 | |
| Full name | Royal Albert Élisabeth Club de Mons |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Les Dragons (The Dragons) L'Albert (The Albert) |
| Founded | 11 April 1910; 115 years ago (1910-04-11) |
| Dissolved | 26 May 2015; 10 years ago (26 May 2015) |
| Ground | Stade Charles Tondreau, Mons,Hainaut Province |
| Capacity | 8,000 |
| 7th (Relegated fromBelgian Second Division) |
Royal Albert Élisabeth Club de Mons, commonly known asR.A.E.C. Mons or simplyMons, was a Belgianfootball club based inMons,Hainaut. Founded in 1910, the club played its home matches atStade Charles Tondreau throughout its existence. Known asl'Albert and nicknamedthe Dragons—after the city'sDucasse de Mons (theDoudou)—Mons spent much of its history in the second and third tiers ofBelgian football.
Mons first reached the top flight in 2002 and would have three spells in thefirst division before suffering relegation in 2014. Financial problems led the club to file for bankruptcy; on 31 March 2015 it was placed into liquidation and ceased operations at the end of the2014–15 season, which it finished seventh in the second tier.
In 2020, asuccessor club was launched by local stakeholders under the nameRenaissance Mons 44; it later adopted the historic nameR.A.E.C. Mons.
There were originally severalassociation football clubs inMons. Club Amateur Sportif was founded in 1905 as a member of the UBSSA (Union Belge des Sociétés de Sports Athlétiques), with the club colors being red and white. This club later changed its name to Cercle des Sport de Mons and settled on Avenue du Tir. Another club was Stade Montois with the colors blue and white. This club merged in May 1910 with Cercle des Sports de Mons, Nimy-Sportif and Olympique de Mons and continued as Olympique Mons. There was also Racing Club Mons. In 1913, Racing Club Mons merged with Olympic Mons.[1]
In 1909, René Tondreau, Maurice Van Pel, Henri Lebailly and Fernand Courtois decided to form a new club. Following the example ofLéopold Club de Bruxelles, they also wanted to take the name of thereigning Belgian monarch. The admission to the name Albert-Elisabeth Club de Mons, which referred to the marriage ofAlbert I of Belgium andElisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Belgium, was requested from King Albert I, and was officially given on 18 May 1910 by letter from theRoyal Palace. The club became a member of theRoyal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) on 17 June 1910 and receivedmatricule number 44.[1] In May 1910, the lease was signed for one hectare of land along Avenue du Tir, on the site of the current stadium, and on 25 September 1910, it was opened in front of 300 spectators. The new club played in the blue and white colours of the royal family until September 1920, which then became red and white, the colours of the city of Mons.[1]
AfterWorld War I, in 1919, Mons appeared for the first time inBelgian Second Division, but suffered relegation again after two seasons. In 1923, AEC Mons and FC Baudoir merged. Eventually the name changed in 1934 to Royal Albert Elisabeth Club Mons orR.A.E.C. Mons. During the following decades, the club mainly competed in the second and third tiers ofBelgian football. In 1988, the club Royale Union Jemappes-Flénu (matricule number 136) was merged into Mons. The RAEC name and matricule number were retained.[1]
However, around the turn of the millennium, the club succeeded in making a rise through the divisions. In 2000, Mons finished at the top of their series in theThird Division, with as many points asHeusden-Zolder. The decisive play-off match between the two clubs ended 3–3, with Mons promoting back to the Second Division after winning 4–3 in the subsequent penalty shootout.[2] In the Second Division, Mons immediately managed to qualify for the final play-off round in their first season, but eventually failed to promote again. The following season, 2001–02, was a major success. Mons qualified for the final play-off round again, won, and thus promoted to the Belgian top-tierFirst Division for the first time in club history in 2002.[3][4] Mons relegated again in 2005, but bounced back after one season down.
Philippe Saint-Jean was hired as the new head coach for the 2008–09 season.[5] He resigned after one match-day for medical reasons and was succeeded byThierry Pister. In December 2008, Pister was fired after poor results and succeeded by youth coach Christophe Dessy, who was also immediately promoted to the role of manager.[6] At the end of that season, they again relegated to the Second Division. Dessy stepped down andRudi Cossey became head coach, until his resignation in November 2009.[7] SuccessorGeert Broeckaert was later also replaced.[8] DutchmanDennis van Wijk took over and guided Mons to the First Division again in 2011 via the final play-off round.[9] In February 2012, Van Wijk was dismissed again after he himself had announced that he did not want to renew his contract.[10]Enzo Scifo was appointed as new head coach and guided the club to the semi-finals of the play-offs in the remaining games.[11]
In the 2013–14 season, RAEC Mons was heading for relegation play-offs the entire season, and eventually finished last in the league table. In the subsequent play-offs, the club relegated to the Second Division again.[12]
On 23 June 2020, the president ofRoyal Albert Quevy-Mons Hubert Ewbank launched the project for the renaissance ofcurrent RAEC Mons and announced that the name of the club would be changed to theRenaissance Albert Élisabeth Club de Mons 44 and he also announced that Frédéric Herpoel becomes the sports president of the club.
Jules Henriet (1956–1959)Pieter Van Den Bosch (1960–1962)Pierre Hanon (1973–1975)Thierry Pister (30 June 2000 – 30 November 2001)Michel Wintacq (2002 – April 2002)Marc Grosjean (April 2002 – 31 August 2003)
Sergio Brio (2003 – 5 October 2004)Michel Wintacq(interim) (5 October 2004 – 11 October 2004)Jos Daerden (11 October 2004 – 25 April 2005)Michel Wintacq(interim) (25 April 2005 – 6 June 2005)José Riga (6 June 2005 – 28 January 2008)
Albert Cartier (28 January 2008 – 30 June 2008)Phillipe Saint-Jean (1 July 2008 – 21 August 2008)Thierry Pister (21 August 2008 – 4 December 2008)Rudi Cossey(Interim) (2008)Christophe Dessy (4 December 2008 – 30 June 2009)Rudi Cossey(Interim) (1 July 2009 – 23 November 2009)Geert Broeckaert (1 July 2009 – 24 January 2011)
Dennis Van Wijk (25 January 2011 – 27 February 2012)Enzo Scifo (28 February 2012 – 26 September 2013)
Čedomir Janevski (27 September 2013 – 2014)Didier Beugnies (2014–2015)