Royal Antwerp FC
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Royal Antwerp Football Club, often referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp, 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 Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club based in the city 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,
. Founded around 1880 as ''Antwerp Cricket Club'' by English students residing in Antwerp, 15 years before the creation of the
Royal Belgian Football Association 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 ...
, Antwerp is regarded as the oldest club in Belgium. At first there was no organised football played by its members, until 1887 when the football division was founded with an own board, named ''Antwerp Football Club''. Being the oldest active club at the time, it was the first club to register to the Association in 1895. Consequently, when matriculation numbers were introduced in 1926, the club received matriculate number one.


History

Over the course of the club's history, Royal Antwerp have won four Belgian league titles as well as three
Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...
s. In 1900, most of the players left the club for the new neighbouring club of K. Beerschot V.A.C., and this was the start of a long rivalry between both clubs. The club is the most recent Belgian team to have reached a UEFA competition final, the
1993 European Cup Winners' Cup Final The 1993 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match contested between Parma of Italy and Royal Antwerp of Belgium. The final was held at Wembley Stadium in London, England on 12 May 1993. It was the final match of the 1992–93 European ...
, where they lost 3–1 against
Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
. Royal Antwerp had a long-term partnership with the
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
club
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, taking their young players on loan so that their development can be aided with first team football, and young players who require European work-permits can benefit from Belgium's more relaxed laws. An example is
Dong Fangzhuo Dong Fangzhuo (; born 23 January 1985) is a Chinese former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Early career Dong first came to prominence in 2000 when he was named the most valuable player in an under-17 tournament. He ...
, who was unable to play for United immediately due to work permit problems and was loaned to allow him to gain first team experience. Despite being one of Belgium's best-supported clubs, Antwerp have been under-achievers for several years. They have not won a league title since 1957, and have spent several seasons in the second division. They were promoted to the top flight in 2000, only to be relegated in short order in 2004. They returned to the first division after 13 years in 2017. In August 2020, the Great Old won their first major trophy in nearly 30 years when they upset league champions
Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.
in the final of the
Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...
. On 21 March 2022 Marc Overmars was announced as Royal Antwerp's Director of Football, just over a month after having resigned from the same position at Ajax due to admitting to sending inappropriate messages and pictures of his genitals to female colleagues. His arrival caused four club sponsors to withdraw within a week.


Stadium

Royal Antwerp have played their home matches at the
Bosuilstadion The Bosuilstadion is an association football stadium in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. The stadium was opened in 1923 and has been the home of Royal Antwerp ever since. It has a capacity of 16,144,
since 1923.


Rivalries

Royal Antwerp share a fierce rivalry with city neighbours
Beerschot A.C. Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13, when they were ...
(now
K Beerschot VA Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen, or simply Beerschot, is a Belgian professional football club located in Antwerp, that competes in the second-tier First Division B after relegating from the top tier in the 2021–22 season. In 201 ...
). Although in the 2000s-2010s the two clubs have met sparingly, when they do, there is usually fan violence. Royal Antwerp are often seen as a culture club with a diverse, cross-class support across the city while Beerschot have either heavily working class or upper class support, locally based in South Antwerp. Beerschot supporters often refer to RAFC fans as "''joden''" or "''Jews''" due to the fact that to get to Antwerp's stadium they must pass through the Jewish district, while Great Old supporters refer to Beerschot followers as "the rats". RAFC also have developed a long-standing rivalry with
Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062.
. They also have a local rivalry with KV Mechelen, although there is mutual respect due to a shared hatred of Beerschot.


Meuse/Scheldt Cup

The best football players of Antwerp and Rotterdam contested a yearly match between 1909 and 1959 for the Meuse- and Scheldt Cup (Maas- en Schelde Beker). It was agreed to play the game at Antwerp's stadium De Bosuil in Belgium and at
Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...
's Het Kasteel stadium in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. The cup was provided in 1909 by P. Havenith from Antwerp and Kees van Hasselt from Rotterdam.


Honours


National

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 ...
*Champions: 1928–29, 1930–31, 1943–44, 1956–57
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 ...
*Champions: 1999–2000, 2016–17
Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...
*Winners: 1954–55, 1991–92, 2019–20 *Runners-up: 1974–75
Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champion ...
*Runners-up: 1992


International

Challenge International du Nord *Winners: 1902, 1906
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
: Runners-up: 1992–93


Players


Current squad


Other players under contract


Out on loan


Technical staff


Former players

* Willy Vincent


Manchester United Players loan partnership

''This is a list of former players acquired on-loan via Manchester United's partnership with Royal Antwerp from 1998 to 2013.'' * Jamie Wood *
Dong Fangzhuo Dong Fangzhuo (; born 23 January 1985) is a Chinese former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Early career Dong first came to prominence in 2000 when he was named the most valuable player in an under-17 tournament. He ...
*
Fraizer Campbell Fraizer Lee Campbell (born 13 September 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker, most recently for Huddersfield Town. He has also played for Manchester United, Royal Antwerp, Hull City, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, ...
*
Luke Chadwick Luke Harry Chadwick (born 18 November 1980) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Chadwick began his career at Manchester United where he made 25 Premier League appearances in four seasons. While at Old Traffo ...
* John Cofie * Jimmy Davis *
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake Sylvan Augustus Ebanks-Blake (born 29 March 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played youth team football for Cambridge United and Manchester United before making his professional debut in 2004. A sp ...
* Adam Eckersley * David Fox * Luke Giverin *
Colin Heath Colin Heath (born 31 December 1983) is an English former association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), striker or midfielder, attacking midfielder for Cambridge United F.C., Cambridge United, Swindon Town F.C., ...
*
Tom Heaton Thomas David Heaton (born 15 April 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Manchester United. Heaton began his career in the Manchester United academy but was unable to break into the first team and sp ...
* Kirk Hilton * Eddie Johnson *
Ritchie Jones Richard Glynn "Ritchie" Jones (born 26 September 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is a product of the Manchester United youth system and was joined the club at the age of nine, Jones made five ...
* Michael Lea * Lee Martin * Paul Rachubka *
Ryan Shawcross Ryan James Shawcross (born 4 October 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is currently an assistant coach with MLS Next Pro club Inter Miami II. Shawcross began his career with Manchester United ...
*
Danny Simpson Daniel Peter Simpson (born 4 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who last played as a right-back for Championship side Bristol City. A product of the Manchester United academy, Simpson played on loan for Royal Antwerp, Sunderla ...
*
Alan Tate Alan Tate (born 2 September 1982) is an English professional football coach and retired footballer who is an assistant head coach at Nottingham Forest. A former defender, Tate spent the majority of his playing career at Swansea City. After ...
* Ronnie Wallwork * Neil Wood *
Arthur Gómez Arthur Gómez (born 12 February 1984) is a Gambian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Born in Banjul, Gómez began his playing career at a non league team called London United F.C which is based in Serekunda ...
*
Danny Higginbotham Daniel John Higginbotham (born 29 December 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in Manchester, England, he represented Gibraltar in international football. Higginbotham started his career in the academy of ...
*
Darron Gibson Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson (born 25 October 1987) is an Irish professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for League Two club Salford City, and formerly for the Republic of Ireland national team. Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, ...
*
John O'Shea John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player. He was known for his versatility in playing several positions on either side of the pitch or the centre. Born in Waterford, O'Shea joined Man ...
* Gyliano van Velzen *
Craig Cathcart Craig George Cathcart (born 6 February 1989) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for EFL Championship club Watford and the Northern Ireland national team. He has also captained his country's under-21 side. A ...
*
Jonny Evans Jonathan Grant Evans (born 3 January 1988) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club Leicester City and the Northern Ireland national team. Evans started his career at Manchester United and progressed thr ...
*
Phil Bardsley Phillip Anthony Bardsley (born 28 June 1985) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Stockport County. He has played international football for the Scotland national team. Bardsley began his career with Manchester United whe ...
* David Gray *
Souleymane Mamam Souleymane Mamam (born 20 June 1985) is a Togolese former professional association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or a winger (association football), winger. He played for Royal Antwerp F.C., Royal Antwerp, K.R.C. Mec ...


See also

*
Club of Pioneers The Club of Pioneers is a worldwide network of the oldest continuing association football clubs from each country. The Club of Pioneers was founded in 2013 by Sheffield FC, the first and oldest association football Association football, mor ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Antwerp FC Association football clubs established in 1880 Football clubs in Belgium Football clubs in Antwerp 1880 establishments in Belgium Belgian First Division A clubs