Spirou Charleroi, commonly known simply as Spirou, 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 ...
professional basketball club that is located in
Charleroi
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. . The club competes in the
BNXT League
The BNXT League, for sponsorship reasons the betFirst BNXT League, is a professional basketball league in Belgium and the Netherlands. The league is the first tier in both the Dutch and Belgian system, replacing the Dutch Basketball League, DBL a ...
, the highest tier of basketball in Belgium. The club's home arena is the
Spiroudome which can host 6,300 people.
Established in 1989, the team is named after the long-running
Belgian comics
Belgian comics are a distinct subgroup in the comics history, and played a major role in the development of European comics, alongside France with whom they share a long common history. While the comics in the two major language groups and regio ...
magazine ''
Spirou''.
History
Spirou Charleroi has won the
Belgian League
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 Belgian First Division A, 2020 ...
championship ten times (1996–99, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), 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 ...
5 times (1996, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2009), and the
Belgian Supercup 7 times (1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2010).
In the 2010–11 season, Spirou made its debut in the
Euroleague, the highest continental league of Europe. The following season, Spirou played in the regular season for the second time in a row.
On July 29, 2014,
Jacques Stas
Jacques Stas (born 6 February 1969) is a Belgian professional basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of ...
became the new head coach of the club while his predecessor Giovanni Bozzi replaced him as team president.
Since the
2021–22 season, Spirou plays in the
BNXT League
The BNXT League, for sponsorship reasons the betFirst BNXT League, is a professional basketball league in Belgium and the Netherlands. The league is the first tier in both the Dutch and Belgian system, replacing the Dutch Basketball League, DBL a ...
, in which the national leagues of Belgium and the Netherlands have been merged.
Sponsorship names
Partly due to sponsorship reasons, the club has known several names:
*Spirou Monceau (1989–1990)
*Spirou Charleroi (1990–2011)
*
Belgacom
The Proximus Group is a provider of digital services and communication in Belgium and the international markets. In Belgium, its main products and services are offered under the Proximus, Scarlet, and Mobile Vikings brands. The Group is also ac ...
Spirou (2011–2014)
*
Proximus
Proximus (stylised as pro⌘imus; formerly known as Belgacom Mobile) is the largest of Belgium's three mobile telecommunications companies and is a part of Proximus Group (previously Belgacom Group). It competes with Orange Belgium and Base.
H ...
Spirou (2014–2018)
Current roster
Honours
*
Belgian League
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 Belgian First Division A, 2020 ...
**Champions (10): 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04,
2007–08,
2008–09,
2009–10,
2010–11
***Runners-up (2): 2004–05,
2011–12
*
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 (5): 1995–96, 1998–99, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2008–09
*
Belgian Supercup
**Winners (7): 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2010
*Charleroi, Belgium Invitational Game
**Winners (1): 2008
Season by season
Notable players
References
External links
*
Eurocup – Team profileEurobasket.com – Team page
{{BNXT League
Basketball teams in Belgium
Sport in Charleroi
Basketball teams established in 1989
Dupuis
Pro Basketball League