Koninklijke or (, Dutch for 'royal') is an honorary title given to certain companies and non-profit organisations in the Netherlands and to a lesser extent Belgium, by the monarchs of each country. It was first introduced by Louis Bonaparte in 1807, then Ki ...

Lyra was a Belgian

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

that existed between 1909 and 1972. It was located in the city of Lier in the province of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. Lyra is the Latin name for Lier.

History

The club was founded in 1909 as Turn- en Sportvereniging Lyra, meaning Gym and Sport Association Lyra in Dutch. It registered to the FA the same year to become the matricule n°52. In 1913 the club took part to the second division where it remained until the promotion in 1932. The first spell of the club at the highest level ended in 1938 when it finished 13th on 14. In 1934 the name changed to Koninklijke Maatschappij Lyra and then to Koninklijke Lyra in 1939. Lyra achieved its best ranking ever on its first season in the first division with a 6th place. The other spells were 1943–44, 1946–51 and 1953–54. In 1960 the club fell into the

third division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

and decayed. On 12 April 1972 Lyra merged with its neighbour of

K. Lierse S.K. Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring (), often simply known as Lierse, was a Belgian professional football club from the city of Lier in the Antwerp province. Lierse have won four championship titles and two Belgian Cups. Lierse was one of the six Be ...

to become K. Lierse S.V. with the matricule n°30 of Lierse. On 16 June 1972 a new club named K. Lyra T.S.V. was founded with the matricule n°7776. It now plays in the Promotion C. The team, and its successor K. Lyra T.S.V., played for over 100 years at the same stadium located in the center of Lier at the Mechelsesteenweg.

Honours

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division (known as the Proximus League for sponsorship reasons) was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Associa ...

: **Winners (4): 1931–32, 1942–43, 1945–46, 1952–53 * Belgian Cup: **Runners-up (1): 1934–35

Former famous players

Jef Piedfort Jozef Piedfort (20 May 1930 – 26 March 2008) was a Belgian football player. He scored the most goals (184) in the Belgian Second Division after World War II. In the first division he scored 8 goals in 29 games. He was the most successfu ...

Lyra rouwt om Jef Piedfort
nieuwsblad.be, 31 maart 2008, article in Dutch *

Raymond Van Gestel Raymond Van Gestel (20 January 1930 – 17 April 2020) was a Belgian footballer, athlete and pilot.Mon Van Gestel overleden
lyralierse.be, 19 april 2020, article in Dutch

References

External links

nbsp;– 1st and 2nd division final tables Association football clubs established in 1909 Defunct football clubs in Belgium Association football clubs disestablished in 1972 1909 establishments in Belgium 1972 disestablishments in Belgium Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage Belgian Pro League clubs {{Belgium-footyclub-stub