Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk or Racing Genk, is a Belgian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in the city of

Genk Genk () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It ...

Belgian Limburg Limburg (, ; or ; , ), also known as Belgian Limburg, is a province in Belgium. It is the easternmost of the five Dutch-speaking provinces that together form the Region of Flanders, which is one of the three main political and cultural sub-d ...

. Racing Genk plays in the

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

and have won four championship titles; in 1998–99, in 2001–02, in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

and in 2018–19. They have also won five

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

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 ...

. They qualified for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

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

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

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 The Cegeka Arena is a multi-purpose stadium in Genk, Belgium. It is currently used mostly for association football matches and is the home ground of K.R.C. Genk. The stadium holds 23,718

. Their main outfit is blue and white.

History

KFC Winterslag history (1923–1988)

The club FC Winterslag was founded in

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

and that gave it the matricule number 322. On its 35th anniversary the club added the Royal prefix ''

Koninklijke (, Dutch language, Dutch for 'royal') is an Title of honor, 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 Lou ...

'' to their name to become KFC Winterslag. In

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

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 Statistics of Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system ...

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 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

which allowed them to play UEFA Cup matches, where it defeated

Bryne FK Bryne Fotballklubb () is a professional Association football, football club located in Bryne, Norway, which competes in the Eliteserien, the top tier of Norwegian football. Founded on 10 April 1926 as Bryne Fotball-lag, the club joined the Nor ...

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 Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

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 ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

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 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

by winning the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

final round, one point ahead of

Tongeren Tongeren (; ; ; ) is a city and former 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 only Roman administrative capital wit ...

. 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 en ...

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 (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

as Waterschei's Sport Vereeniging Thor with Thor being the acronym of ''Tot Herstel Onzer Rechten'' (). 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 competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

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, from which the surrounding residential area has taken its name, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for Association football, football, it has been the home ground o ...

, home of the eventual winners,

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

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 won the final round in 2nd division and then played 4 seasons in the

. In 1995 the club hired

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

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

Seraing Seraing (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-M ...

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 Futboll Klub Apolonia Fier 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 competes in Kategoria e Parë, the secon ...

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 jer ...

but it lost to

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

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 competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

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 List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 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, B ...

. 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 List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

. 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 The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

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. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

after a win against

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. ...

. After this poor spell, Genk won 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 (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

and

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

. 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 (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. 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 the sports director of the Royal Belgian Football Association. Club career Vercauteren ma ...

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

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. With more than 41,500 inhabitants, it is on ...

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 Finnish professional football club based in Turku that competes in the Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish Football. Founded i ...

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

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

. 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 The 2010–11 season of the Belgian Pro League (also known as ''Jupiler Pro League'' for sponsorship reasons) is the 108th season of top-tier football in Belgium. It began on 30 July 2010 with the first match of the regular season and ended in M ...

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 is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

club

Al-Jazira Jazira, al-Jazira, Jazeera, al-Jazeera, etc. are all transcriptions of Arabic meaning "the island" or "the peninsula". The term may refer to: Business * Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait Locations * Al-Jazira, a traditional ...

. 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, ; ), often referred to in English as Partizan Belgrade, is a Serbian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Belgrade. It forms ...

over two legs and drew

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () 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, Basketball, Weightl ...

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 Hungarian former football goalkeeper. Club career Early career Köteles played for Vác and Diósgyőr in the Hungarian NB I, and with FK Železnik, RFK Grafičar Beograd and FK Bežanija in ...

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,

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

and

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

. 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, Tirol Innsbruck and Excelsior. He played in an attacking midf ...

was announced as the new manager. The Champions League campaign was one with ups and downs. Genk got 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 (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

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

Aktobe Aktobe (, ; ) is a major city located on the Ilek River in western Kazakhstan. It serves as the administrative center of the Aktobe Region and is an important cultural, economic, and industrial hub in the region. As of 2023, the city has a popu ...

and

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

. 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 Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

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 professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

. 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. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Their matricule number is 12. The club plays home games at the 29 ...

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 (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

; they started playing in the second qualifying round and

qualified Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the third qualifying round (on 21 July 2016)

Budućnost Podgorica Budućnost means "the future" in many Slavic languages, and it may also refer to: * SD Budućnost Podgorica, a sports society from Podgorica, Montenegro ** KK Budućnost Podgorica, a professional basketball club FK Budućnost may refer to: * FK B ...

–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 ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

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

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid (), commonly known as Rapid Wien or Rapid Vienna in English, is an Austrian professional football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the f ...

and

Sassuolo Sassuolo (; ) 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 is best known for being the centre of the Ita ...

and after defeating

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

(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 Gent or by their nickname ' (), is a Belgian professional sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders. Their football tea ...

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 Vigo, 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), the club was fou ...

(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 The 2019–20 UEFA Champions League was the 65th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 28th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. Bayern Munich ...

after an eight-year absence. Genk started their

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 professional footballer who plays for Saudi Pro League club Al-Shabab and the Belgium national team. A versatile player, Carrasco can be deployed as a left midfielder, left wing-b ...

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

Dennis Praet Dennis Praet (born 14 May 1994) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Belgian Pro League club Antwerp and the Belgium national team. Early life Praet was born in Leuven, Flemish Brabant. Club career Youth at Genk P ...

Steven Defour Steven Arnold Defour (born 15 April 1988) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, currently a manager. He played 247 games and scored 23 goals in the Belgian Pro League for Genk, Standard Liège, Anderlecht, Antwe ...

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. Benteke began his career at Standard Liège, playing a part in their 2008–09 Belgian Firs ...

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. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is known ...

Divock Origi Divock Okoth Origi (born 18 April 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club AC Milan. Following 8 July 2024, he is no longer part of their first team squad, and currently trains with and is listed in the squad ...

Timothy Castagne Timothy Castagne (; born 5 December 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a full back for club Fulham and the Belgium national team. Castagne began his senior career with Genk after graduating from the club's youth academy. ...

, Leandro Trossard and

Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne (; born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club SSC Napoli, Napoli and captains the Belgium national football team, Belgium national team. After spending mos ...

. 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 Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal and captains the Senegal national team. Koulibaly began his professional club career with French team Metz in 20 ...

Wilfred Ndidi Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi (born 16 December 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Leicester City and the Nigeria national team. Ndidi is known for his defensive ability and intelligence. Club ca ...

Leon Bailey Leon Patrick Bailey (born 9 August 1997) is a Jamaican professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), right winger for club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa and the Jamaica national football team, Jamai ...

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 Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal an ...

, Daniel Muñoz and

Sander Berge Sander Gard Bolin Berge (born 14 February 1998) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Fulham and the Norway national team. Club career Early career Berge was born in Bærum, Akershus. He started h ...

all played for Genk.

Honours

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

: **Winners (4): 1998–99, 2001–02,

, 2018–19 **Runners-up (4): 1997–98, 2006–07,

2022–23 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 ...

: **Winners (5): 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2008–09,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

**Runners-up (1): 2017–18 *

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, ...

**Winners (2):

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

**Runners-up (7):

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Belgian Second Division The Belgian Second Division was the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was founded by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1909 and folded in 2016, when it was replace ...

: (as KFC Winterslag before 1988) **Winners (1): 1975–76 **Runners-up (2): 1986–87, 1995–96 *

Belgian Second Division final round The Belgian Second Division play-offs were a series of playoff matches to decide promotion to the Belgian Pro League, organised between 1974 and 2015. Following a large reform of the Belgian football league system at the end of the 2015–16 seaso ...

: **Winners (2): 1987, 1990 **Runners-up (1): 1974

European record

UEFA club competition 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 , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

: :- Semi-finalists in 2003–04

UEFA coefficient

''Correct as of 21 May 2025.''

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

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 left winger for UAE Pro League club Al-Jazira and the DR Congo national team. Born in France, Kebano is a former French youth internatio ...

;Gambia * Omar Colley ;Guinea * Souleymane Oulare ;Ivory Coast * Didier Zokora ;Nigeria *

;Senegal *

* Kara Mbodj ;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 Super League Greece club PAOK, and captains the Tanzania national team. Samatta began his career as a youth player for Tanzanian cl ...

;Asia ;Australia *

Mathew Ryan Mathew David Ryan (born 8 April 1992) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for club Lens and captains the Australia national team. Born in Sydney, Ryan played youth football for Marconi Stallions, Blacktown C ...

Danny Vukovic Daniel Vukovic ( ; born 27 March 1985) is a former Australian professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the goalkeeping coach for Central Coast Mariners FC. Vukovic also represented the Australian national team duri ...

;Europe ;Belgium *

Luc Nilis Luc Gilbert Cyrille Nilis (born 25 May 1967) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who is the striker coach of Patro Eisden. He spent most of his career in his native Belgium and, in particular, in the Netherlands with P ...

* Denis Dasoul * Christian Kabasele *

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 ...

* Pieter Gerkens *

Sébastien Pocognoli Sébastien Jean Pocognoli (born 1 August 1987) is a Belgian association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, Union SG. A left-back, Pocognoli played for Standard Liège, K.R.C. Genk, Ge ...

* Leandro Trossard *

Koen Casteels Koen Casteels (; born 25 June 1992) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah. Formed at Genk, Casteels spent most of his professional career in Germany with TSG Hoffenheim, Werder Breme ...

Thomas Buffel Thomas Buffel (; born 19 February 1981) is a Belgian professional football coach and a former player who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He is the manager of Jong Genk in Challenger Pro League. He represented the Belgium nationa ...

Wesley Sonck Wesley Sonck (born 9 August 1978) is a Belgian professional association football, football manager and former player who manages the Belgium national under-19 football team, Belgium U19 national team. He played as a striker (association football ...

;Bosnia and Herzegovina *

Mirsad Bešlija Mirsad Bešlija (born 6 July 1979) is a Bosnian former 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 ...

* Suvad Katana * Ismet Mulavdić *

Bojan Nastić Bojan Nastić (; born 6 July 1994) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Polish club Wisła Płock. Nastić started his professional career at Vojvodina, before joining Genk in 2016. In 2019, he was loaned to Oost ...

* 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 ...

;Finland * Jere Uronen ;Indonesia * Sandy Henny Walsh ;Israel *

Elyaniv Barda Elyaniv Barda (or Elianiv, ; born 15 December 1981) is an Israeli former football player, and the current manager of Hapoel Tel Aviv. His former clubs include Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Belgian side Racing Genk, with ...

;Netherlands *

Jean-Paul Boëtius Jean-Paul Patrick Boëtius (born 22 March 1994) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking Midfielder, attacking midfielder and a Midfielder#Winger, winger for club SV Darmstadt 98, Darmstadt 98. A ...

;Norway *

;Romania *

Ianis Hagi Ianis Hagi (born 22 October 1998) is a Romanian professional Association football, footballer who last played as an attacking midfielder or a winger (association football), winger for club Rangers F.C., Rangers and the Romania national football ...

Vladimir Screciu Vladimir Ionuț Screciu (; born 13 January 2000) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or a centre-backfor Liga I club Universitatea Craiova and the Romania national team. Club career Early career / Univers ...

;Serbia *

;Slovakia *

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

;Spain *

Alejandro Pozuelo Alejandro Pozuelo Melero (born 20 September 1991) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays for Saudi Pro League club Al-Fayha FC, Al-Fayha as Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder. Developed in the Re ...

* Jose Naranjo ;Turkey * Sinan Bolat *

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

;Ukraine *

Ruslan Malinovskyi Ruslan Volodymyrovych Malinovskyi (; born 4 May 1993) is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder, right winger or second striker for club Genoa and the Ukraine national team. He is a set piece specialist and p ...

;North and Central America ;Jamaica *

Club officials

Managers

Ernst Künnecke Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (born 1 ...

(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 (1990–91) *

Pier Janssen Pieter "Pier" Janssen (born 9 September 1956), also referred to as Pierre or Piet, is a Belgian former footballer and manager who played as a midfielder and made three appearances for the Belgium national team. Career Janssen made his internat ...

(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 (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, ...

(31 Jan 2000 – 31 Dec 2000) *

Sef Vergoossen Josephus Gerardus Dominicus "Sef" Vergoossen (; born 5 August 1947) 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 managed MV ...

(1 July 2001 – 6 April 2004) *

René Vandereycken René Vandereycken (born 22 July 1953) is a Belgian retired professional footballer and manager. During his playing career, he played as a midfielder. He was the head coach of the Belgium national team from 2006 to 2009. Club career Vandereyc ...

(17 May 2004 – 3 June 2005) *

Hugo Broos Hugo Henri Broos (born 10 April 1952) is a Belgian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player. He is currently the manager of the South Africa national soccer team, Sout ...

(13 June 2005 – 23 Feb 2008) * Ronny Van Geneugden (17 Feb 2008 – 5 March 2009) * Pierre Denier ''(interim)'' (6 March 2009 – 30 June 2009) *

Hein Vanhaezebrouck Hein Vanhaezebrouck (; born 16 February 1964) is a Belgian football manager. Most recently he was head coach of Belgian Pro League club K.A.A. Gent. He has a reputation of preferring a defensive style of play. Early life Vanhaezebrouck was born ...

(1 July 2009 – 29 Nov 2009) *

(3 Dec 2009 – 17 Aug 2011) * Pierre Denier ''(interim)'' (18 Aug 2011 – 29 Aug 2011) *

(30 Aug 2011 – 24 Feb 2014) *

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

(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 f ...

(22 Aug 2014 – 2015) * Peter Maes (2015 – 26 Dec 2016) * Albert Stuivenberg (27 Dec 2016 – 10 Dec 2017) *

Philippe Clement Philippe Clement (born 22 March 1974) is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Scottish Premiership club Rangers. He began his professional career at Belgian clubs Beerschot and Genk be ...

(18 Dec 2017 – 24 May 2019) *

Felice Mazzù Felice Mazzù (born 12 March 1966) is a Belgian professional Manager (association football), football manager who last was the head coach of Sint-Truidense V.V., Sint-Truiden. Mazzù has built a reputation for improving the status of smaller c ...

(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 (24 Sep 2020 – 2 Nov 2020) *

John van den Brom Joseph Anthonius ''John ''van den Brom (born 4 October 1966) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of Eerste Divisie club Vitesse. As a player, he played for Vitesse, Ajax, De Graafschap and Is ...

(8 Nov 2020 – 6 Dec 2021) *

Bernd Storck Bernd Storck, HOM (born 25 January 1963) is a German former professional footballer and a professional football manager. He is the current manager of Cercle Brugge in the Belgian Pro League, appointed for a second time following a brief second ...

(8 Dec 2021 – 22 May 2022) *

Wouter Vrancken Wouter Vrancken (born 3 February 1979) is a Belgian football manager and a former defensive midfielder. He currently coaches Sint-Truidense after previously making his name at KV Mechelen and Genk. Playing career Wouter Vrancken started his pl ...

(28 May 2022 – 9 May 2024) * Domenico Olivieri ''(interim)'' (10 May 2024 – 4 June 2024) *

Thorsten Fink Thorsten Fink (born 29 October 1967) is a German football coach and a former footballer, who is the head coach of Belgian Pro League club KRC Genk. Playing career Fink began his career with Borussia Dortmund's reserve squad before moving to S ...

(5 June 2024 – Present)