Royal Antwerp Football Club is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. The club was founded around 1880 as Antwerp Cricket Club by English students residing in Antwerp, 15 years before the creation of the Royal Belgian Football Association; Antwerp is regarded as the oldest club in Belgium. At first there was no organised football played by its members, until 1887 when the football division was founded with its own board, named Antwerp Football Club. Being the oldest active club at the time, it was the first club to register to the Association in 1895. Consequently, when matricule numbers were introduced in 1926, the club received matricule number one.
Karel Geraerts is a Belgian former footballer and head coach, most recently at Schalke 04.
Lior Refaelov is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or as a winger for Israeli club Maccabi Haifa.
Wouter Vrancken is a Belgian football manager and a former defensive midfielder. He is the head coach of Gent after previous making his name at KV Mechelen and Genk.
Colin Maurice Coosemans is a Belgian professional football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Anderlecht.
The 2012–13 season was Oud-Heverlee Leuven's 11th competitive season in professional football. It was their second season in the Belgian Pro League. A promising start by OH Leuven and a 5-match winning streak in October resulted in a third place after 13 matchdays, but thereafter the team dropped in the standings to finally end 10th. In the playoffs, OH Leuven won their group but then lost the playoff final to Gent. In the Belgian Cup, OHL immediately lost their first match just like the previous season, this time going out to Oostende.
The 2013–14 season was Oud-Heverlee Leuven's 12th competitive season in professional football and the team's third season in the Belgian Pro League. After struggling the whole season, OH Leuven ended 15th in the league and was forced to play the relegation playoffs against Mons. They did get past Mons but were eventually relegated as they did not manage to win the Belgian Second Division final round. OH Leuven also had a mediocre cup run, struggling past Belgian Second Division team Visé before falling 3-0 to Gent.
Jordi Vanlerberghe is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for Danish Superliga club Brøndby.
Bryan Heynen is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Belgian club Genk. He plays as a midfielder.
Louis Verstraete is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League club Auckland FC.
The 2018–19 Belgian First Division A was the 116th season of top-tier football in Belgium.
Jean Butez is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Belgian Pro League club Antwerp.
The 2019 Belgian Cup final, named Croky Cup after the sponsor, was the 64th Belgian Cup final and took place on 1 May 2019 between Gent and KV Mechelen. KV Mechelen was the first team from outside the top division to qualify for the cup final since the 2001 Belgian Cup Final when Belgian Second Division champions Lommel lost to Westerlo. KV Mechelen won the cup by two goals to one.
The 2019–20 Belgian First Division A was the 117th season of top-tier football in Belgium.
The 2020–21 Belgian First Division A was the 118th season of top-tier football in Belgium. As part of a proposal by the Jupiler Pro League's board of directors accepted by the General Assembly on 15 May 2020, the 2020–21 season would involve shortened playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the top four teams would play for the title, while teams five through eight would play for the remaining ticket into Europe. The league fixtures were announced on 8 July 2020. Club Brugge successfully defended their title from the previous season, finishing level on points in the title play-offs with Racing Genk, as regular season runners-up Royal Antwerp's challenge faded.
The 2021–22 Belgian Pro League was the 119th season of top-flight football in Belgium. Club Brugge completed their first league Championship hat-trick since the 1970s by edging out long-time leaders Union Saint-Gilloise, who had led for 200 days until losing twice to Club in the title play-offs. Had Union achieved their unlikely success, they would have been the first newly promoted side to win the Belgian League, and the first to claim a top-20 ranked European league since FC Kaiserslautern's 1997–98 Bundesliga triumph in Germany.
The 2020–21 season was the 117th season in the existence of Royal Antwerp F.C. and the club's fourth consecutive season in the top flight of Belgian football. In addition to the domestic league, Antwerp participated in this season's editions of the Belgian Cup, of which they were the reigning champions, the Belgian Super Cup and participated in the UEFA Europa League. The season covered the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.
The 2022–23 Belgian Pro League was the 120th season of top-tier football in Belgium. Royal Antwerp were crowned league champions for the first time in 66 years after pipping Genk and Union St-Gilloise on the final day, the first occasion since 1999 that three clubs were still contending the title going in the final match. All three Championship chasers were in the virtual lead in the table at different stages across the final five minutes before Toby Alderweireld's title-clinching goal.
Arthur Denis Vermeeren is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, on loan from La Liga club Atlético Madrid, and the Belgium national team.
