Extreme Football Tourism: BELGIUM: RC Dourois (1971-2005) / FC Dour (2006-2008) / ES Elouges-Dour (B) (2008-2009) / ES Elouges-Dour (2013-) / R Francs Borains matr. 5192 (C) (2020-2021) / R Francs Borains matr. 5192 (B) (2021-2023) / RUS Hensies (2025-2026)

Terrain du Moranfayt, Dour (ES Elouges-Dour, formerly RC Dourois / FC Dour / B ground of ES Elouges-Dour & R Francs Borains / RUS Hensies)

Belgium, province: Hainaut = Henegouwen

4 X 2026 / RUS Hensies B - AS Vaudignies 3-6 / Hainaut, Provincial League 3B (= BE level 8)

Timeline

± 1919 / Shortly after the end of World War I, with the British forces being hailed as liberators in Belgium following the defeat of the German occupiers, football is brought to the attention of the inhabitants of the Borinage region by the soldiers from overseas. Several clubs are formed in the aftermath, one of them being Patria Club Dour in the eponymous mining town. It is unclear where the pitch of this club was situated.
1920 / Patria Club Dour, which was a member of the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB) folds, ceasing all activities.
1923 / Refoundation of a football club in Dour, which now takes on the name Patria FC Dour, acquiring membership of Belgium’s FA under a slightly adapted name, Patria Cercle Sportif (CS) Dour later that same year. Patria CS Dour starts its existence as a competitive club in Hainaut’s Regional League 4. As in the case of its predecessor, it is unclear where the pitch of this club was situated.
1925 / Champions in Hainaut’s Regional League 4B, 7 points ahead of closest followers RLC Hornu B, Patria CS Dour wins promotion to Regional League 3.
1926 / Upon the introduction of the system of registration numbers by the Belgian FA, Patria CS Dour acquires number 277.
1929 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Regional League 3B, 4 points behind champions RC Nimysien, Patria CS Dour wins promotion to Regional League 2, the top level of the provincial league pyramid at the time.
1932 / Finishing in third-last place in Hainaut’s Regional League 2A, by now the second tier of Hainaut’s provincial divisions, Patria CS Dour drops back into Regional League 3 alongside LC Givry and bottom club Olympic Rumois.
1933 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Regional League 3C, 4 points behind champions LC Givry, Patria CS Dour manages a return to Regional League 2 after one season only.
1939 / In its last season as a competitive club, Patria CS Dour finishes in seventh place in Hainaut’s Regional League 2A.
1948 / Having remained dormant during the war years and their aftermath, Patria CS Dour sees its registration number 277 being struck from the Belgian FA’s membership list. Strikingly, there does not seem to have been a football club in Dour affiliated to the Belgian FA in the following two decades; no doubt, football activities continued on a recreational basis, but no information is available on this subject.
1971 / Foundation of a new club in Dour, Racing Club (RC) Dourois, which joins the Belgian FA with registration number 7655 and starting its existence in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4. Most probably, RC Dour settled on the Terrain du Moranfayt – and possibly the ground was laid out specifically for the club, but there is no information available regarding this matter.
1975 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4C, 1 point behind champions US Frontière, RC Dourois wins automatic promotion to Provincial League 3, alongside the champions and US Beloeil-Stambruges, which finishes in third place, due to one extra Provincial League 3 series being created in the new season.
1976 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, RC Dourois drops back into Provincial League 4 after one season only, along with bottom club FCR Mons.
1978 / RC Dourois finishes as runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4D, 8 points behind champions FC Thulin.
1979 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4C, with an equal number of points as derby rivals SC Petit-Dour, but with 22 wins to its count as opposed to 19 for Petit-Dour, RC Dourois manages a return to Provincial League 3 after three years.
1980 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, RC Dourois descends into Provincial League 4 straightaway, along with bottom club US Beloeil-Stambruges.
1984 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4D, 8 points ahead of closest followers US Frontière, RC Dourois manages a return to Provincial League 3.
1987 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, 1 point behind champions SC Frameries, RC Dourois goes on to win the promotion play-offs, thus acceding to Provincial League 2 for the first time.
1989 / In the best season in club history, RC Dourois finishes in sixth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B.
1990 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B, RC Dourois drops back into Provincial League 3 after three years, along with bottom club SC Leval.
1991 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, RC Dourois suffers its second relegation in a row, descending into Provincial League 4 alongside the club in second-last place, RUS Belstam.
2005 / After a decade mainly spent near the bottom places in Provincial League 4, RC Dourois manages a fourteenth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4B in its last season. Following the 2004-05 season, the club folds, ceasing all activities, with registration number 7655 being struck from the Belgian FA’s membership list. The Terrain du Moranfayt is abandoned.
2006 / Foundation of a new club in Dour, which takes on the straightforward name FC Dour, acquiring membership of the Belgian FA with registration number 9491 and taking the place of the former RC Dourois at Terrain du Moranfayt. In the 2006-07 season, FC Dour is placed in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4.
2008 / Following two seasons near the bottom places in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4, FC Dour concludes a merger with SC Elouges from the nearby village of Elouges, resulting in the foundation of Entente Sportive (ES) Elouges-Dour, with registration number 8850 of SC Elouges being retained; number 9491 of FC Dour is erased from the Belgian FA’s official lists. Initially, first team football moves to the Terrain de Sainte-Odile in Elouges, with the Terrain du Moranfayt in Dour being retained for lower team football and training sessions. Plans are presented by the Dour municipal council to realise a synthetic playing field on the Terrain du Moranfayt by 2010.
2009 / With works getting underway at the Terrain du Moranfayt, ES Elouges-Dour has to move all its activities to the Terrain de Sainte-Odile in Elouges, which has been given a new natural grass surface.
2013 / Three years after the planned realisation of the plans – and with the ground in Dour having been out of use for four full seasons – the synthetic playing field at the Terrain du Moranfayt is inaugurated. First team football – meanwhile at Provincial League 2 level following a promotion in 2010 – moves to the new location straightaway, with the Terrain de Sainte-Odile in Elouges being retained for lower team football and training sessions.
± 2015 / ES Elouges-Dour abandons the Terrain de Sainte-Odile in Elouges, with all activities being moved to the Terrain du Moranfayt in Dour.
2016 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B, ES Elouges-Dour drops back into Provincial League 3, alongside bottom club RAJS Honnelloise.
2017 / Finishing in fifth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, ES Elouges-Dour qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club eliminates Association Montkainoise B in R1 (0-3), only to be knocked out in R2 by RSB Frameries (0-1).
2018 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3C, with an equal number of points as runner-up ESC Horrues, but with 20 victories (vs. 19 wins for Horrues), ES Elouges-Dour wins promotion to Provincial League 2.
2019 / Finishing in third-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, ES Elouges-Dour drops back into Provincial League 3 after one season only, along with FC Béclers and bottom club Association Montkainoise.
2020 / In the 2019-20 season, cut short due to the first COVID lockdown in March 2020, ES Elouges-Dour finds itself top of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, 1 point ahead of RAFC Cuesmes, with 23 of 30 matches played. On that basis, ES Elouges-Dour is admitted to Provincial League 2 in the 2020-21 season. Also by 2020 at its latest, Dour’s municipal authorities allow national league club R Francs Borains from nearby Boussu to move its reserves’ team’s home matches to the Terrain du Moranfayt.
2021 / R Francs Borains creates a B team in Provincial League 4, with home matches being staged at the Terrain du Moranfayt in Dour.
2022 / Clinching the title in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4D, 1 point ahead of closest rivals RLC Givry, R Francs Borains B wins promotion to Provincial League 3.
2023 / Finishing in fourth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, R Francs Borains B qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the team knocks out RFC Labuissière in R1 (4-3), going on to edge past RFC Ellezelles in the final (0-0 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out). As such, the team wins promotion to Provincial League 2; however, R Francs Borains decides to withdraw its B team from the regular provincial divisions after two seasons.
2024 / Finishing in third-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2B, ES Elouges-Dour goes on to suffer defeat in R1 of the relegation play-offs against SRJS Thudinienne (3-0), resulting in the club dropping back into Provincial League 3 alongside AS Morlanwelzienne and bottom team RFCR Symphorinois B.
2025 / With the Plaine Communale at Rue de Chièvres in Hensies being completely renovated, the club playing here, RUS Hensies, is allowed to move its first team football to the Terrain du Moranfayt in Dour for the duration of the works.
2026 / Finishing bottom of the table in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, ES Elouges-Dour drops back into Provincial League 4, alongside RAS Ghlinoise. Later that same year, in November 2026, RUS Hensies moves its first team football back to the reconstructed Plaine Communale at Rue de Chièvres in Hensies.