Football in Belgium

With football's rapid growth in popularity in the late 19th century, several football clubs came into existence in Belgium. In 1926, the Royal Belgian Football Association decided to introduce matricule numbers to tell the clubs apart and assigned a matricule to each existing club by order of registration. In this manner, Antwerp was awarded matricule number 1 as the first to register. As such, the oldest clubs in Belgium typically have the lowest matricule numbers, although there are clubs which registered many years after their origination and as a result have a much higher matricule than would be expected. Many clubs, especially those with very low numbers, consider their matricule number part of their heritage and past and prominently feature it in their logo or even name. In case a club dissolves, the matricule number of this club is removed permanently and lost forever as numbers are never reused.

In case of mergers, the new club must decide which matricule number to keep, it normally begins the championship at the level where the former club with the same matricule number should have begun the season. Typically, mergers result in the most famous club's matricule being kept alive. However, it has often occurred that a club with a glorious past or even (multiple) championship titles had to merge with another less successful club in order to survive, often due to financial difficulties. In this case, the matricule number of the club, and the honours linked to it, were lost with the merger. As an examples, in the late 1990s, seven-time champion K. Beerschot VAC was struggling with financial difficulties in the third division and merged with then first division neighbour club KFC Germinal Ekeren to survive. The new club was named KFC Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen and started in the first division with the matricule number of KFC Germinal Ekeren, but lost the honours of K Beerschot VAC. The new club did keep playing in the Beerschot stadium and wore the purple shirt for which Beerschot was famously known. Another famous example is that of five-time champion Daring Club de Bruxelles' merger with RR White into R White Daring Molenbeek in 1973.

From the 2010s, matricules have been sold and traded, with clubs wanting to take over the position in a (higher) series of another club acquiring these matricules in order to quickly move up one or more divisions. Examples include BX Brussels, which acquired the matricule of Bleid-Gaume in 2013, with the intent to transform and move the club from Bleid to Brussels, over 200 kilometres away. The Royal Belgian Football Association therefore enforced a new rule in 2016, stating that after a takeover, a club cannot move more than 30 kilometres from its original location.

From 2017, the Belgian FA enforced another rule, which allows clubs to buy back their old defunct matricule, which was first done by Lyra (matricule 7776) who acquired the matricule 52 of the old defunct Lyra. In 2018, Oud-Heverlee Leuven, which is the result of a merger of three clubs around the city of Leuven, changed its matricule number 6142 back to number 18 to honour the glorious past of its eldest predecessor.

The first few matricule numbers are:

1. Royal Antwerp
2. Daring Club de Bruxelles (no longer active)
3. Club Brugge
4. RFC Liégeois
5. R. Léopold Uccle Forestoise
6. Racing Club de Bruxelles
7. K.A.A. Gent
8. R.C.S. Verviétois (no longer active)
9. R. Dolhain F.C.
10. R. Union Saint-Gilloise

A Belgian club's name usually includes the name of the town where the club plays as well as a prefix and/or suffix. Since Belgians speak three languages, French and Dutch being the main ones and German being the third official language, Belgian teams may use either language as the basis for their names.[11] For historical reasons, many Flemish clubs changed their names from French to Dutch between the beginning of the 20th century and the late 1960s. Additionally, many clubs have experienced frequent name changes. Reasons for these include a language change, a merger, an anniversary, etc. Because of the numerous mergers between Belgian clubs, team names sometimes combine several town names (such as K. Beringen-Heusden-Zolder or Sporting West Ingelmunster-Harelbeke) which reflect mergers. In recent history, clubs representing immigrant communities have come into existence and sometimes use names that are in neither of Belgium's official languages (the now defunct clubs Türkgucun Ozburun and Türkiyemspor Zaventem, or the still-existing Agrupación Oviedo-Asturiana, existing only in a league outside the Belgian FA now, from Brussels, being examples).

Finally, a team which exists for at least 50 years may add the prefix "Royal" to its name (either in English or in the team's language). Before 1958, this right was given to any team that celebrated its 25th year of existence. Between 1958 and 1968, the rule was changed to grant the title to any team with at least 35 years of existence. Since 1968, the time limit has increased to 50 years.

The following is a partial list of common football club name prefixes and suffixes in Belgium's three official languages.

Anderlecht and KV Mechelen have won a European competition. Here is a list of the winners and runners-up by competition:

• UEFA Champions League:
  • Final:
    • Club Brugge (1978)
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:
  • Wins:
    • Anderlecht (1976 and 1978)
    • KV Mechelen (1988)
  • Finals:
    • Anderlecht (1977 and 1990)
    • Standard Liège (1982)
    • Royal Antwerp (1993)
• UEFA Cup:
  • Wins:
    • Anderlecht (1983)
  • Finals:
    • Club Brugge (1976)
    • Anderlecht (1984)
• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup:
  • Final:
    • Anderlecht (1970)
• European Super Cup:
  • Wins:
    • Anderlecht (1976 and 1978)
    • KV Mechelen (1988)

As of the 2022–23 season, five clubs from the province of West Flanders play in the First Division A (Club Brugge, Cercle Brugge, KV Kortrijk, KV Oostende and SV Zulte-Waregem), and one club plays in the First Division B (Club NXT).

As of the 2022–23 season, only one club from the province of East Flanders play in the First Division A (KAA Gent), but there are three clubs who plays in the First Division B (KMSK Deinze, FCV Dender EH and SK Beveren).

Antwerp Province has a long tradition of football. The first Belgian clubs were established in the city of Antwerp (Antwerp Lyon's Club, A.S. Anvers-Borgerhout, and most notably Royal Antwerp, which is the country's oldest club and which is affectionately referred to as the "Great Old" by its supporters and the media).

Three clubs from this province currently play in the top flight: Royal Antwerp, KV Mechelen and K Beerschot VA while KVC Westerlo and Lierse Kempenzonen play in the First Division B.

Two clubs from Limburg Province currently play in the First Division A: KRC Genk and Sint-Truiden. Additionally, one club represents the province in First Division B: Lommel SK.

Technically-speaking, greater Brussels (the City of Brussels and surrounding communities) is not a province but rather an region akin to Flanders and Wallonia. Two currently active clubs from Brussels play in First Division A, Anderlecht, the country's most successful club to date, and Union Saint-Gilloise, 11 time champion of Belgium, which acquired place in Division A after a 49-year absence by winning the First Division B in 2020-21 season.

The first-ever Belgian League Championship was a competition amongst seven teams, four of which were based in Brussels: Racing Club, Léopold Club Uccle, Sporting Club and Union d'Ixelles. Léopold Club was a club for the nobility and bourgeoisie in Brussels and is still active after no less than four mergers between 1982 and 2001 (they are currently playing in the Fourth Division). The latter two clubs ceased to exist in 1897 and 1901 respectively and were replaced by a new Brussels-based club (Royale Union Saint-Gilloise), which would become a dominant force in Belgian football during the following seasons, winning seven titles between 1903 and 1913. The club originally shared a rivalry with Racing Club and later Daring Club, which would go on and win the title in 1912. Later, Anderlecht became their biggest rival for citywide bragging rights.

After World War I, Belgian football was dominated by clubs from the cities of Antwerp and Bruges. From the early 1930s, however, the Brussels-based clubs Union and Daring divided five titles between themselves. The rivalry between the two clubs has inspired a stage play named Bossemans et Coppenolle ("Bossemans" was the name of the Union head coach in those years, "Coppenolle" his counterpart at Daring). Shortly after World War II, Anderlecht replaced Union and Daring as the dominant team in Brussels. Its cross-city rivals at the time were, in succession, Union, Daring and Racing White, later renamed R.W.D.M., still later named FC Brussels. The latter were liquidated in 2014 and revived a year later as RWDM47. White Star Bruxelles, a club from the Brussels suburban region, technically won promotion to the top flight after the 2015-16 season but due to the club's debts, both the Belgian FA and the courts did not award them a licence to practice professional football. As a result, the club were relegated to the First Amateur Division and were ultimately wound up in October 2017.

Only one club from the province of Flemish Brabant is currently active in the top two divisions of Belgian football, Oud-Heverlee Leuven, playing in the First Division A.

After the 2018-19 season, AFC Tubize were relegation to the First Amateur Division and as a result, no club from the province of Walloon Brabant plays in the top two divisions of Belgian football in 2019-20.

Two teams from Hainaut Province are currently playing in First Division A: Excel Mouscron and Charleroi SC.

Namur Province is, along with that of Luxembourg, the province with the least prestigious football history in Belgium. Currently, no clubs from the province of Namur are playing in the top two levels of Belgian football. Furthermore, no club from this province has ever played in the top flight.

Liège Province also has a long history in Belgian football. RFC Liège won the first-ever Belgian title in 1896. The club struggled financially during the early years of the 21st century and was eventually dissolved in 2011. A new club was formed, which is currently competing in the First Amateur Division.

Currently, two clubs from the province are competing in First Division A, Standard Liège and KAS Eupen. The latter is the only club from the German-speaking Community of Belgium (based on an administrative area in east of Liège Province) ever to have competed in the top flight. They first played at the top level in 2010–11 but were relegated after that season, before returning after the 2016–17 season. No team from the province is currently in the First Division B.

Historically, RFC Liège (five titles between 1895 and 1953) and Standard Liège (ten titles between 1958 and 2009) are the province's most successful, well-known and popular clubs.

Only one club from Luxembourg Province plays near the top level of Belgian football: Excelsior Virton, who won promotion to the First Division B after the 2018-19 season. No club from this province has ever played in the top flight. Former Belgian international Philippe Albert (Bouillon) and current international Thomas Meunier (Sainte-Ode) were born in the province.

Reaching quarter-finals onwards:

The following teams have qualified for the group stage in the UEFA Champions League:

• Club Brugge (8 times: 1992–93, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21)
• Anderlecht (12 times: 1993–94, 1994–95, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2017–18)
• Genk (3 times: 2002–03, 2011–12, 2019–20)
• Lierse (1997–98)
• Standard Liège (2009–10)
• Gent (2015–16)