R. Charleroi S.C.

Charleroi Sporting Club was founded in 1904 and they received the matricule n°22. Twenty years after their foundation, they qualified to play in the Promotion (then the second level in Belgian football) and in 1929, the club changed its name to Royal Charleroi Sporting Club. Rivals from Olympic Charleroi were playing in the first division in the late 1930s and the 1940s, while Sporting Charleroi was playing one level down, until they promoted in 1947. In 1949, Sporting Charleroi finished 4th (2 points behind Standard Liège) whereas Olympic Charleroi was 14th. But Olympic took the lead again until 1955 and their relegation to the second division. At the end of the 1956–57 season, Olympic Charleroi had promoted to the first division but Sporting Charleroi finished last in the first division and was thus relegated to the second division. A spell of 9 seasons in the second division followed and in 1966–67 Sporting Charleroi was back at the top level. They finished at the second place in 1968–69 5 points behind Standard Liège but within two years they were relegated again.

In 1974 the first division was changing from 16 to 20 teams and Sporting Charleroi was chosen to play at the top level. Olympic Charleroi promoted too as they had won the second division right before but they remained at the top level for just one season. Sporting underwent a new relegation in 1979–80 (17th on 18) but was back five years later. Their best result since then in the first division is a 4th place in 1993–94. In September 2005, the G-14 took FIFA to court over the eight-month injury incurred by Abdelmajid Oulmers whilst on international duty with Morocco.

Characters Boule et Bill as Charleroi-supporters

The colours of Charleroi are black and white with a shirt generally striped, which led to the team being nicknamed The Zebras.

Stade du Pays de Charleroi

The actual ground was baptized in 1939 with a match Sporting-Union du Centre and it was located near the coal mine named Mambourg. In 1985 the stadium was slightly modernized as the club had qualified for the first division. It was then heavily renewed in the late 1990s in view of the 2000 European Football Championship. The name changed on 24 May 1999 from Stade du Mambourg to Stade du Pays de Charleroi. During the tournament, the full capacity of the stadium was up to 30,000 seats. The Stade du Pays de Charleroi hosted notably the match between Germany and England. The highest stand was eventually reduced and the capacity is now 15,000.[3]

• Belgian First Division
  • Runners-up: 1968–69
• Belgian Second Division
  • Winners: 1946–47, 2011–12
  • Runners-up: 1965–66
• Belgian Second Division play-offs
  • Winners: 1985
• Belgian Cup
  • Runners-up: 1977–78, 1992–93

As of 31 August 2023[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  FRA Pierre Patron 2 DF  DEN Jonas Bager 3 DF  SUI Stefan Knezevic 4 DF  BEL Jules Van Cleemput 5 DF  TOG Loïc Bessilé 6 MF  ALG Adem Zorgane 7 FW  BEL Isaac Mbenza 8 MF  CIV Parfait Guiagon 9 FW  PLE Oday Dabbagh 10 FW  SEN Youssouph Badji 12 GK  BEL Nicolas Closset 15 DF  NOR Vetle Dragsnes 16 GK  BFA Hervé Koffi 17 FW  BEL Antoine Bernier 18 MF  BEL Daan Heymans

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 FW  SRB Nikola Štulić 21 DF  CYP Stelios Andreou 22 MF  FRA Adrien Trebel 25 MF  FRA Damien Marcq 26 MF  MAD Marco Ilaimaharitra (captain) 27 DF  BEL Roméo Monticelli 28 FW  BEL Ken Nkuba 29 MF  SVN Žan Rogelj 32 DF  BEL Mehdi Boukamir 42 MF  BEL Thomas Lutte 44 MF  JPN Ryota Morioka 45 FW  ALG Ahmed Nadhir Benbouali 55 GK  BEL Martin Delavallée 66 DF  NGA Valentine Ozornwafor 88 FW  BEL Mitchy Ntelo

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  BEL Martin Wasinski (at Kortrijk until 30 June 2024) — MF  BEL Jackson Tchatchoua (at Hellas Verona until 30 June 2024)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Charleroi Sporting Club.

• (in French) Official Website
• (in English) Charleroi SC at UEFA.com
• Charleroi SC at EUFO.DE
• Charleroi SC at Weltfussball.de
• Charleroi SC at National Football Teams.com
• Charleroi SC at Football-Lineups.com