RFC Tournai is a
Belgian association football club from the city of
Tournai
Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...
,
Hainaut. It is the result of the merger between R. Union Sportive Tournaisienne (
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°26) and
R.R.C. Tournaisien (n°36) in 2002. The club wears the matricule n°26 and plays in the
Belgian National Division 1
The Belgian Division 1 is a semi-professional division and the third-highest division in the Football in Belgium, Belgian football Belgian football league system, league system, one level below the Challenger Pro League. It was created by the Ro ...
, the third tier of Belgian football.
History
R. Union Sportive Tournaisienne history
Union Sportive Tournaisienne was founded in 1902 and became a member of the
Belgian Football Association
The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA; ; ; ) is the governing body of football in Belgium. It was a founding member of FIFA in 1904 and UEFA in 1954 and was based in Brussels, not far from the King Baudouin Stadium. Since October 2021, the ...
one year later. It played in 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 ...
as soon as the competition was officially started in 1910. The club reached its peak when it played its only one season 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 ...
in 1951–52. It finished last (16th) with 3 wins and 12 points. In 2002 Tournai won the
Promotion A __NOTOC__
The Promotion A ''(Doctor of an academic field)'' was an academic qualification in the DDR. It was introduced in the 3rd higher education reform with the "Regulation of academic grades" of 6 November 1968 and was governed by the doctoral ...
and it merged with the Racing so that the new R.F.C. began in the third division.
RFC Tournai history
Tournai began with a nice 6th place in 2003 but could not avoid relegation the next year when it finished 15th (on 16). In 2005, it won the Promotion A. On 24 November 2007,
Thierry Pister was appointed as the new head coach for the club.
In 2022–23, RFC Tournai secure promotion to Belgian Division 2 from next season after winning play-off against RSC Habay La Neuve with score narrowly 0–1 at away games and return to fourth tier after 12 years absence. Following season, RFC Tournai secure back to back promotion to Belgian National Division 1 from next season after finishing fourth place due to expansion team in third tier.
Current squad
''As of 18 October 2013.
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Staff
''Head Coach''
* Mickael Browaeys
Assistant Coach
* Fabien Delbeeke
Goalkeeper Coach
* Christophe Martin
Team Chef
* Abdel Araci
Honour
*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 ...
**Winners: 1955–56
References
External links
*
Belgian football clubs history
Football clubs in Belgium
Association football clubs established in 1902
1902 establishments in Belgium
Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage
R.F.C. Tournai
Belgian Pro League clubs
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