RFC Liège facts for kids
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| Full name | Royal Football Club de Liège | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Les Sang et Marine (The Blood and Marine) |
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| Founded | 1892 | ||
| Ground | Stade de Rocourt, Liège |
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| Capacity | 3,500 | ||
| Chairman | Jean-Paul Lacomble | ||
| Manager | Gaëtan Englebert | ||
| League | Challenger Pro League | ||
| 2023–24 | Challenger Pro League, 7th of 16 | ||
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Royal Football Club de Liège, often called RFC Liège, is a professional football club from Liège, Belgium. The team plays in the Challenger Pro League, which is the second highest football league in Belgium.
RFC Liège has a special number, 'matricule 4'. This means it was the fourth club ever to register with the Royal Belgian Football Association. This association was started in 1895. The club was also the very first Belgian champion in history! They have won 5 championships and 1 cup. The club believes in using young players from their local area. They also have many loyal fans.
Between 1995 and 2015, the club did not have its own stadium. People called them 'homeless'. But now, they play on their own ground in the Rocourt area of Liège. In 1990, RFC Liège was part of a very important event in European football. Their case with player Jean-Marc Bosman led to a big rule change called the Bosman ruling. This rule changed how players could move between clubs in Europe.
Contents
Club History
How Liège Football Started
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Football came to the city of Liège in the late 1800s. English workers brought the sport with them. The Parc de la Boverie was a popular spot for early football players. It had a velodrome, which is a track for cycling. Cyclists were among the first to try football. They used it to stay fit during the colder winter months.
On February 14, 1892, the Liège Football Club was officially started. It was founded by members of the Liège Cyclist's Union. On the same day, they also held the first "Liège-Bastogne-Liège" cycling race. This race is the oldest cycling race still happening today.
The club's first official football match was in Brussels. They played against a team from Brussels FA and lost 4-0. Their first field was very large, about 200 by 100 meters. More and more people joined the club. Liège FC later got their revenge against Brussels FA. They played on a new field in the gardens of the Château de Sclessin. For this game, they wore red and blue jerseys. These colors were a tribute to an English club called Dulwich Hamlet F.C..
Becoming Belgian Champions
In 1895, Liège FC became a founding member of the Belgian Football Association. They changed their name to Football Club Liégeois. The club then won the very first national championship of Belgium in the 1895–96 season. This made them the first-ever Belgian champions!
Most players on that first winning team were Belgian. Some famous names include Fernand Defalle, Lucien Londot, and Ernest Moreau de Melen. There were also English players like Treharne Reeves and Samuel Hickson. Samuel Hickson was the top scorer in that first championship. Harry Menzies, the son of the club's president, also played.
Londot and Moreau de Melen even played for Belgium in the 1900 Summer Olympics. Londot, Defalle, and Menzies played in the first-ever match for the Belgium national football team. This game was the 1901 Coupe Vanden Abeele on April 28, 1901.
Liège won two more titles in a row, in 1898 and 1899. In 1899, they beat FC Brugeois 6-3 in the final. During this time, Liégeois had an amazing streak. They went 23 official matches without losing for over two years! This run ended on November 12, 1899, when they lost 3-5 to Antwerp FC.
After this golden age, the teams from Brussels became stronger. Liège FC faced tough times. They were even sent down to the second division. This was a difficult period for the club.
Changes and Challenges
In 1920, the club added "Royal" to its name. It became Royal Football Club Liégeois. By the 1950s, the name was shortened to RFC Liège. They won two more championships in 1952 and 1953. At this time, Anderlecht was very strong. RFC Liège was one of the few clubs that could challenge them.
In the 1963–64 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, RFC Liégeois reached the semi-finals. They lost to Real Zaragoza from Spain, who went on to win the cup. From 1965 to 1985, the club had some poor results. They managed to survive by relying on their traditions. They used young players from their own club and had very loyal fans.
In the late 1980s, RFC Liège played in European competitions. They faced famous clubs like Benfica, Juventus, and Werder Bremen. In 1990, the club won the Belgian Cup.
Also in 1990, RFC Liège was involved in a major legal case. They wanted a transfer fee for player Jean-Marc Bosman. His contract had ended, but the French club Dunkerque refused to pay. This led to many lawsuits. In 1995, the Bosman ruling was made. This ruling changed how football players could move between clubs when their contracts ended.
Recent Times and Achievements
In 1995, the club faced big money problems. Their stadium, Stade Vélodrome de Rocourt, was sold and torn down to build a movie theater. To keep going, the club joined with another team, R.F.C. Tilleur-Saint-Nicolas. The new team was called R. Tilleur F.C. de Liège.
The club dropped from the First Division, where they had been since 1945. They went down to the Third Division. In 2000, the name "Tilleur" was removed. The club went back to being "RFC Liège". From 1995 to 2009, they moved between the Second and Third Divisions. They won the Third Division title twice, in 1996 and 2008.
In the 2008–09 season, the club played in the Second Division. But then they were relegated twice in a row. By April 2011, they were in the Fourth Division. In the 2010–11 season, RFC Liège played its 3000th match. They also scored their 5000th goal at the national level.
In the 2015–16 season, RFC Liège played in Division 3. RFC Liège holds a Belgian record. They have played 117 seasons at the national level between 1896 and 2019. This includes 67 seasons in D1 (First Division), with 50 of those in a row. They also played 28 seasons in D2, 11 in D3, and 2 in D4.
Liège FC is the only club that has played all its seasons at a national level. They have never played only at county or local levels. They have won five First Division championships: 1896, 1898, 1899, 1952, and 1953. This makes them the 6th most successful active Belgian club. Only Beerschot (7), Standard (10), Union Saint-Gilloise (11), FC Bruges (13), and Anderlecht (31) have won more.
In the 2022–23 season, RFC Liège earned promotion to the Challenger Pro League. This happened after a 0-0 draw at Tienen. On May 14, 2023, the club finished second in the Belgian National Division 1.
Home Stadium
From 1921, RFC Liège played at Stade Vélodrome de Rocourt. This stadium was in the area of Rocourt, which became part of Liège city in 1977. In 1995, the stadium was sold and torn down. This is why RFC Liège was called 'homeless' for a while.
Between 1995 and 2015, RFC Liège played in different places. They played in Tilleur (1995–2000), Seraing (2000–2004), Ans (2004–2008), and again in Seraing (Pairay Stadium, 2008–2015).
In 2015, the club finally returned to Rocourt. They now play their home matches in the new Stade de Rocourt.
Team Players
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Club Staff
- Head coach:
Gaëtan Englebert - Assistant coach: Eric Deflandre
- Goalkeeper coach: Pierre Drouguet
Club Honours
League Titles
- Belgian First Division
- Champions (5): 1895–96, 1897–98, 1898–99, 1951–52, 1952–53
- Runners-up: 1896–97, 1958–59, 1960–61
- Belgian Second Division
- Winners: 1911–12, 1922–23, 1943–44
- Belgian Third Division
- Winners: 1942–43, 1995–96, 2006–07
- Belgian Fourth Division
- Winners: 2014–15
- Belgian National Division 1
- Runner-up: 2022–23
Cup Wins
- Belgian Cup
- Winners: 1989–90
- Runners-up: 1986–87
- Belgian League Cup
- Winners: 1986
- Runners-up: 1973
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: RFC Lieja para niños
