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 ...

Lyra was a Belgian

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

that existed between 1909 and 1972. It was located in the city of Lier in the province of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. Lyra is the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

name for Lier.

History

The club was founded in 1909 as Turn- en Sportvereniging Lyra, meaning Gym and Sport Association Lyra in

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

. It registered to the FA the same year to become the

matricule Association football is the most popular sport in Belgium, which has been played since the end of the 19th century. The national association was founded in 1895 with the intention of bringing some order and organization to the sport. The fir ...

n°52. In 1913 the club took part to the second division where it remained until the promotion in 1932. The first spell of the club at the highest level ended in 1938 when it finished 13th on 14. In 1934 the name changed to Koninklijke Maatschappij Lyra and then to Koninklijke Lyra in 1939. Lyra achieved its best ranking ever on its first season in the first division with a 6th place. The other spells were 1943–44, 1946–51 and 1953–54. In 1960 the club fell into the third division and decayed. On 12 April 1972 Lyra merged with its neighbour of K. Lierse S.K. to become K. Lierse S.V. with the matricule n°30 of Lierse. On 16 June 1972 a new club named K. Lyra T.S.V. was founded with the matricule n°7776. It now plays in the Promotion C. The team, and its successor K. Lyra T.S.V., played for over 100 years at the same stadium located in the center of Lier at the Mechelsesteenweg.

Honours

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 ...

: **Winners (4): 1931–32, 1942–43, 1945–46, 1952–53 *

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 ...

: **Runners-up (1): 1934–35

Former famous players

* Jef PiedfortLyra rouwt om Jef Piedfort
nieuwsblad.be, 31 maart 2008, article in Dutch *

Raymond Van Gestel Raymond Van Gestel (20 January 1930 – 17 April 2020) was a Belgian footballer, athlete and pilot.Mon Van Gestel overleden
lyralierse.be, 19 april 2020, article in Dutch

References

External links

nbsp;– 1st and 2nd division final tables Association football clubs established in 1909 Defunct football clubs in Belgium Association football clubs disestablished in 1972 1909 establishments in Belgium 1972 disestablishments in Belgium Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage Belgian Pro League clubs Sport in Antwerp Province Lier, Belgium {{Belgium-footyclub-stub