TheRoyal Belgian Football Association (RBFA;Dutch:Koninklijke Belgische Voetbalbond;French:Union royale belge des sociétés de football association;German:Königlicher Belgischer Fußballverband) is the governing body offootball inBelgium. It was a founding member ofFIFA in 1904 andUEFA in 1954 and was based inBrussels, not far from theKing Baudouin Stadium. Since October 2021, the headquarters of the RBFA are located in Tubize, next to its technical centre. Its chairman isRobert Huygens [nl].
From the 2012–13 through 2014–15 seasons, the federation partnered with itsDutch counterpart to operate a joint national league, theBeNe League. The two federations dissolved the joint league and reestablished their own top-level women's leagues.
Each year, the executive committee of the Belgian FA honours deserving people with awards.[6]
These include (highest award first):
Grand Order of the Baron de Laveleye, as of 2015 only given to five people (including former chairmen)
Gold Medal, for honorary members serving 10 years
Honorary Member, to certain international referees and chairmen (typically 40 years of service)
Emeritus Member, to certain referees and chairmen (typically 30 years of service)
Association Medal of Honour, to certain referees and chairmen (typically 20 years of service)
Medal of Recognition, mostly given to national football team players with 35 caps, but also to players with 20 caps whose career stopped after injury and people who have performed an exceptional service to the RBFA.
In the summer of 1986, whenthe national men's A-selection reached the semifinals of theWorld Cup in Mexico, the football team started the project Casa Hogar under impulse of RBFA delegation responsibleMichel D'Hooghe. This is a home for street children in the industrialMexican cityToluca, to which the football players donated part of their tournament bonuses. During 25 years, the RBFA stayed committed with this project and helped 500 children to meals and education.[7]
