Royal Léopold FC is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

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- ...

from the city of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. It was founded in as ''Léopold Football Club'' and over the years, numerous name changes in its history and mergers have happened with neighboring clubs who also struggled to keep the club alive. The club once played in the highest division, but later dropped to the provincial series, and now it currently plays in the Belgian Promotion D, the fourth level in Belgian football.

History

Early history

The club was founded on 11 February 1893 by Baron Albert de Bassompierre (1873–1956), making it the oldest active football club in

. The club was named ''Léopold Football Club'' in tribute to the

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. It was created as a club for the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

and

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

in Brussels. On 1 September 1895, Léopold Club was one of the founding members of the UBSSA, the forerunner of the

RBFA The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA; ; ; ) is the governing body of football in Belgium. It was a founding member of FIFA in 1904 and UEFA in 1954 and was based in Brussels, not far from the King Baudouin Stadium. Since October 2021, ...

. The team played in red and white. The team entered the first-ever official Belgian championship in 1895–96, and remained in the highest division until 1912, when the team finished last and was therefore relegated. So they played the 1912–13 in the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

but managed to finish second, thus rejoining the highest division in 1913–14. However, the team again finished last again in the last season before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and never managed to come back to the top level. During this time they also participated in the Challenge International du Nord, winning the inaugural edition in 1898 and again in 1899, and then reached the final a further one time in 1901. In 1900, the club participated in the first edition of the

Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz The Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz, also known as Coupe Ponthoz, was an international competition for football clubs from Europe that ran from 1900 to 1909. It was one of the first European club football tournaments and is considered a predecesso ...

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

, regarded by many as the first-ever European club trophy. The tournament was held in

and all matches took place at Léopold FC's home ground, but despite being the hosts, they were knocked-out in the first round by the reigning Dutch champions

HVV Den Haag HVV (Haagse Voetbal Vereniging: Dutch for ''(The) Hague Football Club'') is an amateur football club in The Hague, Netherlands. It was founded in 1883 as an extension of HCC, (The)'' Hague Cricket Club''. In 1978, on the occasion of the club's ...

by a resounding 8–1 loss, with a consolation goal from

Hendrik van Heuckelum Hendrik van Heuckelum (6 May 1879, The Hague – 28 April 1929, The Hague), nicknamed Henk, was a Dutch footballer who played as a forward for HBS-Craeyenhout and Royal Léopold Club, and who represented Belgium at the 1900 Summer Olympics, ...

Recent history

The club faced many name changes in its history, the last of them following a string of merges to keep the

matricule Association football is the most popular sport in Belgium, which has been played since the end of the 19th century. The national association was founded in 1895 with the intention of bringing some order and organization to the sport. The firs ...

n°5 alive (such as with R.C.S. La Forestoise in 1996 for example); it changed its name to the present one in July 2014.

Honours

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

** Runner-up (1): 1901–02 * Challenge International du Nord **Champions (2): 1898 and 1899 **Runner-up (1): 1901

References

External links

RSSSF Archive

Association football clubs established in 1893 Football clubs in Brussels 1893 establishments in Belgium Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage Belgian Pro League clubs {{Belgium-footyclub-stub