Sport in Belgium - Football

Football

Further information: Football in Belgium

The Belgian Football Association, the governing body of football in Belgium, was founded in 1895 and was one of the founding members of the FIFA in 1904. The first Belgian championship was held in 1895 among the 10 founding teams of the Belgian Football Association, and was won by RFC de Liège. A second level was added to the Belgian league in 1905, a third level in 1926 and a fourth one in 1952. R.S.C. Anderlecht is the most successful Belgian team both at national (31 Belgian champion titles) and international (6 European titles) levels. Other successful clubs include Club Brugge K.V. (13 Belgian champion titles), R. Union Saint-Gilloise (11 national titles), Standard Liège (10 national titles) and K.V. Mechelen (4 national titles and 2 European titles). The club with the most Belgian Cup titles is Club Brugge KV (10) followed by RSC Anderlecht (9) and R Standard Liège (5). The 8 European titles won by Belgian clubs were claimed between 1976 and 1988.

Belgium national football team played its first game in 1904 against France. The match ended in a 3-3 draw. Since then, Belgium has qualified for 11 out of 18 World Cups, finishing 4th in 1986, and for 4 out of the 12 UEFA European Football Championships in which it entered, finishing second in 1980. At the Summer Olympics, Belgium won the gold medal in 1920 and secured a fourth place in 2008.

The most capped player for Belgium is Jan Ceulemans (96 caps between 1977 and 1991), followed by Eric Gerets and Franky Van Der Elst (86 caps). Belgium all-time topscorers are Bernard Voorhoof and Paul Van Himst with 30 goals each. Other past famous players include goalkeepers Jean-Marie Pfaff and Michel Preud'homme, René Vandereycken, Wilfried Van Moer, François and Leo Van der Elst, Raymond Mommens, Franky Van Der Elst, Franky Vercauteren, Luc Nilis, Enzo Scifo, Erwin Vandenbergh, Georges Grün, Lei Clijsters, Philippe Albert and Marc Wilmots. Current well-known Belgian players are Wesley Sonck, Timmy Simons, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Vermaelen, Daniel Van Buyten, Jan Vertonghen, Marouane Fellaini and Eden Hazard

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Famous quotes containing the word football:

    “You can’t be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline—it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER.”
    —Frank Zappa (1940–1993)

    “In this dream that dogs me I am part
    Of a silent crowd walking under a wall,
    Leaving a football match, perhaps, or a pit,
    All moving the same way.”
    —Philip Larkin (1922–1986)

    “... in the minds of search committees there is the lingering question: Can she manage the football coach?”
    —Donna E. Shalala (b. 1941)