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79-685: In 1908, this international event took over from the Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz which had been created in 1900 by the Count of the same name. In 1907, the Brussels club Union Saint-Gilloise won that competition for the third time in a row, thus earning the right to keep the trophy, so a new trophy was therefore put into play in the following year. The new cup was offered by Mr. Alphonse Dupuich and named in memory of his son Jean , an in young years deceased striker from Léopold FC . The inaugural tournament in 1908

158-490: A " Zwanze derby" with R.W.D. Molenbeek , which stems from their old rivalry with Daring Club Brussels , that has been encapsulated in the Brussels play Bossemans et Coppenolle . However, the two are said to have a love-hate relationship, having both experienced financial difficulty in the modern era, and organised friendlies together in support. Union have another Brussels city rivalry with neighbour RSC Anderlecht , although

237-542: A 0–2 away victory. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Five players from the Union Saint-Gilloise finished top scorers in the Belgian First Division A Two players from

316-519: A 1–0 win over Royal Antwerp in the final . In the Champions' Play-offs, Union suffered four consecutive defeats which saw them drop to third place behind rivals Anderlecht and Club Brugge, followed by two wins against Antwerp and two draws against the other two title contenders which minimized their chances to secure the title for the third attempt in a row. Following victories over Cercle Brugge and Genk, Union finished as runners-up, just one point behind

395-464: A 1–1 draw, which forced extra-time where again both teams scored to level the scores at 2. Rather than simply replaying the match, the organization was left clueless on how to handle the situation and after contacting the secretary of the English FA , it was decided to proclaim both teams as "joint holders", meaning a third title to Racing and a second consecutive to Union. The eighth and last edition of

474-554: A 6–4 win in the favour of the English. Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz The Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz , also known as Coupe Ponthoz , was an international competition for football clubs from Europe that ran from 1900 to 1907. It was one of the first European club football tournaments and is considered a predecessor of club tournaments in Europe, namely the European Cup . It

553-712: A coaching job in France with Amiens SC , Thomas Christiansen was brought in as his replacement, with Union again falling marginally short in both the Opening and Closing Tournaments. However, there was to be no place in Play-Offs 2 this time, as these were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic that saw the 2019–20 season end prematurely in March. The summer of 2020 saw Felice Mazzu appointed as first-team coach, assisted by Karel Geraerts , with

632-511: A few years after its foundation, Union quickly became a superpower and supplier to the Belgian team for the Olympic Games in 1920. The 1935 success was the club's eleventh, a Belgian record that would not be broken until the emergence of Anderlecht in the 1960s. Seven of those titles came before the outbreak of World War One in 1914. In the early 1900s, Union also had a dominant spell in some of

711-577: A number of interesting young talents signed from lower-division football both in Belgium and abroad, such as Dante Vanzeir , Deniz Undav , Christian Burgess , Teddy Teuma , and from Virton following that club's denial of a First Division B licence, goalkeeper Anthony Moris and Loïc Lapoussin . On 13 March 2021, after defeating R.W.D. Molenbeek 2–1 at home, Union were promoted back to the Belgian First Division A. This marked its first appearance in

790-521: A point behind on 45. Union would be champions if they won their game against Club Brugge, and Antwerp did not win theirs against Genk. No other scenario would crown Union as champions. On the final matchday of the Play-offs, Union were leading 1–0 at home against Club Brugge in the 89th minute, and with Racing Genk leading Royal Antwerp 2–1 at the Cegeka Arena , Union were on the way to being champions, with

869-420: A second English team participated, Maidstone (Maidstone Church Institute Wanderers FC), which was narrowly defeated in the first round by the eventual champions Racing Club de Bruxelles , marking the first time a Belgian club lifted the trophy, doing so after getting the better of Pilgrims in the final in a thrilling 6–5 win after extra-time . Notably, Pilgrims never scored less than 5 goals per match, trashing

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948-517: A third consecutive season, Union Saint-Gilloise became the definitive holders of the cup. A new trophy was created, the Coupe Jean Dupuich . The new cup was offered by Adolphe Dupuich and named in memory of his deceased son Jean, a forward at Léopold CB , after his name. Royale Union Saint-Gilloise Royale Union Saint-Gilloise [y.njɔ̃ sɛ̃.ʒil.waz] , commonly referred to as Union Saint-Gilloise and abbreviated as RUSG ,

1027-552: Is a Belgian professional football club originally located in the municipality of Saint-Gilles , in Brussels , although since the 1920s, it has been based at the Joseph Marien Stadium in the neighbouring municipality of Forest . The club is one of the most successful in the history of Belgian football. The club won eleven Belgian championships between 1904 and 1935, making it the most successful Belgian club before World War II , but fell into decline after relegation from

1106-447: The Belgian First Division A , marking their first appearance in top-flight football in 48 years. The following year, they finished top of the table at the end of the regular season, the first club in Belgian history to do so the season after promotion to the top flight. Union would go on to finish second in the champions play off, securing Champions League qualification for the first time ever in club history, and after being eliminated in

1185-879: The UEFA Champions League at the hands of Rangers after a 2–0 "home" win at OH Leuven 's Den Dreef stadium and a 3–0 loss at Ibrox , Union dropped into the UEFA Europa League and won their group, earning four victories from their six games against Union Berlin , Braga and Malmö . A last-16 reunion with Union Berlin saw the Brussels club draw 3–3 away in Berlin, and win their "home" return 3–0 at Anderlecht's Lotto Park . The quarter-finals had them paired with another Bundesliga side in Bayer Leverkusen , who defeated them 5–2 on aggregate (1–1 away, 1–4 home). Domestically, Union continued their remarkable form from

1264-530: The "half-points" rule, as Union had needed their tally from the regular season rounded-up. Club Brugge won the midweek return 1–0 at the Jan Breydel through a rebounded own goal from goalkeeper Anthony Moris to take a three-point lead with two games to go. A late equaliser from Casper Nielsen was disallowed by VAR for offside. Club Brugge clinched the league crown in their next (and penultimate) game against Royal Antwerp, despite Union beating Anderlecht for

1343-416: The 1900–01 season, only featured teams from Vienna , so the 7–0 win by Cricket over Wiener FC 1898 on 21 November 1897 may not be regarded as the first ever truly international club final, and neither Cricket, the first ever international club champions. This cup tournament was held annually in Belgium from 1900 to 1907, but in 1908 this competition was replaced by the Coupe Jean Dupuich , which ran until

1422-505: The 22 players decide to keep the draw until the end and both are given as the winner, with each team receiving a decreased trophy. The twelfth and last edition of the Coupe Jean Dupuich was won by Union Saint-Gilloise after beating Feyenoord Rotterdam 1–0 in the semi-finals and then St Albans 2–0 in the final. Another notable result was the semi-finals between St Albans and Entente bruxelloise ( Brussels agreement), which ended in

1501-721: The Belgian Promotion division, the fourth tier. In the sixties, Union began to struggle, bouncing between the First and Second Division several times. In 1973, the club dropped out of the First Division and would not return for 48 years. Two years later in 1975, would come another relegation to the Third Division for the first time. Union bounced back to the Second Division after just one season, but an even bigger decline followed at

1580-466: The Coupe Jean Dupuich was a Belgian-English affair with each nation having two clubs each, and it was the English who once again dominated the competition, with Ilford F.C. beating the then Belgian powerhouse Union Saint-Gilloise (3–1), while the two-time winners Bishop Auckland managed to beat Daring Club in a thrilling 5–4 win, hence keeping alive their hopes of winning the cup for the third consecutive time, however, they failed to do so as they lost

1659-470: The English team Old Xaverians with a hard-fought 3–2 win, while Racing de Bruxelles comfortably defeated Preussen Berlin by a resounding score of 8–0. This meant that the Union players were more tired when they played the final on the following day, which might have the reason behind Racing's 1–0 win. The second edition of the Coupe Jean Dupuich saw only Belgian and English teams participate, and one of each reached

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1738-563: The Fairs Cup in the 1950s and 60s. After going into first place in October, Union were top for 200 consecutive days. Having been voted Belgian Coach of the Year, Mazzu departed for cross-town rivals Anderlecht and was replaced by his assistant Karel Geraerts . Anderlecht's move meant they had to pay Union compensation, sparking ill-feeling between the two Brussels clubs, Despite an early exit from

1817-618: The First Division in 1973. The Apaches took part in the first European competitions, the Challenge International du Nord , the Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz and the Coupe Jean Dupuich between 1898 and 1925. The team colours are blue and yellow and its matricule is 10. The team was traditionally popular with the working-class communities of central Brussels (the Marolles) and southern Brussels. On 13 March 2021, after defeating local rivals R.W.D. Molenbeek , Union were promoted back to

1896-598: The Fourth Division, earning Union a reprieve via a play-off, which they won 1–0 against RFC de Liege. Union went on to finish a creditable third in the 2014–15 Belgian Third Division , but again would prosper from other clubs’ problems, as the top two of Cappellen and Sprimont Comblain Sport both passed up applying for a Second Division licence, so Union were promoted in their place. On 21 May 2018, Tony Bloom , chairman of English Premier League side, Brighton & Hove Albion

1975-518: The Netherlands sent a selection Team from Dutch clubs, naming the selection team Dijxhoorn XI, which was mostly made up of players from H.B.S. ) such as Vic Gonsalves , Frans de Bruijn Kops and Toine van Renterghem . The French newspaper Le Matin described this tournament as the Coupe Léopold FC . In the semifinals on 20 April, the Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise was able to knock out

2054-572: The Opening Tournament which concluded at Christmas, and regrouped to take third behind Beerschot Wilrijk in the Closing Tournament. Despite not reaching the final, Union's reward was to be given one of the three places allocated for Division 1B teams in Play-Offs 2 , for the right to compete for a place in the UEFA Europa League . Placed in a group of six with every other opponent being from

2133-581: The Pro League trophy being flown via helicopter to the Joseph Marien Stadium. However, three late goals from Club Brugge - two in stoppage-time - and a late Antwerp equaliser from Toby Alderweireld sent the crown Antwerp's way. Union's second consecutive title-race collapse saw them drop to third place which qualified them to the Europa League play-off round . Owing to a third-place finish in

2212-620: The Union Saint-Gilloise finished top scorers in the Belgian Second Division [REDACTED] Dante Vanzeir / [REDACTED] Georges Mikautadze - RFC Seraing ( 29 Goals ) A player from the Union Saint-Gilloise finishes top scorers in the Europa League 2022-2023 [REDACTED] Victor Boniface / [REDACTED] Marcus Rashford - [REDACTED] Manchester United ( 6 Goals ) Union Saint-Gilloise went 58 years between appearances in European competitions, entering

2291-421: The board of directors, and the club suffered another relegation to the Third Division. Bove returned as chairman in 2010 with the backing of new Italian sponsors, but Union's prospects on the pitch continued to suffer, and in 2012–13, finished 17th out of 19 clubs in the Third Division B, inside the relegation zone. However, KVK Tienen were found guilty of making irregular payments and were automatically relegated to

2370-468: The champions, Club Brugge. Union attract supporters primarily from the Brussels region, especially from the south of the Belgian capital. Their ultras are known as the Union Bhoys, and attend in the all-standing Tribune Est . The Union Bhoys have friendships with RFC Liège and Cercle Brugge supporters. Union's supporters promote anti-fascist ideals. Union share a Brussels city derby, also known as

2449-456: The competition was by far the most international one since it had clubs from 5 different countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, France, England, and the debutants Germany, whose representative was Dortmund FC. France sent Racing Club de Roubaix (they had participated in the 1902 edition), the 1906 Champions of France , and this time the French did not forfeit , but nevertheless, they still went out in

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2528-534: The competition, the cup remained known as the Coupe Jean Dupuich, and its eight edition in 1920 counted with two Belgians clubs and one each from France and England . The semi-finals between Daring Club de Bruxelles and US Tourquennoise set a CJD all-time record for the highest scoring match with a total of 13 goals, as the Belgians trashed the French with a resounding 10–3 win. The third-place match then broke that same record when Middlessex League of England trashed

2607-507: The end of the 1970s, back-to-back relegations seeing Union fall from the Second Division to the Fourth in successive years. The club rallied in the mid-80s to earn back-to-back promotions back up to the Second Division, claiming the Fourth Division crown in 1983 and the Third the following season. But no further progress could be made and Union would move between the second and third flights for close on

2686-436: The end their place was taken by Beerschot . All the matches were held at Antwerp ( Beerschot 's ground) and Brussels ( Léopold and Racing 's ground such as Vivier d'Oie and Uccle). The sixth edition of the competition was contested by four Belgian clubs, two Dutch clubs, and two English clubs, the latter's two representants being both debutants, East Sheen F.C. and Notts Magdala F.C. , and they were both eliminated in

2765-446: The final 0–1 to Ilford. The fifth edition of the competition witnessed Union Saint-Gilloise return to its prime, beating the current winners Ilford F.C. with a shocking 6–1 trashing, thus retributing Ilford's courtesy of the previous tournament, and then they defeated fellow Belgian Daring Club de Bruxelles 1–0. The sixth edition of the Coupe Jean Dupuich was won by Union Saint-Gilloise after two 3–2 wins over 1. FC Nürnberg in

2844-453: The final, in which Racing Club de Bruxelles once again lost, this time 2–3 to Bishop Auckland . The third edition of the Coupe Jean Dupuich saw only four teams compete, including the defending winners Bishop Auckland and Bromley F.C. from England, both of which reached the final after beating H.V.V. and "Select Bruxelles" respectively. Both semi-finals were close affairs, with Bromley beating H.V.V. by 2 goals to 1, while Bishop Auckland

2923-480: The first "European" Cup competitions that took place, prior to officially sanctioned UEFA competitions. Between 1958 and 1965, the club had a brief spell of European success, playing in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and reaching the semi-finals in the 1958–60 edition after a two-legged victory against A.S. Roma . In 1963, however, the club was relegated to the second division, and in 1980 even fell as low as

3002-476: The first derby between the two teams in the championship, Union beat Anderlecht 3–1. In January 2022, in their first home game against Anderlecht in the championship since their relegation in 1972, Union completed a league double over Anderlecht, defeating them 1–0. During the Champions Playoffs at the end of the 2021–22 season, they again defeated Anderlecht twice, first with a 3–1 home victory and again with

3081-454: The first round after a 3–5 loss to Hampstead F.C. , who was participating in the competition for the first time. In the semi-finals, Hampstead knocked out the three-time winners Racing Club de Bruxelles (3–1) and then met the two-time winners Union Saint-Gilloise in the final, who at the time had quite possibly one of the best teams in whole Europe, having just won the Belgian championship for

3160-411: The first round saw both Belgian clubs being defeated in front of their own people, and to add salt to injury, they both lost to Dutch clubs, which then reached the final held on 16 April 1900. In the final, the reigning Dutch champions H.V.V. lost to R.A.P. (1–2), who had also beaten the champions of Belgium and Switzerland on their way to lifting the trophy, which means that R.A.P. played and defeated

3239-416: The first round, and England sent Pilgrims F.C. , which was a combination of Belgian (such as the goalkeeper Grisar) and English players (from various English cities, and some of them active in Belgium, such as Herbert Potts of Beerschot ) formed on the occasion of this tournament. The Belgian clubs were left humiliated once again, going out of the tournament with 2–8, 1–4 and 4–0 defeats. Pilgrims FC took

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3318-485: The first round. Both semi-finals were a Belgian-Dutch affair, and both ended with a Belgian victory, thus setting an all-Belgian final for the second consecutive season, and again between Union Saint-Gilloise and Racing Club de Bruxelles . The latter had won the previous final 3–2, but this time it was Union who got the better of their rivals with a comfortable 5–1 victory, thus winning the Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz for

3397-498: The first time. The seventh edition of the competition saw Union Saint-Gilloise and Racing Club de Bruxelles proving to be the strongest teams in the Low Countries by reaching the final of the tournament for a third consecutive season. Union was at the peak of its golden age which won six out of seven national championships between 1904 and 1910, but Racing strongly contested their bid for supremacy and managed to hold them to

3476-466: The fourth consecutive season. Saint-Gilloise had trashed Dortmund FC with a resounding 12–0 win in the first round and then comfortably got past the semi-finals with a 4–0 win. However, despite the clear superiority of the Belgs, Hampstead was able to compete head-to-head with them, and in the end, they lost by a goal (0–1). Union Saint-Gilloise thus lifted the trophy for a third consecutive season meant invoking

3555-455: The fourth time in the season 2–0 at Lotto Park . Eventually, Union finished four points down on Club in second place, with 46 points compared to Club's 50, historically qualifying Union for the UEFA Champions League . League glory for Union would have seen them become the first newly promoted side to win a top-20 European national league championship at the first attempt since Kaiserslautern 's 1998 Bundesliga success. During their run for

3634-424: The last edition was played in 1925. Five countries sent their best teams to the 1908 edition, with the hosts Belgium sending three clubs, Léopold FC , and former Coupe Ponthoz champions Union Saint-Gilloise and Racing Club de Bruxelles . Germany sent two teams Preussen Berlin and Preußen Duisburg , while the remaining three nations sent one team each, US Tourquennoise of France, Old Xaverians of England and

3713-656: The last season, Union entered in the playoff round of the Europa League . There, they faced FC Lugano and won, qualifying for the Europa League group stage for the second consecutive season. In the group, they were drawn with Liverpool , Toulouse and LASK . They would finish third in the group, but they secured some great results like their 2–1 win over Liverpool. In the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout round playoffs, they were drawn against Eintracht Frankfurt . The first leg finished 2–2, but they won

3792-455: The latter was a Prague selection, which faced a Brussels selection in the semi-finals, which ended in a 4–1 win to the hosts. In the other semi-final clash, Darling defeated FC Dordrecht 5–0, thus reaching their fourth consecutive final after having previously lost in 1920 and 1922, and won in 1923. The final was thus an all-Belgium affair and it ended in a 1–1 draw, a result that remained unaltered even after two prologantions were played, so

3871-403: The likes of Daring Club de Bruxelles (6–0), Olympia Club de Bruxelles (8–1), and Union Saint-Gilloise (6–1) on their road to the final, and then scoring 5 goals in the final itself as well, but somehow that was still not enough to lift the trophy for a consecutive time. Another notable result was a 10-goal thriller between Royal Léopold FC and D.F.C. , ending in a 7–3 to the latter. This

3950-515: The local newspapers at that time dubbed the tournament the club championship of the continent . Thus, the winners of the first edition, R.A.P. from the Netherlands, might be considered the first ever continental European Champions, although this title is also contested by Vienna Cricket and Football-Club , who were the winners of the first Challenge Cup in 1897, a competition between clubs in Austria-Hungary . However, this tournament up until

4029-535: The mid-20s. Besides Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland, clubs from England and France also participated in the competition. Just as the Challenge Cup is seen as the predecessor to the Mitropa Cup , established in 1927, the Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz is seen as the predecessor to the European Cup , established in 1955. All matches of the first edition were held at Léopold FC 's ground in Brussels , and

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4108-447: The next four decades. Promotion back to the Second Division in 2004 saw two subsequent seasons of battling against relegation, but the 2006–07 started brightly and promotion back to the First Division was a prospect until a poor climax to their campaign post-Christmas, leading to the sacking of coach Tshupula Kande, replaced by Alex Czerniatynski. In May 2007, long-standing chairman Enrico Bove resigned along with several other members of

4187-487: The play-offs strongly, beating Anderlecht 3–1 and thus becoming the first club ever to inflict three defeats on the Mauves in the same league season. A 0–0 draw away to Antwerp saw the lead over Club Brugge maintained at three points. The title race swung in the direction of Bruges in back-to-back games between Union and Club, with the champions earning a tight 2–0 win in Brussels to draw level on points, with Club going top under

4266-512: The previous season's top four, Union beat Anderlecht, Genk and Royal Antwerp , drawing 0–0 away to Club Brugge. By the end of the regular season, Union were top on 77 points, five ahead of Club Brugge, with Antwerp and Anderlecht also qualifying for the six rounds of play-offs, where the quartet would bring forward half of the regular season points into the play-offs. Hence, Union would resume on 39, Club 36, with Anderlecht and Antwerp both on 32. On 10 April 2022, during their first season back in

4345-453: The quarter-finals by the eventual champions H.B.S. , who won the tournament with only two goals scored and none conceded, beating Racing Club de Bruxelles 1–0 in the final. This tournament was also wrapped up in controversy. The semi-final between H.V.V. and Racing Club was stopped after the former withdrew with the score at 2-2, claiming that they were discontent with the refereeing who was allowing too much foul play. The controversy raised

4424-425: The question of whether should be an “independent body for the management of football competitions”. The exchange of ideas and letters that followed were important elements in the foundation of FIFA in 1904. In 1902, the competition was expanded and saw the inclusion of a French and an English club for the first time, France sent Racing Club de Roubaix , the 1902 Champions of France , although they forfeited in

4503-542: The right to keep the cup rule, Saint-Gilloise became the definitive holders of the Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz trophy. The success of the first edition led to the introduction of the Coupe Vanden Abeele in Antwerp in the following year, originally intended as an international club tournament as well, but eventually the starting point for the Low Countries derby . After winning the Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz for

4582-419: The same French team 15–1. The final was thus an all-Belgian affair in which Racing Club / Léopold FC defeated Daring Club 3–2. The ninth edition of the Coupe Jean Dupuich saw another all-Belgian final between Racing Club / Léopold FC and Daring Club , which ended with the same winner, but this time with a 2–1 win. The tenth edition of this competition was marked by the return of Union Saint-Gilloise , who

4661-522: The season before, lying second heading into the final round of the Belgian Pro League regular season and reaching the Belgian Cup semi-finals, only to lose to Royal Antwerp on penalties. Union reached the final day of the title play-offs in second place on 46 points, with leaders Antwerp also on 46, top by virtue of finishing in first place at the end of the regular season. Third-placers Genk were

4740-512: The second leg in Frankfurt 2–1 to win 4–3 on aggregate and qualify for the round of 16 where they lost to Fenerbahce . Following their 2–0 away win over OH Leuven on 2 March 2024, Union mathematically became the regular season champions for the second time in three seasons, as they had an 8-point lead over city rivals Anderlecht with only two regular season matchdays to go. On 9 May 2024, Union won their first Cup title after 110 years, following

4819-486: The semi-finals and Barking F.C. in the final, thus winning the competition for the second time in a row. The seventh edition of the Coupe Jean Dupuich saw Union Saint-Gilloise and Daring Club being the Belgian representatives once more, and again they reached the final which was again won by Saint-Gilloise (3–1), who lifted the trophy for the third time in a row, thus repeating the feat they had accomplished between 1906 and 1908 with Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz . This

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4898-419: The semi-finals, Léopold and D.F.C. faced each other in a friendly in honor of Prince Albert of Belgium , ending in a 3–1 win for Léopold. The fifth edition of this cup saw Racing Club de Bruxelles become the first club in the competition's history to retain the title after beating fellow Belgians Union Saint-Gilloise 3–2 in the final. The title-holders Pilgrims F.C. , was part of the original draw, but in

4977-480: The third qualifying round, reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League . The club was founded in 1897 and obtained its first of eleven titles as Champion of Belgium in 1904. From 1933 to 1935 the team played 60 consecutive matches undefeated, setting a still unbeaten record in Belgium, winning three league titles in a row across that period led by captain Jules Pappaert . With its first national title barely

5056-496: The three reigning champions of the only existing leagues in continental Europe at the time. HVV led for most of the match, but two late goals from RAP's Jan van den Berg and Julius Hisgen made up for an epic turnaround. The second edition brought together only Belgian and Dutch clubs, and the title holders R.A.P. started off the tournament as they had left it: By surprising everyone, this time with an 11–2 trashing of Athletic & Running Club , but they were then knocked out in

5135-497: The title, coach Felice Mazzu gained a reputation for dancing in front of Union's fans post-match, cited as keeping a light atmosphere within the club and maintaining a close relationship with the Union fans. Union's runners-up spot qualified them for the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, sending them into European football for the first time since 1964–65, and their first UEFA competition after featuring in five editions of

5214-417: The top division since 1973, being edged out 1–0 through a late Eduard Sobol winner. Union went top of the Pro League on 17 October 2021, passing previous leaders Eupen by virtue of a 4–1 win over Seraing , and would remain there until May. Due to the novelty of being crowned unofficial winter champions , Union were awarded a special trophy by the newspaper HLN. In a difficult January run against all of

5293-460: The top division, USG went unbeaten at home, beating Kortrijk , Waasland-Beveren and Cercle Brugge , drawing with Zulte Waregem and Excel Mouscron . Away wins over Kortrijk, Mouscron and Cercle put them in with a big chance of winning the group to qualify for the Play-Offs 2 Final, but losses away to Waasland-Beveren and Zulte Waregem saw them overtaken by Kortrijk right at the end. The Kerels finished on 24 points, Union 20. With Elsner taking up

5372-413: The top flight in 48 years, Union Saint-Gilloise finished the regular season in first place after a draw against last place Beerschot . The match was abandoned after 83 minutes, after Beerschot fans threw flares onto the pitch. Union were later awarded three points due to forfeit. This was the first time that a newly promoted club finished top of the table in the history of the Belgian league. Union started

5451-428: The top flight since 1972. Due to restrictions at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic , Union fans were not able to celebrate their promotion at the stadium. A sensational return to top-flight football after 48 years away saw a 3–1 opening-day win away to Brussels' traditional giants Anderlecht. Union in their next match a week later hosted reigning champions Club Brugge on 1 August 2021 in their first home game in

5530-489: The top of Division 1B in 2018–19, which that season was divided into South American-style "opening" and "closing" competitions, framed in the "apertura and clausura" style seen in many countries in the Americas. The winner of each competition would qualify for the promotion play-off final, with automatic promotion being the incentive for a club to try and win both competitions. Union were second behind Mechelen by six points in

5609-416: The trophy to London after beating D.F.C. 4–2 in the final. The holders Pilgrims F.C. reprised their participation in order to defend the title, and just like in the previous year, they consisted of a combination of Belgian (such as their right back Friling) and English players from various English cities, and some of them active in Belgium (such as Herbert Potts of Beerschot). In addition to Pilgrims,

5688-496: The two have met even fewer times in the modern era than RWDM and Union have. This is arguably Union's fiercest derby, with many fans considering it to be the most important match of the season. They met for the first time since 1979 in the Belgian Cup in 2018, with Union stunning Anderlecht 3–0 at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium . In 2021, Union were promoted to the First Division for the first time in 49 years. In

5767-557: Was Maidstone's fourth tour in the Low Countries after having previously faced an Holland XI side in 1894 and 1895 in Heemstede , and FC Brugge in 1901. After being knocked out from the Coupe, they played a friendly match against Léopold, who had also been eliminated in the first round, winning comfortably by 4–0. They played and won a further two friendlies against SC Courtraisien and FC Brugge before returning to England. On 13 April, after

5846-477: Was also the first tournament in the competition's history that had a third-place play-off, with the losing semi-finalists, South Bank F.C. of England and VfB Leipzig of Germany, facing off for bronze, being the former who came out as 5–0 winners. Even though the competition's six-year hiatus due to World War I and the Union Saint-Gilloise three successive wins perfectly set up a second name change for

5925-596: Was confirmed as the majority shareholder. Current Union chairman Alex Muzio was a co-investor with Tony Bloom in 2018. On 7 July 2023 Alex Muzio was confirmed as having become the majority owner of Union. Promoted from the third tier in 2015, Union quickly established themselves as a top-six side in Division 1B, without becoming a top-3 side. A change of coach in May 2018 saw Marc Grosjean replaced after three years of finishing 6th, 4th and 6th by Luka Elsner , with Union contesting at

6004-519: Was contested by 8 teams from 5 countries, Belgium , the Netherlands , France , England , and Germany . Only the first 2 editions of the tournament had a quarterfinal round, from 1910 onwards only the semifinals and final were played. The tournament was held annually from 1908 until 1914 when it had to be stopped because of the outbreak of the First World War . The competition was revived in 1920 and

6083-412: Was held to a 2–2 draw by a Select Bruxelles, and it remained tied after 2x7.5 and 2x5 minutes of extra-time , thus forcing a replay which was played in the following day, and since the final would take place later that day, the game was scheduled to last only 2x15 minutes, and Bishop won 1–0. In the final Bishop secured another 1–0 win to lift the trophy for the second time in a row. The fourth edition of

6162-443: Was named in honor of the donator of the trophy Carl van der Straten-Ponthoz It was invented in 1900 at the instigation of Count van der Straten-Ponthoz, who offered the cup to the winners of an international tournament held in Brussels featuring six teams, including the champions of Belgium ( Racing Club ), the Netherlands ( H.V.V. ) and Switzerland ( Grasshopper Club ). As these were the only existing leagues in continental Europe,

6241-481: Was way past its prime and ended up being knocked out in the semi-finals by Feyenoord Rotterdam , who thus become the first-ever non-Belgian and non-English team to reach the final of the Coupe Jean Dupuich, although they lost it to Daring Club de Bruxelles (2–0). The eleventh edition of the Jean Dupuich was contested by two teams from Belgium and one each from the Netherlands and Czechoslovakia. The representative of

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