R.A.A. Louviéroise, sometimes referred to as La Louvière or RAAL, was a Belgian football club located in the city of La Louvière, in the province of Hainaut. It had been playing its latest run in the

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 te ...

from 2000–01 to 2005–06 included. Two players have been called to the Belgium national football team while at La Louvière: Guy Dardenne (6 caps when at La Louvière, 11 caps in all) and Silvio Proto (5 caps when at La Louvière). 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 ...

of the club was the number 93. In June 2009, it merged with R.A.C.S. Couillet to form Football Couillet La Louvière. This club has since 2017 been named

RAAL La Louvière Royal Association Athlétique Louviéroise La Louvière, abbreviated to RAAL La Louvière, is a Belgian association football club located in La Louvière, in the province of Hainaut. The club, founded in 2009 out of a merger, plays in the Belg ...

History

The club was founded on 26 January 1913 during a meeting at the ''Place Maugrétout'' in La Louvière. It was named A.A. Louviéroise. After one season in a

provincial league Provincial League (formerly known as Professional League) also known as Pro League was the old regional Football league in Thailand in 1999–2008. It was founded in 1999 under the name "Provincial League" organized by Sports Authority of Thailan ...

, the football stopped due to the

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. The club did not play official matches until 1921 as it had no stadium. Between 1921 and 1937 Louviéroise played in the provincial leagues. In 1937 the club changed its name to R.A.A. Louviéroise and it reached the

Promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

. The next year a Belgian international player (namely August Hellemans who played in the 1930 World Cup) was transferred at La Louvière. The club had its first spell in the first division between

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. In

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

it was relegated to the third division and it played at that level for 10 years. Between 1994 and 2000 it played in the second division. In 2006 the club was one of the most frequently mentioned in a gambling scandal that rocked Belgian football. It was alleged in the Belgian press that several players, board members and manager

Gilbert Bodart Gilbert Bodart (born 2 September 1962) is a Belgian football manager and former player. Playing career Bodart was born in Ougrée, Belgium. A goalkeeper, he played a long time with Standard Liège. Bodart also played 12 times with Belgium from ...

had accepted large sums of money from

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

businessman Zheyun Ye, who wanted to influence the results in matches so he could manufacture high profits in gambling. At first the club strongly denied the allegations, but on 21 February 2006 Bodart resigned as manager. His assistant, former La Louvière forward Frédéric Tilmant replaced him at the helm of the club but could not avoid RAAL finishing in last place in the division. This meant the club would have to play in the second division for the 2006–07 season. However, on 16 May 2006 the club was refused its license to play in the second division. It subsequently appealed the decision but the Appeal Commission of the

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, ...

confirmed the judgement of 16 May. The club eventually seized the Evocation Commission which rejected the plaint of La Louvière on 15 June 2006. The day after, chairman Filippo Gaone retired from the club as it would play the third division in 2006–07. In 2009, La Louvière merged with R.A.C.S. Couillet to form Football Couillet La Louvière, with the matricule number 93 begin retired as the new club continued with the number 94 of R.A.C.S. Couillet. This club became

in 2017.

Honours

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 (1): 2002–03 * Belgian Supercup: **Runners-up (1): 2003 * Belgian Second Division Final Round: **Winners (3): 1975, 1977, 2000

European record

References

UEFA page
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Louviere Louvieroise, R.A.A. Louvieroise, R.A.A. 1913 establishments in Belgium 2009 disestablishments in Belgium Defunct football clubs in Belgium Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage R.A.A. Louvieroise Belgian Pro League clubs