The Évence Coppée Trophy () was a one-off competition comprising a single

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

match in 1904 between

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Held at the Stade du Vivier d'Oie in

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

, the match ended in a 3–3 draw. The trophy was named after Évence Coppée, the Belgian

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

who organised the match to promote Franco-Belgian friendship. Because the game ended in a tie, the trophy itself was not awarded.

Historical context

The Évence Coppée Trophy marked the official debut of the French and Belgian national football teams and was also the first match between two

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

European countries. It was the third official international football game in

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

, after the games between

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and Hungary and

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. It was the third official game between the sides of two independent countries, after matches between

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

in 1902 and 1903. Twenty days after the match, Belgium, France and five other European football associations founded the international association football federation,

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

Pre-match

Both teams were selected by their National Football Association (with Belgian chairman Édouard de Laveleye and French chairman

Robert Guérin Robert Guérin (; born Clément Auguste Maurice Robert; 28 April 1876 – 19 March 1952) was a French journalist, and the List of Presidents of FIFA, first president and one of the founders of the Fédération Internationale de Football Associati ...

) rather than by a national manager. Because of transportation difficulties and army enrollment, the French delegation was decimated. Since 1 May was not yet considered an international holiday, the French players had to ask for a day off from their employees. At least two French players (

Louis Mesnier Louis Mesnier (15 December 1884 – 8 October 1921) was a French international footballer. He is primarily known for scoring the first international goal for France, which he accomplished in the team's first-ever match against Belgium in 1904. ...

and

Fernand Canelle Fernand Émile Canelle (2 January 1882 – 11 September 1951) was a French footballer who played as a forward and later as a defender for Club Français. He competed in the football tournament at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, winning a sil ...

) left their country without permission from their employers, and in French reports these two players were referred to using the respective pseudonyms "Didi" and "Fernand". The French tactics were described as follows. ''"France play in a classical 2-3-5 formation: two backs, the two half-wingers (G. Bilot and especially C. Bilot) are defensive and hold the opponent's wingers, Davy is half-center. Finally, there are the five forwards. The 'exteriors' Mesnier and Filez who make a break, the 'interiors' are Royet (who is relay runner) and Cyprès and the powerful center (

Garnier Garnier () is a mass market cosmetics brand owned by the French company L'Oréal. Garnier produces hair care and skin care products. Launch ''Laboratoires Garnier'' was founded in France in 1904 by Alfred Amour Garnier. The company's first pr ...

), who is also the

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

."'' France played in a white jersey with two rings from the

Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques The Union of French Athletic Sports Societies () was a sports governing body in France. During the 1890s and early 1900s it organised numerous sports including athletics, cycling, field hockey, fencing, croquet, and swimming. However it is perh ...

(USFS), the former sports governing body in France, blue shorts, and red socks.

The match

Post-match

Despite scoring twice in this match, the Belgian striker Georges Quéritet was not selected again for the national side. The Belgian goalkeeper Alfred Verdyck later became the secretary-general of the Belgian FA.

, the deputy of the French Football Association, became the first president of

twenty days after this match.

All Franco-Belgian encounters

Belgium and France have sustained a long-lasting rivalry since this first fixture, with 78 official matches played over more than a century. The full record between the two countries is as follows: :''*Including two friendly matches at minor tournaments: the Évence Coppée Trophy in 1904 (3–3), and a 1–0 victory for France at the King Hassan II Tournament in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evence Coppee Trophy 1903–04 in Belgian football 1903–04 in French football European football trophies and awards Debut matches of association football national teams France national football team matches May 1904 sports events in Europe May 1904 in Europe Belgium national football team matches