Royal Antwerp FC, nicknamed "The Great Old", was founded in 1880 as Antwerp Cricket Club, making it the oldest professional football club in Belgium. A football department was added in 1887. Since 1926, the club has carried matricule number 1 with the KBVB.
Since 1923, Antwerp has played at the iconic Bosuil Stadium in Deurne, which holds around 16,144 spectators. The stadium has undergone several renovations, including between 2017 and 2021, with a modernised main stand and updated facilities.
Sportingly, the club endured long droughts: league titles came in 1929, 1931, 1944, and 1957, followed by nearly 66 years without a title. The turning point came in 2023: under coach Mark van Bommel, Antwerp won the Belgian Cup and, for the first time since 1957, the national championship—thanks to a dramatic last-minute equaliser by Toby Alderweireld against Genk.
On the European stage, the club also made waves. In 1993, they lost the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final to Parma, and in 2023 they reached the Champions League group stage for the first time.
Since 2016, Royal Antwerp FC, as Belgium’s oldest football club, has been a member of the Club of Pioneers—an international network of the oldest active clubs in each country, founded to preserve football heritage.
Sources. Story: ['Source Story: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Antwerp_FC', 'Source Story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Antwerp_F.C.', 'Source Story: https://www.clubofpioneers.com/members'] Photos: Source Photo: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
