R.A.A. Louviéroise

The club was founded on 26 January 1913 during a meeting at the Place Maugrétout in La Louvière. It was named AA Louviéroise. After one season in a provincial league, the football stopped due to the War. The club did not play official matches until 1921 as it had no stadium. Between 1921 and 1937 Louviéroise played in the provincial leagues. In 1937 the club changed its name to RAA Louviéroise and it reached the Promotion. The next year a Belgian international player (namely August Hellemans who played in the 1930 World Cup) was transferred at La Louvière.

The club had its first spell in the first division between 1977 and 1979. In 1984 it was relegated to the third division and it played at that level for 10 years. Between 1994 and 2000 it played in the second division. In 2003, after winning the Belgian Cup, they qualify for the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. They played the first round against Benfica, drawing at home 1-1, but losing by one goal in the away game (1–0). This marked the end of their only European journey. In 2006 the club was one of the most frequently mentioned in a gambling scandal that rocked Belgian football. It was alleged in the Belgian press that several players, board members and manager Gilbert Bodart had accepted large sums of money from Chinese businessman Zheyun Ye, who wanted to influence the results in matches so he could manufacture high profits in gambling. At first the club strongly denied the allegations, but on 21…

Belgian Cup: Winners (1): 2002–03 Belgian Supercup: Runners-up (1): 2003 Belgian Second Division final round: Winners (3): 1975, 1977, 2000