BELGIUM: ERFC Manhay (± 1974-2017) / RES Harre-Manhay (2017-)

Stade Georges Huet, Manhay (RES Harre-Manhay, formerly ERFC Manhay)

Belgium, province: Luxembourg 

23 VII 2023 / RES Harre-Manhay - US Halthier 5-2 / Belgian Luxembourg, Provincial Cup (P1-P2) - group stage, group E 

Timeline

• 1941 / Foundation of FC Grandmenilois in the village of Grandmenil, 1 km west of Manhay. Upon joining Belgium's Football Association, the club acquires matricule 3159.
• 1945 / Not having disputed a single championship since its foundation - mainly due to the hardships of war, which culminated in the near-total destruction of the region in the Battle of the Bulge in the latter stages of 1944, FC Grandmenilois changes its name to become Entente Sportive (ES) Grandmenil-Vaux-Chavanne. The club is placed in Belgian Luxembourg's division of aspiring clubs.
• 1948 / ES Grandmenil-Vaux-Chavanne has its best season, finishing runners-up in the league of aspiring clubs. The club voluntarily refrained from joining the regular provincial divisions.
• 1951 / Not having fielded a team since 1949, ES Grandmenil-Vaux-Chavanne is erased from the Belgian FA's official membership list.
• 1959 / Foundation of a new club, Entente Régionale Football Club (ERFC) Manhay, which is accepted as new Belgian FA member under matricule 6224. The club's first chairman is Georges Huet. Starting its life in Belgian Luxembourg's Provincial League 3D, the club plays its home matches on a pitch situated halfway between Manhay and Chêne-al-Pierre.
• 1961 / In its second season, ERFC Manhay wins the title in Provincial League 3D, 5 points ahead of SC Grand-Halleux and 10 points ahead of JFC Wibrin. The club accedes to Provincial League 2 for the first time.
• 1962 / Abandoning its initial ground, ERFC Manhay moves to a pitch in Manhay proper, Terrain Julien Lacasse, situated at Vieux Chemin de la Vaux.
• 1967 / ERFC Manhay clinches the title in Provincial League 2B, 7 points ahead of ES Houffalize. For the first time in history, the club accedes to Belgian Luxembourg's Provincial League 1.
• 1969 / Defeating AC Saint-Mard (6-0), ERFC Manhay reaches R2 of the Belgian Cup, in which it is eliminated in a home game against FC Union La Calamine (2-3).
• 1972 / Georges Sepult, who started his career at Lierneux FC before moving on to ERFC Manhay upon its foundation in 1959, plays his 900th official match (of which over 600 for Manhay). Sepult, meanwhile in his 40s, is honoured with a gala match in which ERFC Manhay hosts a team of players of surrounding villages.
• 1973 / Finishing last in Provincial League 1, ERFC Manhay drops back into P2 after 6 years.
• 1974 / Coming close to the title in P2C, ERFC Manhay has to settle for second place, finishing 2 points behind ES Houffalize. Also in or around 1974, the club must have moved to its current ground at Rue des Armées Américaines.
• 1975 / ERFC Manhay wins the title in Provincial League 2C, 5 points ahead of CS Vielsalm, thus managing a return to Belgian Luxembourg's top provincial division after 2 years.
• 1976 / Finishing 12th in P1 with an equal number of points as RC Mormont and USL Saint-Léger, ERFC Manhay has to play a relegation play-off against these two clubs. In the end, only RC Mormont saves its skin, with the two others dropping back one level.
• 1978 / After a closely fought race, ERFC Manhay has to leave the P2C title to RSS Salmienne. In November, co-founder and club chairman Georges Huet passes away; the ground at Rue des Armées Américaines is renamed in his honour.
• 1988 / Runners-up in P2C, ERFC Manhay misses out on promotion to P1, as the title goes to US Givry. A force to be reckoned with in P2C in those years, the club also manages no fewer than 5 3rd place finishes between 1979 and 1989.
• 1990 / After 14 consecutive seasons in Provincial League 2C, ERFC Manhay wins the title of this division, 7 points ahead of FC Bande. With a particularly strong squad, including the Lesenfants and Evrard brothers, as well as Bernard Boutay, Jean-Marie Prévot, Roland Paul, Jean-Marie Bechoux, Harry Kleijkers, and Lucy Michel, the club returns to Provincial League 1.
• 1998 / Having played in P1 for 8 years - the club's longest spell at this level -, ERFC Manhay finishes last in this division, thus dropping back into P2.
• 2001 / Finishing 2nd-last in P2C, ERFC Manhay finds itself in Provincial League 3 for the first time in 39 years.
• 2002 / Finishing 3rd in Provincial League 3F behind FC Compogne Bertogne and AS Regné, ERFC Manhay qualifies for the promotion play-offs - which it wins, thus earning a return to P2. The joy is short-lived, though, with relegation to the bottom division following in 2003.
• 2006 / With a commanding lead of 11 points over closest rivals RSS Salmienne, ERFC Manhay wins the title in Provincial League 3E, thus returning to P2.
• 2009 / Having dropped back into P3 the previous season, ERFC Manhay now wins its 2nd title in 3 years at that level, 15 points ahead of runners-up ES Bourcy.
• 2012 / Finishing 2nd-last in P2C, ERFC Manhay descends into Provincial League 3 along with RJR Aye FC and bottom club RFC Petit-Han.
• 2013 / In an all-time low, ERFC Manhay finishes last in Provincial League 3E without winning a single point, and a goal difference of -87 (24-111). The home match against RCS Vielsalm is lost 13-0.
• 2014 / In grave financial trouble, ERFC Manhay refrains from fielding a first team for the 2014-15 season. The club returns in P3E in 2015.
• 2017 / In its last season as an independent club, ERFC Manhay finishes 9th in Provincial League 3E. At the end of the season, a merger is concluded with R Olympic Harre, resulting in the foundation of Royale Entente Sportive (RES) Harre-Manhay, which retains Harre's matricule 3296. Guy Huet is chosen as the club's first chairman. The merger club starts its life in Provincial League 2C, given that Harre maintained itself at that level in its last season as an independent club. First team football is played at Manhay's Stade Georges Huet, while Harre's ground at Chemin du Stade remains in use for lower team football and training sessions.
• 2018 / In its first season, RES Harre-Manhay finishes last in Provincial League 2C, thus descending into P3.
• 2020 / In the 2019-20 season, broken off in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RES Harre-Manhay is declared champion of Provincial League 3F on the basis of 16 of 26 matches, with the club having built up a relatively comfortable lead over CS Odeigne (7 points) and R Lierneux FC (8 points). Thus, the club is placed in Provincial League 2C for the new season.
• 2023 / In a closely fought race, RES Harre-Manhay wins the title in Provincial League 2C, with RUS Erezée and RSC Nassogne just missing out (finishing 1 and 2 points behind the merger club respectively). For the first time in a quarter of a century, Provincial League 1 football returns to Manhay. In the fall of 2023, the small bit of cover along the northern end of the pitch of Stade Georges Huet (already gone in the photos below) is replaced with a modern, small covered stand (cp. photos 16-18 below).
• 2024 / In its first season in Provincial League 1, RES Harry-Manhay clinches the title, 3 points ahead of closest followers RAFC Oppagne-Wéris, thus acceding to national league football for the first time by achieving a historic promotion to ACFF Amateur Division 3, the fifth level of the Belgian football pyramid.
• 2025 / In its first-ever season as a national league club, RES Harre-Manhay quite easily holds its own in ACFF Amateur Division 3B with an eleventh place.
• 2026 / Finishing in thirteenth place in ACFF Amateur Division 3B, RES Harre-Manhay descends into Provincial League 1 after two years, alongside RESC Houffaloise, R Marloie Sport, and bottom club KFC Eupen 1963.

Note - Below, a compilation of photos of two different visits: pictures 1-15 = match visit, July 2023 / pictures 16-18 = non-matchday visit, March 2024.

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

BELGIUM: R Oupeye FC (2016-) / RJS Haccourtoise (2026-)

Stade du Fair-Play, Oupeye (R Oupeye FC)

Belgium, province: Liège = Luik

23 VII 2023 / R Oupeye FC - MCS Sport Liège 0-2 / Pre-season friendly

Timeline

• 1927 / Foundation of Oupeye Football Club, which, upon joining Belgium’s Football Association, obtains matricule 1000. First club chairman is co-founder Oscar Landrain. The club lays out a pitch on a meadow which it rents from two local farmers at Rue du Pré de la Haye.
• 1930 / Oupeye FC registers its first success, winning the title in Liège’s Provincial League 2, ahead of CS Visétois. It is unclear how long the club managed to stay up in its first stay in Provincial League 1.
• 1952 / At the instigation of chairman François Jehaes, Oupeye FC purchases the plot of land on which its sole pitch is situated – a plot which the club had hitherto paid an annual rent for.
• 1959 / Winning the title in Provincial League 2 as well as the ensuing promotion play-offs, Oupeye FC accedes to Provincial League 1 without suffering a single defeat in the entire season.
• 1960 / Coming close to the title in Provincial League 1, Oupeye FC narrowly misses out on promotion to national league football. The club must have dropped back into P2 at some point in the following years, but it is unclear when exactly. In the remainder of its existence, the club never returned to this level.
• 1977 / Although another source states the club acquired the royal epithet in 1952, the more reliable material confirms Oupeye FC became a Société Royale in 1977, thus becoming Royal Oupeye Football Club.
• 1981 / Clinching the title in Provincial League 3, R Oupeye FC, coached by Lambert Defraigne, accedes to Provincial League 2.
• 1985 / Under the guidance of trainer Robert Skivée, R Oupeye FC wins the P3 title once more, thus finding its way back to Provincial League 2.
• 2015 / Finishing second-last in Liège’s Provincial League 2B, R Oupeye FC descends into P3.
• 2016 / Abandoning its sole pitch at Rue du Pré de la Haye, R Oupeye FC moves into its new ground, the Stade du Fair-Play at Rue Alfred De Taeye, where it disposes of two pitches. The premises at Rue du Pré de la Haye are knocked down to make way for housing.
• 2019 / Clinching the title in Provincial League 3B with an advantage of 11 points over closest rivals RSC Tilffois, R Oupeye FC manages a return to P2. Moreover, that same season, the club wins the Provincial Cup for P3 and P4 teams, seeing off RES Templiers-Nandrin in the final played at CREF in Blégny (4-1).
• 2023 / With just 8 points from 28 matches, and without a single win, R Oupeye FC drops out of P2B, thus descending into Provincial League 3 after 4 years.
• 2024 / Finishing in third place in Liège's Provincial League 3B, R Oupeye FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by RCS Sart-Tilman (1-2).
• 2025 / Finishing in fourth place in Liège's Provincial League 3C, R Oupeye FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 by RCS Bollandois (2-2 & penalty shoot-out).
• 2026 / Finishing in fourth place in Liège's Provincial League 3C, R Oupeye FC qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club edges past RJS Olnoise in R1 (1-1 A.E.T. & penalty shoot-out), only to be knocked out in R2 by R Cornesse FC (3-2). Also in 2026, R Oupeye FC is joined by RJS Haccourtoise as groundsharers at the Stade du Fair-Play, with Haccourt having to abandon its old ground at Rue de Tongres.

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

BELGIUM: RAFC Cobreville

Stade Jean Goosse, Cobreville (RAFC Cobreville)

Belgium, province: Luxembourg

21 VII 2023 / RAFC Cobreville - RUC Bras 0-4 / Belgian Luxembourg, Provincial Cup 

Timeline

• 1928 / Foundation of a first football club in the villages of Nives and Cobreville, which is given the name Alliance Cobreville. Upon applying for membership of Belgium’s FA, the club acquires matricule 1292. It is as yet unclear where Alliance Cobreville’s ground was situated.
• 1929 / Alliance Cobreville is placed in the so-called Competion Spéciale Série F, competing against the likes of US Gouvy, ES Bourcy, JS Bastogne, Excelsior Club Bastogne, and Union Burettoise. In the following year, the club accedes to Belgian Luxembourg’s regular provincial leagues, being placed in the bottom league, Division 3 (renamed Provincial League 3 later on).
• 1934 / After an existence of barely 6 years, Alliance Cobreville folds, ceasing all activities.
• 1939 / Refoundation of Alliance Cobreville under the slightly adapted name FC Alliance Cobreville. The club joins Belgium’s FA, obtaining matricule 2802. FC Alliance Cobreville’s ground was situated on the eastern outskirts of the village, at Route de Remoiville. It is as yet unclear when the club moved to its current ground at Chemin de Martelange, but it might have been around the year 1975.
• 1954 / After an existence of 15 years, in which the club only fielded a first time in one season, FC Alliance Cobreville folds, ceasing all activities.
• 1957 / At the instigation of former club chairman Georges Cornette, FC Alliance Cobreville is refounded under the slightly adapted name Alliance Football Club (AFC) Cobreville. The club is accepted as new FA member under matricule 6040. With the exception of the 1966-67 season, the new club fields a first team in Provincial League 3 each year.
• 1977 / In the best season in club history, AFC Cobreville finishes in 3rd place in Belgian Luxembourg’s Provincial League 3C behind RC Longlier and ES Saint-Pierre. In its history, AFC Cobreville has never climbed out of the bottom division of Belgian Luxembourg’s league pyramid.
• 1993 / Tracing its origins to the foundation of FC Alliance Cobreville in 1934, Alliance FC Cobreville successfully applies for the royal epithet, thus adapting its name to become Royale Alliance Football Club (RAFC) Cobreville.
• 2001 / Usually among the bottom clubs in Provincial League 3, RAFC Cobreville has an excellent campaign, resulting in 5th place in P3C.
• 2008 / RAFC Cobreville’s ground at Chemin de Martelange is renamed Stade Jean Goosse to honour long-time club president Jean Goosse.
• 2014 / Jean Goosse, president of the club during two spells (1994-96, 1999-2014), passes away at the age of 83.
• 2020 / A new clubhouse is erected at Stade Jean Goosse; simultaneously, the surface of the ground’s only pitch, which had a considerable slope, is levelled.
• 2026 / Finishing in fourth place in Luxembourg's Provincial League 3D, RAFC Cobreville qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is knocked out in R1 against RFC Compogne Bertogne (4-1).

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

BELGIUM: RCS Xhorisien

Stade Jean Bonfond, Xhoris (RCS Xhorisien)

Belgium, province: Liège = Luik

21 VII 2023 / RCS Xhorisien - R Aywaille FC 3-3 / Pre-season friendly

Timeline

• 1927 / Foundation of a football club in Xhoris, which is given the name Saint-Martin Xhoris FC. The club joins a local league association, the so-called Ligue de l’Aisne.
• 1929 / Saint-Martin Xhoris FC joins the official Belgian FA, receiving matricule 1808 upon being accepted as new members.
• 1931 / The club changes its name to become Cercle Sportif (CS) Xhorisien.
• 1956 / CS Xhorisien acquires the royal epithet, thus becoming Royal Cercle Sportif (RCS) Xhorisien.
• ± 1975 / RCS Xhorisien settles at its current ground, named after Jean Bonfond, the club chairman at the time, who was the spiritual father of the move to a new ground.
• 2009 / With the performance of the club in the first 80 years of its existence being nebulous – although it probably never reached higher than Liège’s Provincial League 2 –, RCS Xhorisien now wins the title in Provincial League 4E with a 4 point advantage over RC Vaux-Chaudfontaine, thus acceding to Provincial League 3.
• 2012 / Having finished runners-up in Provincial League 3 in the two previous seasons (behind R Skill FC d’Ivoz-Ramet and R Ougrée FC respectively), RCS Xhorisien now storms to first place in Provincial League 3B with an advantage of 11 points over closest followers R Fraiture Sports. The club thus accedes to Provincial League 2.
• 2019 / RCS Xhorisien manages a 4th place in Provincial League 2A, but it is unclear if the club played promotion play-offs as a result. Also in 2019, Inauguration of a synthetic surface on pitch 2 of Stade Jean Bonfond. 
• 2022 / Finishing in fourth place in Provincial League 2A, RCS Xhorisien qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it is eliminated in R1 by REH Braives.
• 2024 / Finishing in third place in Provincial League 2C, RCS Xhorisien qualifies for the play-offs, successively defeating KFC Olympia Recht (1-0) and KFC Weywertz (4-0) to qualify for the final round with RFC Croatia Wandre and Etoile de Faimes - in which the first match is played (a convincing 3-0 win over RFC Croatia Wandre), upon which the following matches in the three-way competition are suspended due to extra promotion places being available for all three clubs.
• 2025 / Finishing in fourth place in Liège's Provincial League 1, RCS Xhorisien qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club is eliminated in R1 by RFC Croatia Wandre (4-1).
• 2026 / Finishing in fifth place in Liège's Provincial League 1, RCS Xhorisien qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which the club knocks out RFC Wallonia Hannut in R1 (2-0), only to be eliminated in R2 against FC Ans (2-5).

Note – The name of RCS Xhorisien’s ground is often misspelled – including on the Belgian FA website – as Stade Jean Fonfond.

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