haccourtoise.
1996 / With no previous achievements of the club in the years after 1985 being at our disposal, RJS Haccourtoise now has a strong 1995-96 season in Liège’s Provincial League 2B, finishing in fourth place.
1999 / RJS Haccourtoise suffers relegation from Liège’s Provincial League 2 into Provincial League 3.
2001 / Finishing bottom of the table in Liège’s Provincial League 3B, RJS Haccourtoise descends into Provincial League 4 along with the club in second-last place, RUS Montagnarde. The club managed a return to Provincial League 3 sometime between 2002 and 2008.
2013 / Finishing in fourth place in Liège’s Provincial League 3C, RJS Haccourtoise qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by R Standard FC Andrimont (4-0).
2014 / Finishing in third-last place in Liège’s Provincial League 3C, RJS Haccourtoise goes on to suffer defeat in the relegation play-off semi against RFC Croatia Wandre (4-3), resulting in the club dropping back into Provincial League 4 alongside R Avenir Fouron FC and RAF Franchimontois B.
2016 / Runner-up in Liège’s Provincial League 4B, 5 points behind champions MCS Liège, RJS Haccourtoise qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out AS Hermalienne in R1 (2-1), only to suffer defeat in R2 against R Avenir Fouron FC (1-4).
2017 / Finishing in fourth place in Liège’s Provincial League 4B, RJS Haccourtoise qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against JS Thier-à-Liège (2-1).
2019 / Runner-up in Liège’s Provincial League 4D, 2 points behind champions R Elan Dalhem, RJS Haccourtoise goes on to win the subsequent round of promotion play-offs, crowned with a 2-0 away win at CS Juprelle in the final. As such, Haccourt manages a return to Provincial League 3 after an absence of five years. Also in 2019, the athletics track surrounding the main pitch of the Complexe Sportif Joseph Stainier is renamed in honour of Belgian Olympic runner Émile Leva; Stade Émile Leva.
2022 / Finishing bottom of the table in Liège’s Provincial League 3C, RJS Haccourtoise drops back into Provincial League 4, along with the club in second-last place, R Elan Dalhem.
2026 / Runaway champions in Liège’s Provincial League 4D, 10 points ahead of closest followers FC Jeunesse Houssoise, RJS Haccourtoise manages a return to Provincial League 3. That summer, at the behest of Oupeye’s municipal authorities, the club has to abandon the Complexe Sportive Joseph Stainier, moving into a groundshare with R Oupeye FC at the Stade du Fair-Play.