Belgium, province: Hainaut = Henegouwen
1 XI 2026 / RFC Ellezelles - AC Le Roeulx 3-1 / Hainaut, Provincial League 1 (= BE level 6)
Timeline
- 1969 / In Ellezelles (Elzele), a village in the Province of Hainaut on the language border with East Flanders, a football club is founded, FC Ellezellois. The initiative to establish a club is taken by a group of youth scouts. In the first months of the club’s existence, friendly matches are played on the pitch of the local primary school, L’Ecole Libre Saint-Joseph.
- 1970 / FC Ellezellois joins the Belgian Football Association (URBSFA / KBVB) with registration number 7465. With a pitch having been laid out in the hamlet of Fourquepire, to the south of Ellezelles proper, the club starts its competitive existence in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4.
- 1982 / Moving away from their basic facilities in Fourquepire, FC Ellezellois moves into the newly laid-out municipal sports complex at Rue de Renaix, the Complexe Sportif d’Ellezelles, which comprises two pitches.
- 1986 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4C, 3 points ahead of closest rivals AS Vaudignies and US Neufvilloise, FC Ellezellois wins promotion to Provincial League 3 for the first time.
- 1990 / Champions in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3A, 2 points ahead of closest followers JS Athoise and AC Anvaing, FC Ellezellois accedes to Provincial League 2 for the first time.
- 1998 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, FC Ellezellois drops back into Provincial League 3, alongside FC Béclers and bottom club FC Allain.
- 2000 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3B, FC Ellezellois descends into Provincial League 4, along with bottom club RUS Belstam.
- 2004 / FC Ellezellois finishes as runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4A, 2 points behind champions JS Meslin-Grand Marais.
- 2007 / FC Ellezellois finishes as joint runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4B with JES Velaines, 20 points behind runaway champions RFC Molenbaix.
- 2011 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4B, 11 points behind runaway champions RUS Flobecquoise, FC Ellezellois qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club bows out in R1 against JS Meslin-Grand Marais B (3-1).
- 2012 / Runner-up in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4B, 2 points behind champions RA Leuze-Lignette, FC Ellezellois qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out FC Ostiches B (4-6) and FC Wodecq (3-5) in the first two rounds, only to suffer defeat in the final at the hands of RUSC Anderlues B (0-3). In a lucky loser round, FC Ellezellois sees off SC Montignies B (2-5), suffering defeat in the final against WSAC Wangenies (0-1) – but in the end, due to extra promotion places being available, the club is admitted to Provincial League 3 via the backdoor.
- 2015 / Finishing in second-last place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3A, FC Ellezellois drops back into Provincial League 4, along with bottom club JUS Maubray.
- 2019 / In spite of finishing in a meagre tenth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 4A, FC Ellezellois accedes to Provincial League 3 thanks to its B team clinching the title in Provincial League 4B, 16 points ahead of closest followers FC Rumes-La Glanerie. Also in 2019, with an indoor hall being constructed on the area of the second pitch of the Complexe Sportif d’Ellezelles, terrain 2 of the club is laid out anew several dozens of yards further southwards. Moreover, a third pitch is added to the set-up.
- 2020 / As the club celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, FC Ellezellois acquires the royal epithet, thus officially becoming Royal Football Club (RFC) Ellezellois.
- 2022 / RFC Ellezellois officially adapts its name to become RFC Ellezelles – although it should be pointed out that the name change was not officialised in the membership list of the Belgian FA until 2026.
- 2023 / Finishing in fourth place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 3A, RFC Ellezelles qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out RAAL La Louvière B (1-3), only to suffer defeat in R2 against R Francs Borains B (0-0 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out). However, thanks to a lucky loser play-off against JS Solrézienne (3-0), the club accedes to Provincial League 2 via the backdoor.
- 2026 / Finishing in third place in Hainaut’s Provincial League 2A, RFC Ellezelles qualifies for the promotion play-offs. Knocking out AS Obigies in R1 (1-3) and RUE Estinnoise in R2 (0-2), the club qualifies for the final round against FC Gerpinnes and AC Le Roeulx, managing a home win against the former (2-0) and a draw away at the latter (1-1); due to its two rivals drawing, Ellezelles finishes top of the group – but in the end, due to extra promotion places being available, all three clubs accede to Provincial League 1. In the case of RFC Ellezelles, the promotion is historic, as the club never rose to this level of the football pyramid previously. Also in 2026, terrain 2 of the Complexe Sportif d’Ellezelles is laid out anew with a synthetic surface.
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