Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, 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

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

Genk Genk () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality only comprises the town of Genk itself. It is one of the most important industrial towns in Flanders, located on the Albert Canal, ...

Belgian Limburg Limburg ( nl, Limburg, ; li, Limburg or ''Wes-Limburg'' ; french: Limbourg, ) is a province in Belgium. It is the easternmost of the five Dutch-speaking provinces that together form the Region of Flanders, one of the three main political and c ...

. Racing Genk plays in the

Belgian Pro 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 season and reduced to 16 team ...

and have won four championship titles; in 1998–99, in 2001–02, in 2010–11 and in 2018–19. They have also won five

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, most recently in

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

. They qualified for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

group stage in the 2002–03, 2011–12 and 2019–20. The club formed in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

by the merger of Waterschei Thor with KFC Winterslag, from which it took over the matricule number. It has been one of the most successful clubs in Belgium since the late 1990s and so they regularly qualify for European competitions. The club has been playing in the first division since the 1996–97 season. They play their home matches in the Cegeka Arena. Their main outfit is blue and white.

History

KFC Winterslag history (1923–1988)

The club FC Winterslag was founded in 1923 and that gave it the matricule number 322. On its 35th anniversary the club added the Royal prefix ''

Koninklijke or (, Dutch for 'royal') is an honorary title given to certain companies and non-profit organisations in the Netherlands and to a lesser extent Belgium, by the monarchs of each country. It was first introduced by Louis Bonaparte in 1807, then Ki ...

'' to their name to become KFC Winterslag. In 1972–73 Winterslag reached 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 ...

and they eventually qualified for the 1974–75 Belgian First Division after finishing second in the second division final round. They had taken advantage of the increase in the number of first division clubs (from 16 to 20). The club ended the season in last place but won the second division right after. KFC Winterslag reached the 5th place in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

which allowed them to play UEFA Cup matches, where it defeated Bryne FK from Norway and English Premier league giant

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. In the next round it was knocked out by

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

from Scotland. Two seasons later it was relegated to the second stage after a disappointing last place. That season

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...

won the championship on bribery in a match against the club of Waterschei Thor that would eventually merge with the matricule number 322. Following a spell of four seasons in the second division, Winterslag found its place again in the first division by winning the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

final round, one point ahead of

Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...

. It finished 15th on 18 but at the end of the season, the club merged with the neighbour club of Waterschei Thor which was playing in the second division since its relegation in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

K Waterschei SV Thor Genk

K Waterschei SV Thor was created in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

as Waterschei's Sport Vereeniging Thor with Thor being the acronym of ''Tot Herstel Onzer Rechten'' ( en, To recover our rights). It received matricule number n°533. The club enjoyed a spell in the first division in the late 1950s to the early 1960s and again from 1978 to 1986. During the 1982–83 season, the match between

and Waterschei and Standard eventually won the championship. Waterschei won the Belgian Cup twice (1980 and 1982). The latter victory led to them reaching the semi-finals of the

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 tourna ...

in the 1982–83 season. After defeating PSG in the quarter-finals, Waterschei lost the first leg of the semi-final 5–1 at

Pittodrie Stadium Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they were ...

, home of the eventual winners,

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

A 1–0 victory in Waterschei, courtesy of Eddy Voordeckers, could not reverse the position. After two seasons in the second division, K. Waterschei SV Thor Genk merged with KFC Winterslag in 1988 to form the current KRC Genk.

K.R.C. Genk (1988–present)

1990s and 2000s The new club was named KRC Genk and as it kept the Winterslag ranking, it began in the first division but finished last. The next year Genk managed to win the final round in 2nd division and then played 4 seasons in the first division. In 1995 the club hired

Aimé Anthuenis Aimé Anthuenis (born 21 December 1943) is a Belgian former professional football player and manager. He managed the Belgium national football team between 2002 and 2005. After a career as a defender, Anthuenis moved into coaching, first as the ...

a coach and Racing finished second and skipped the final round as two first division teams merged (

Seraing Seraing (; wa, Serè) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, Ougrée, and Seraing. With Liège, Herstal, Sai ...

and Standard Liège). After an eighth place in 1997, the club had a good 1997–98 season with a cup win and a second place in the championship. In its first European season, Racing Genk eliminated successively

Apolonia Fier KF Apolonia is an Albanian football club based in Fier. The club was founded on 17 June 1925 and took its name from the nearby ruins of the ancient city of Apollonia. The club currently compete in the Kategoria e Parë and they play their ho ...

and

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jers ...

but it lost to

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

in the round of 16 after two draws (1–1 on aggregate) in the last

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 ...

ever. The season was ended well as Genk won its first Belgian championship in May, with manager Aimé Anthuenis then moving to

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

. Genk played in the

in 1999–2000 but lost in the second qualifying round to

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

. The season was salvaged by winning the Belgian Cup again, this time to Standard, but Genk ended the championship in 9th place. It finished 11th in the following season and lost in the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

second round to

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...

after a win against

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a Swiss football club based in Zürich. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League 13 times and the Swiss Cup 10 times. The most recent titles a ...

. After this poor spell, Genk managed to win the championship once more in the 2001–02 season. In 2002–03, they reached the Champions League group stages for the first time in their history. Although they came 4th, they impressed fans with draws against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

and

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...

. In the 2006–07 season, Genk finished second to Anderlecht. The Limburgians had been ahead almost the entire season but were pipped at the post by Anderlecht after losing at Germinal Beerschot. The 2007–08 season was a disaster, as Genk failed to finish in the top half of the division, ending in a disappointing tenth place. Three bad seasons followed. Genk finished the 2007–08 season on 45 points and in 10th spot in the league: their worst result in seven years. The 2008–09 season was poor for Genk as well, finishing 8th in the league. The season ended on a positive note with them winning the

, which gave them a ticket to the fourth Europa League qualifying round. The 2009–10 season started badly when they were knocked out of the Europa League by

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

. Things did not go well in the domestic league either. Manager Hein Vanhaezebrouck was fired in December and was replaced by

Franky Vercauteren François Vercauteren (born 28 October 1956), nicknamed "The Little Prince", is a Belgian former footballer who played as a left winger. He is currently unemployed after most recently managing Antwerp. Club career Vercauteren made his first ...

. Genk finished 11th, but Vercauteren managed to lead the club to European football by beating derby rival

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, and has over 41,500 inhabitants, which makes it one of the largest cities in Limburg. The muni ...

in the final of Play-offs II. 2010s The 2010–11 season started well for KRC Genk when they beat

Inter Turku Football Club International Turku, commonly referred to as Inter Turku and colloquially known as Inter, is a professional football club based in Turku, Finland, that competes in the Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish Football. Founded in 1 ...

with 1–5 in Finland. They progressed to the 4th qualifying round of the Europa League and drew the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

club

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

. Genk lost both games against Porto, despite two good performances. On 30 January 2010, KRC Genk announced that coach Franky Vercauteren signed a new contract that ran untl June 2013. They only lost their first game of the season on the 20th matchday and started the Play-offs in second place. The club won the 2010–11 Belgian Pro League after drawing 1–1 with title challengers

Standard Liége Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

. This was KRC Genk's third league win in its history and its supporters celebrated with a pitch invasion straight after the final whistle. On 11 August, coach Frank Vercauteren confirmed he was leaving Genk and signed with

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

club

Al-Jazira Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to: Business *Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre * Al-Jazira ( ...

. In the 3rd Qualifying Round of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League KRC Genk beat

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...

over two legs and drew

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

in the play-off Round. Maccabi Haifa beat Genk 2–1 in the first leg in Israel, while the second leg was won by Genk with the same 2–1 score in Belgium. During the penalty shoot-out, goalkeeper

László Köteles László Köteles (; born 1 September 1984) is a Hungary, Hungarian former football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Club career Early career Köteles played for Vác-Újbuda LTC, Vác and Diósgyőri VTK, Diósgyőr in the Hung ...

helped Genk to qualify by saving two penalties. For the second time in its history, KRC Genk reached the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. They were drawn in Group E with

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

and

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

. In late August 2011,

Mario Been Marinus Antonius Been (born 11 December 1963) is a Dutch football manager and former professional player. As a footballer, Been played for Feyenoord, Pisa, Roda JC, Heerenveen, FC Tirol Innsbruck and Excelsior. He played in an attacking mid ...

was announced as the new manager. The Champions League campaign was one with ups and downs. Genk managed to get a 1–1 result against both Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen and a goalless draw against Valencia. Away from home, Genk lost all three games. The season in the Jupiler League was a difficult one, with Genk only just qualifying for the play-offs by finishing sixth in the regular competition. In the play-offs however, Genk started to play better and climbed up to third place. By finishing in third place, KRC Genk qualified for the third qualifying round of the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. The 2012–13 season started well for Genk by qualifying for the Europa League group stage after beating

Aktobe Aktobe ( kz, Ақтөбе, Aqtöbe; russian: Актобе, Aktobe) is a city on the Ilek River in Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of Aktobe Region. In 2020, it had a population of 500,757 people. Aktobe is located in the west of K ...

and

FC Luzern Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (german: Luzern). It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Super League, the top tier of the Swiss football league syste ...

. In this group stage KRC Genk performed very well and ultimately won the group without a single defeat. Genk finished first with three points more than

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

and by doing so, qualified for the next round where they faced

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...

. It was the first time in the club's history that they played European football after Christmas. Stuttgart got the better of Genk over the two games. In the league, Genk qualified for the play-offs and performed well until the title was out of reach; fifth place was the result. Genk ended their season on a positive note by winning the Belgian Cup. They defeated

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003–04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Divisio ...

in the final, in front of 30,000 Genk fans. In the 2016–2017 season, Genk participated in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

; they started playing in the second qualifying round and qualified for the third qualifying round (on 21 July 2016) Budućnost Podgorica–Genk 2–0
UEFA report.
/ref> and the play-off round (on 4 August 2016).

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

–Genk 1–2
UEFA report.
/ref> They won their group with 3 home victories over

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...

and

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; egl, label=Modenese dialect, Modenese, Sasól ) is an Italian town, ''comune'', and industrial centre of the Province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Standing on the right bank of the river Secchia some southwest of Modena, the town ...

and after defeating

Astra Giurgiu Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian football club based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'', it spent th ...

(2–2 and 1–0) in the 2nd round they drew

KAA Gent Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (, English: ''Royal Athletic Association Ghent''), often simply known as Ghent or by their nickname ' ( en, The Buffalos), is a Belgian sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders. Their football ...

from the domestic

with 2 confusing games Gent-Genk, Genk-Gent and an impressive 2–5 away victory. Even when Genk got beaten in the quarter final against

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...

(3–2 and 1–1), it was Genk's most successful European season. Genk won the

2018–19 Belgian First Division A The 2018–19 Belgian First Division A (officially known as Jupiler Pro League) was the 116th season of top-tier football in Belgium. Team changes * Mechelen was relegated after finishing last in the 2017–18 Belgian First Division A, ending a ...

for the fourth time in their history, hence they qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League after an eight-year absence. Genk started their 2019–20 UEFA Champions League campaign with a poor 6–2 loss against Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. In the second match they drew 0–0 against Napoli, and in the third match they lost 1–4 against Liverpool.

Youth academy

Genk is well known for its outstanding youth academy. In 2003 they built their youth center next to their stadium and set up a youth program with Ronny Vangeneugden. There are further plans to build a boarding school and some synthetic pitches. In the past and now, many young players have found their way through the youth system. Some examples are

Yannick Carrasco Yannick Ferreira Carrasco (born 4 September 1993) is a Belgian footballer who plays for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Belgium national team as a winger or wing-back. He began his career with Monaco, where he scored 20 goals in 105 ...

Jelle Vossen Jelle Vossen (born 22 March 1989) is a Belgian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Belgian First Division A club S.V. Zulte Waregem, Zulte Waregem. Club career RC ...

, Dennis Praet, Steven Defour,

Christian Benteke Christian Benteke Liolo (born 3 December 1990) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club D.C. United and the Belgium national team. Benteke began his career at Standard Liège, playing a part in ...

Thibaut Courtois Thibaut Nicolas Marc Courtois (born 11 May 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Belgium national team. He is considered one of the best goalkeepers in world football. Courtoi ...

Divock Origi Divock Okoth Origi (born 18 April 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club AC Milan and the Belgium national team. Origi began his career at Lille, and scored on his professional debut for them in 2013. A ...

Timothy Castagne Timothy Castagne (born 5 December 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Premier League club Leicester City and the Belgium national team. Castagne began his senior career with Genk after graduating from the clu ...

Leandro Trossard Leandro Trossard (born 4 December 1994) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Premier League club Arsenal and the Belgium national team. Early life Trossard was born in Maasmechelen, Limburg, to Peter Trossard ...

and

Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne (born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the Belgium national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. Pundits have often des ...

. Their scouting is also highly regarded. Players such as

Kalidou Koulibaly Kalidou Koulibaly (born 20 June 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Chelsea and the Senegal national team. Koulibaly began his professional club career with French team Metz in 2010, before mo ...

, Wilfred Ndidi,

Leon Bailey Leon Patrick Bailey (born 9 August 1997) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Jamaica national team. Bailey arrived in Europe at the age of 13 and played for a number of ...

Sergej Milinković-Savić Sergej Milinković-Savić ( sr-Cyrl, Сергеј Милинковић-Савић, ; born 27 February 1995), also known mononymously as Sergej, is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Lazio and the Serbia ...

and

Sander Berge Sander Gard Bolin Berge (born 14 February 1998) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Sheffield United and the Norway national team. Berge is a product of Asker's youth academy. Club career Early career Berge ...

all played for Genk.

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 ...

: ::Winners: 1998–99, 2001–02, 2010–11, 2018–19 ::Runners-up: 1997–98, 2006–07,

* Belgian Second Division: ::Winners: 1975–76 ::Runners-up: 1986–87, 1995–96 * Belgian Second Division Final Round: ::Winners: 1987, 1990 ::Runners-up: 1974 *

: ::Winners: 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2008–09, 2012–13,

::Runners-up: 2017–18 *

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 champio ...

::Winners:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

::Runners-up: 1998, 1999,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

European record

:''Updated 31 August 2018.''

Summary of best results

From the quarter-finals upwards:

: :- Quarter-finalists in 2016–17

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

: :- Semi-finalists in 2003–04

UEFA club coefficient ranking

Genk got its highest ranking (44th) in the season 2016/17.'

' ''Ranking in season 2021/22: Source

'

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Other players under contract

Jong Genk

Former players

;Africa ;DR Congo *

Neeskens Kebano Neeskens Kebano (born 10 March 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Fulham and the DR Congo national team. Kebano is a former French youth international having earned caps a ...

;Gambia * Omar Colley ;Guinea * Souleymane Oulare ;Ivory Coast *

Didier Zokora Déguy Alain Didier Zokora (born 14 December 1980) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He represented the Ivory Coast national team for 14 years, beginning in 2000, and is currently the nation's mos ...

;Nigeria * Wilfred Ndidi ;Senegal *

Kara Mbodj Serigne Modou Kara Mbodji (born 22 November 1989), commonly known as Kara or Kara Mbodji, is a Senegalese professional Association football, footballer who plays for Al-Sailiya SC, Al-Sailiya and the Senegal national football team, Senegal nation ...

;South Africa * Anele Ngcongca ;Tanzania *

Mbwana Samatta Mbwana Ally Samatta (born 23 December 1992) is a Tanzanian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Belgian Pro League club Genk, on loan from Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe, and captains the Tanzania national team. Samatta began hi ...

;Asia ;Australia *

Mathew Ryan Mathew David Ryan (born 8 April 1992) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Danish club F.C. Copenhagen and captains the Australia national team. Born in Sydney, Ryan played youth football for Marconi Stallion ...

Danny Vukovic Daniel Vukovic ( ; born 27 March 1985) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Central Coast Mariners in the A-League and the Australia national team. Vukovic is the holder of several A-League records: he has ...

;Europe ;Belgium *

Luc Nilis Luc Gilbert Cyrille Nilis (born 25 May 1967) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Belgian Division 2 club Belisia Bilzen. He enjoyed a successful career in his native Belgium and, in particular, ...

* Denis Dasoul *

Christian Kabasele Christian Kabasele (born 24 February 1991) is a professional footballer who currently plays as a defender for EFL Championship club Watford. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kabasele played for the Belgium national team between 2 ...

Branko Strupar Branko Strupar (born 9 February 1970) is a Croatian-Belgian former professional footballer who played as a striker. In 1999, he became a naturalised Belgian. He consequently played for the Belgium national team with whom he played 17 matches a ...

Pierre Denier Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

* Pieter Gerkens *

Sébastien Pocognoli Sébastien Pocognoli (born 1 August 1987) is a Belgian football manager and former player who played as a left-back. He is the head coach of the Under-21 squad of Union SG. Between 2008 and 2014, he made 13 appearances for the Belgium national ...

* Steven Defour *

Koen Casteels Koen Casteels (born 25 June 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Belgium national team. Formed at Genk, he spent most of his professional career in Germany with 1899 Hof ...

Thomas Buffel Thomas Buffel (, born 19 February 1981) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He represented the Belgium national team at international level. Club career Early career Buffel began hi ...

;Bosnia and Herzegovina *

Mirsad Bešlija Mirsad Bešlija (born 6 July 1979) is a Bosnian retired professional footballer who played as a right winger. He has most notably played for Željezničar, Genk, Heart of Midlothian and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Club career B ...

* Suvad Katana * Ismet Mulavdić *

Bojan Nastić Bojan Nastić (; born 6 July 1994) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Ekstraklasa club Jagiellonia and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Nastić started his professional career at Vojvodina, before joini ...

* Tino-Sven Sušić ;Denmark *

Joakim Mæhle Joakim Mæhle Pedersen (born 20 May 1997) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Denmark national team. Club career AaB Born in Østervrå, Vendsyssel, Mæhle started playing foo ...

;Israel *

Elyaniv Barda Elyaniv Barda (or Elianiv, he, אליניב ברדה; born 15 December 1981) is an Israeli former football forward and winger, And the current manager of Hapoel Be'er Sheva. His former clubs include Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel ...

;Netherlands * Jean-Paul Boëtius *

Sandy Walsh Sandy Henny Walsh (born 14 March 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Belgian Pro League club Mechelen. Born in Belgium and a former Netherlands youth international, he plays for the Indonesia national team. Club ca ...

;Norway *

;Romania *

Ianis Hagi Ianis Hagi (; born 22 October 1998) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Scottish Premiership club Rangers and the Romania national team. He made his professional debut for Viitorul Cons ...

;Serbia *

;Slovakia *

Adam Nemec Adam Nemec (; born 2 September 1985) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga I side FC Voluntari. In his career, he has played in seven different countries but mostly for teams in Germany and Romania. During 13 years ...

;Spain *

Alejandro Pozuelo Alejandro Pozuelo Melero (born 20 September 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF. Developed in the Betis system, he amassed La Liga totals of 40 matches and t ...

* Jose Naranjo ;Turkey *

Sinan Bolat Sinan Bolat (born 3 September 1988) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Belgian club Westerlo. He has played for Turkey both at youth level and senior level. Club career Early years Bolat began his professional ca ...

Enes Ünal Enes Ünal (born 10 May 1997) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Getafe and the Turkey national team. Ünal scored on his Süper Lig debut on 25 August 2013 for Bursaspor against Galatasaray, making h ...

;Ukraine * Ruslan Malinovskyi ;North and Central America ;Jamaica *

Club officials

Managers

* Ernst Künnecke (July 1988 – Nov 88) * Joseph Vliers (1988–89) *

René Desaeyere René Desaeyere (born 14 September 1947) is a Belgian former football player and former manager of Muangthong United. Career Desaeyere played for Beerschot, Daring Club Bruxelles, Royal Antwerp, R.W.D. Molenbeek, Berchem Sport and Dess ...

(1989) *

Paul Theunis Paul Theunis (born 16 March 1952) is a retired Belgium footballer who played as a midfielder. Honours KV Mechelen * European Cup Winners Cup: 1987–88 (winners Winners Merchants International L.P is a chain of off-price Canada, Canadian ...

(1990–91) * Pier Janssen (1991–93) *

Luka Peruzović Luka Peruzović (born 26 February 1952) is a Croatian football coach and former player, who managed Belgium's Standard Liège, Charleroi and Anderlecht and Qatar's Al Sadd. He also holds a Belgian citizenship. Club career As a player, Peruzovi� ...

(1993–94) * Norbert Beuls (1994) *

(1996–99) *

Jos Heyligen Jozef "Jos" Heyligen (born 30 June 1947) is a retired Belgian footballer. Career During his career he played for Royal Antwerp F.C., K. Beringen F.C., and K.V.C. Westerlo. He earned 2 caps for the Belgium national football team, and particip ...

(1999–2000) *

Johan Boskamp Johannes "Johan/Jan" Boskamp (born 21 October 1948) is a Dutch former football player and manager. He played the majority of his career for hometown club Feyenoord and Belgian side RWDM and managed primarily in the Belgian leagues. Currently he ...

(31 Jan 2000 – 31 Dec 2000) *

Sef Vergoossen Josephus Gerardus Dominicus "Sef" Vergoossen (, born 5 August 1947 in Echt) is a former Dutch football manager. Biography Vergoossen began his managerial career in 1978 with VVV-Venlo, managing the club for 12 years until 1989, after which he man ...

(1 July 2001 – 6 April 2004) *

René Vandereycken René Vandereycken (born 22 July 1953) is a Belgian football manager and a former player. He was the head coach of the Belgium national team from 1 January 2006 to 7 April 2009. Club career Vandereycken was born in Spalbeek. He played for C ...

(17 May 2004 – 3 June 2005) *

Hugo Broos Hugo Henri Broos (born 10 April 1952) is a Belgian association football, football coach (sport), manager and former player. He is the manager of South Africa national soccer team Playing career He started his football career in his hometown Hu ...

(13 June 2005 – 23 Feb 2008) *

Ronny Van Geneugden Ronny Van Geneugden (; born 17 August 1968) is a Belgian football (soccer), football coach and former player, currently technical director at MVV Maastricht. As a manager, Van Geneugden had most of his successes with Oud-Heverlee Leuven, leadin ...

(17 Feb 2008 – 5 March 2009) *

''(interim)'' (6 March 2009 – 30 June 2009) * Hein Vanhaezebrouck (1 July 2009 – 29 Nov 2009) *

(3 Dec 2009 – 17 Aug 2011) *

''(interim)'' (18 Aug 2011 – 29 Aug 2011) *

(30 Aug 2011 – 24 Feb 2014) *

Emilio Ferrera Emilio Ferrera (born 19 June 1967 in Schaerbeek) is a Belgian football manager and former player, who is currently managing the U21 squad of Gent. His last former club was OH Leuven in the Belgian First Division B. Before he also worked at G ...

(24 Feb 2014 – 29 July 2014) *

Alex McLeish Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps for ...

(22 Aug 2014 – 2015) *

Peter Maes Peter Maes () (born 1 June 1964) is a Belgian retired footballer turned coach. He is currently unemployed after most recently managing Beerschot VA in the Belgian First Division A. Prior to Lokeren, he also managed KV Mechelen and Genk. unt ...

(2015 – 26 Dec 2016) *

Albert Stuivenberg Albert Stuivenberg (; born 5 August 1970) is a Dutch professional association football, football coach and former player who is currently the assistant manager of club Arsenal F.C., Arsenal. Stuivenberg played professionally for SC Telstar and ...

(27 Dec 2016 – 10 Dec 2017) *

Philippe Clement Philippe Clement (born 22 March 1974) is a Belgian professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Ligue 1 club Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, ...

(18 Dec 2017 – 24 May 2019) * Felice Mazzù (3 June 2019 – 12 Nov 2019) * Hannes Wolf (19 Nov 2019 – 15 Sep 2020) * Domenico Olivieri ''(interim)'' (15 Sep 2020 – 24 Sep 2020) *

Jess Thorup Jess Thorup (born 21 February 1970) is a Danish professional football manager and former player, who most recently managed Danish Superliga club FC Copenhagen. Playing career Thorup progressed through the youth academy of Odense Boldklub (OB). He ...

(24 Sep 2020 – 2 Nov 2020) *

John van den Brom Joseph Anthonius ''John ''van den Brom (born 4 October 1966) is a Dutch former professional footballer and the current manager of Ekstraklasa side Lech Poznań. As a player, he played for Vitesse, Ajax, De Graafschap and Istanbulspor. After h ...

(8 Nov 2020 – 6 Dec 2021) *

Bernd Storck Bernd Storck, HOM (born 25 January 1963) is a German professional football manager and former player. He is the manager of Belgian club Kortrijk. A defender in his player days, he played for VfL Bochum and Borussia Dortmund. Club career Storc ...

(8 Dec 2021 – 22 May 2022) * Wouter Vrancken (28 May 2022 - Present)