 | ||||
| Full name | Royal Antwerp Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | The Great Old, The Reds | |||
| Founded | 1880; 145 years ago (1880) | |||
| Ground | Bosuilstadion | |||
| Capacity | 21,000[1] | |||
| Owner | Paul Gheysens [nl] | |||
| Chairman | Paul Gheysens | |||
| Head coach | vacant | |||
| League | Belgian Pro League | |||
| 2024–25 | Belgian Pro League, 5th of 16 | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to asRoyal Antwerp or simplyAntwerp) is a Belgian professionalfootball club based in the city ofAntwerp. They compete in theBelgian Pro League, the top flight ofBelgian football. Founded in 1880, Royal Antwerp is considered to be the oldest football club in Belgium.
The team has won theBelgian league title five times and theBelgian Cup four times, including adouble in 2022–23. In European competitions, it reached the final of theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup in1992–93 and qualified for the Group stage ofUEFA Champions League for the first time in 2023.
The club's home colours are red and white and, since 1923, they have played their home games atBosuilstadion in theDeurne district of Antwerp.
 | This articleappears to beslanted towards recent events. Please try to keep recent events in historical perspective andadd more content related to non-recent events.(August 2025) |
TheAntwerp Football and Cricket Club was founded in 1880 by British workers based in Antwerp,[2] 15 years before the creation of theRoyal Belgian Football Association; Antwerp is regarded as the oldest club in Belgium.[3] Initially focused oncricket and general athletic activities, the club did not establish organized football until 1887 when the football division was founded with its own board, namedAntwerp Football Club. Being the oldest active club at the time, it was the first club to register to the Association in 1895. Consequently, whenmatricule numbers were introduced in 1926, the club received matricule number one.[4][5]
In 1900, most of the players left the club for the new neighbouring club ofBeerschot A.C., becoming the start of a long rivalry between both clubs.Royal Antwerp made history by becoming the most recentBelgian team to reach a European final when they advanced to the1993 European Cup Winners’ Cup Final. FacingParma atLondon’sWembley Stadium on 12 May 1993, Antwerp's strikerFrancis Severeyns equalized early, but the Belgians ultimately succumbed to a 3–1 defeat.[6][7][8]
Royal Antwerp had a long-term partnership with theEnglish clubManchester United, taking their young players on loan so that their development can be aided with first team football, and young players who require European work-permits can benefit from Belgium's more relaxed laws.[9] An example of the latter wasChina internationalDong Fangzhuo, who was unable to play for United immediately due to work permit problems and was loaned to allow him to gain first team experience.[10]
Despite being one of Belgium's best-supported clubs, Antwerp had been under-achievers during the early 21st century. They earned promotion to the top flight in 2000, only to suffer relegation again in 2004. After 13 years in the second tier, they returned to theFirst Division A in 2017, securing a 5–2 aggregate victory overRoeselare in the promotion playoff.[11][12][13]
After achieving promotion back to the top flight, the club appointed experienced Romanian managerLászló Bölöni, and demoted his predecessorWim De Decker to assistant.[14] In his second season,2018–19, the club qualified for theUEFA Europa League, their first European competition for the first time in 25 years. They won 3–2 in the playoff final againstCharleroi, who had led 2–0 after 12 minutes.[15] Their European campaign began with a win overViktoria Plzeň on theaway goals rule in the third qualifying round, followed by a 5–2 loss toAZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands in the playoff.[16]
In May 2020, Bölöni left at the end of his contract.[17] Four months later, under coachIvan Leko, Antwerp captured their first major trophy in nearly 30 years by defeatingClub Brugge 1–0 in the2020 Belgian Cup final.Israel'sLior Refaelov, a former Brugge player, scored the decisive goal.[18]Ivan Leko led the team through theEuropa League group stage in second place with four wins including one overJosé Mourinho'sTottenham Hotspur;[19] he left forShanghai Port at the end of 2020.[13][20][21]
FormerNetherlands internationalMark van Bommel was appointed manager in May 2022.[22][23] He brought in several compatriots, includingVincent Janssen, who scored the first goal of a 2–0 win over neighboursMechelen in the2023 Belgian Cup final.[24]
The crowning moment of the revival came on 4 June 2023, when captainToby Alderweireld scored a 94th-minute equalizer in a 2–2 draw atGenk. The dramatic goal secured Antwerp’s first national championship in 66 years; ending a title drought since 1957.[25][26][27]
Antwerp entered new territory on 30 August 2023, qualifying for theUEFA Champions League group stage for the first time ever. They sealed the achievement by overcomingAEK Athens 3–1 on aggregate in the playoff round, withMichel‑Ange Balikwisha scoring late inAthens to send the club into thecompetition proper.[28][29][30]
Antwerp’s maidenUEFA Champions League group stage in 2023–24 ended a dry campaign with a historic 3–2 victory overBarcelona at theBosuilstadion, marking their first-ever win in the competition.[31][32] They finished bottom of Group H that season. On the domestic front, they placed 6th in thePro League and were beaten finalists in theBelgian Cup, losing 1–0 toUnion Saint‑Gilloise in May 2024.[33]
Royal Antwerp have played their home matches at theBosuilstadion since 1923.[34]
Royal Antwerp share a fierce rivalry with city neighboursBeerschot A.C. (nowK Beerschot VA). Although in the 2000s–2010s the two clubs have met sparingly, when they do, there is usually fan violence.[35] Royal Antwerp are often seen as a culture club with a diverse, cross-class support across the city while Beerschot have either heavily working class or upper class support, locally based in South Antwerp.[36] Beerschot supporters often refer to RAFC fans as "joden" or "Jews" as the RAFC fans must pass through the Jewish district to arrive at Antwerp's stadium, while Great Old supporters refer to Beerschot followers as "the rats".[citation needed]
| Season | Division | Royal Antwerp vs K Beerschot VAC | K Beerschot VAC vs Royal Antwerp | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Venue | Score | Attendance | Date | Venue | Score | Attendance | |||
| 1976–77 | First Division | 28 November 1976 | Bosuilstadion | 2 – 1 | 26 November 1977 | Olympisch Stadion | 2 – 0 | |||
| 1977–78 | First Division | 15 April 1978 | Bosuilstadion | 0 – 0 | 26 November 1977 | Olympisch Stadion | 4 – 2 | |||
| 1978–79 | First Division | 10 December 1978 | Bosuilstadion | 2 – 2 | 20 May 1979 | Olympisch Stadion | 0 – 3 | |||
| 1979–80 | First Division | 20 January 1980 | Bosuilstadion | 1 – 1 | 15 September 1979 | Olympisch Stadion | 1 – 1 | |||
| 1980–81 | First Division | 5 October 1980 | Bosuilstadion | 3 – 2 | 13 February 1981 | Olympisch Stadion | 0 – 1 | |||
| 1982–83 | First Division | 28 November 1982 | Bosuilstadion | 2 – 1 | 9 April 1983 | Olympisch Stadion | 0 – 1 | |||
| 1983–84 | First Division | 15 October 1983 | Bosuilstadion | 0 – 1 | 18 February 1984 | Olympisch Stadion | 1 – 4 | |||
| 1984–85 | First Division | 17 April 1985 | Bosuilstadion | 3 – 1 | 8 September 1984 | Olympisch Stadion | 2 – 0 | |||
| 1985–86 | First Division | 20 October 1985 | Bosuilstadion | 2 – 2 | 15 March 1986 | Olympisch Stadion | 0 – 0 | |||
| 1986–87 | First Division | 15 February 1987 | Bosuilstadion | 1 – 1 | 13 September 1986 | Olympisch Stadion | 0 – 0 | |||
| 1987–88 | First Division | 4 October 1987 | Bosuilstadion | 2 – 1 | 19 March 1988 | Olympisch Stadion | 0 – 2 | |||
| 1988–89 | First Division | 25 February 1989 | Bosuilstadion | 4 – 1 | 2 September 1988 | Olympisch Stadion | 5 – 1 | |||
| 1989–90 | First Division | 17 February 1990 | Bosuilstadion | 4 – 0 | 16 September 1989 | Olympisch Stadion | 1 – 1 | |||
| 1990–91 | First Division | 7 October 1990 | Bosuilstadion | 3 – 0 | 23 March 1991 | Olympisch Stadion | 1 – 2 | |||
| Season | Division | Royal Antwerp vs K Beerschot VA | K Beerschot VA vs Royal Antwerp | |||||||
| Date | Venue | Score | Attendance | Date | Venue | Score | Attendance | |||
| 2017–18 | Europa League playoff | 15 April 2018 | Bosuilstadion | 2 – 0 | 14,194 | 29 April 2018 | Olympisch Stadion | 0 – 0 | 8,600 | |
| 2020–21 | First Division A | 25 October 2020 | Bosuilstadion | 3 – 2 | 0 | 7 February 2021 | Olympisch Stadion | 1 – 2 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | First Division A | Bosuilstadion | 2 – 1 | 16,144 | 5 December 2021 | Olympisch Stadion | 0 – 1 | 11,000 | ||
| 2024–25 | Pro League | 29 September 2024 | Bosuilstadion | 5 – 0 | 16,430 | |||||
RAFC also have developed a long-standing rivalry withClub Brugge.[37] They also have a local rivalry withKV Mechelen, although there is mutual respect due to a shared hatred of Beerschot.[38]
The best football players of Antwerp and Rotterdam contested a yearly match between 1909 and 1959 for the Meuse- and Scheldt Cup (Maas- en Schelde Beker). It was agreed to play the game at Antwerp's stadium De Bosuil in Belgium and atSparta Rotterdam's Het Kasteel stadium in theNetherlands. The cup was provided in 1909 by P. Havenith from Antwerp and Kees van Hasselt from Rotterdam.
| Type | Competition | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | Belgian First Division | 5 | |
| Belgian Second Division | 2 | 1999–2000,2016–17 | |
| Belgian Cup | 4 | ||
| Belgian Super Cup | 1 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Vacant |
| Assistant coach |  John StegemanJürgen DirkxEgid Kiesouw |
| Goalkeeping coach | Brian Vandenbussche |
| Fitness coach | Peter Catteeuw |
| Match analyst | Jerry Vanacker |
| Physiotherapist | Jan Vandenhouten |
| Technical director | Marc Overmars |
This is a list of former players acquired on-loan via Manchester United's partnership with Royal Antwerp from 1998 to 2013.
Jamie Wood
Dong Fangzhuo
Hussein Yasser
Fraizer CampbellLuke ChadwickJohn CofieJimmy DavisSylvan Ebanks-BlakeAdam EckersleyDavid FoxLuke GiverinColin HeathTom HeatonKirk HiltonEddie JohnsonRitchie JonesMichael LeaLee MartinPaul RachubkaRyan ShawcrossDanny SimpsonAlan TateRonnie WallworkNeil Wood
Arthur Gómez
Danny Higginbotham
Darron GibsonJohn O'SheaGyliano van Velzen
Craig CathcartJonny Evans
Phil BardsleyDavid Gray
Souleymane Mamam(in Dutch)
Media related toRoyal Antwerp FC at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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