Football rivalries in Belgium

This is a list of the main association football rivalries in Belgium.

National rivalries

Tifo of Standard supporters addressed to their ex-player Steven Defour, then player of Anderlecht (January 2015).

• The 'Classico': Anderlecht vs. Standard Liège ^[1]
• The Topper: R.S.C. Anderlecht–Club Brugge KV rivalry: Anderlecht vs. Club Brugge.
• The Battle of Flanders : Club Brugge vs. Gent. Named after the Battle of Flanders, a name given to several historic actual battles fought in the region, during World War I. ^[2]
• The Walloon derby: Standard Liège vs. Charleroi ^{[3] [4] [5]} Note that despite being called a derby, these cities are over 80km apart and Charleroi is for instance much closer to Brussels than to Liège. With Charleroi and Liège being two of the most important cities in Wallonia however, this rivalry has received a specific name as The Walloon derby.

City derbies

• Antwerp derby, match to determine the Ploeg van 't Stad: mainly between Antwerp and Beerschot. ^[6] Berchem Sport also has a rich history and featured a lot in the Antwerp derby, but is currently playing in the lower divisions.
• Bruges derby: Club Brugge vs. Cercle Brugge .
• Brussels derby: RWDM Brussels vs. Anderlecht vs. Union SG. ^{[7] [8] [9]} The derby between RWDM and Union SG is called the "Zwanze derby".
• Charleroi derby: Olympic Charleroi vs. Sporting Charleroi.
• Ghent derby: KAA Gent vs. Racing Gent.
• Liège derby: RFC Liège vs. Standard Liège ^{[10] [11]}
• Lier derby: Lierse vs. Lyra ^[12]
• Mechelen derby: KV Mechelen vs. Racing Mechelen ^[13]

Regional derbies

• Wallonia derby: Standard de Liege vs. Royal Charleroi

• Liège Province derby: Standard de Liège vs. Seraing
• Limburg derby: Genk vs. Sint-Truiden ^[14]
• East Flanders Derbies:
  • Gent vs. Sporting Lokeren ^[15] After the bankruptcy of Sporting Lokeren in 2020 there is no derby anymore. ^[16]
  • Waasland Derby: a derby between KSK Beveren vs. Sporting Lokeren. ^{[17] [18] [19]} KSK Beveren temporarily stopped playing with a men's team between 2010 and 2022. Since 2022, it has returned to playing with a men's team in the lower divisions of Belgium.. Lokeren defaulted in 2020 and merged with Temse into Lokeren-Temse. ^[20]
• South West Flanders derby: Zulte-Waregem vs. Kortrijk. ^[21] Used to include Roeselare as well, until it defaulted in 2020. While not in West Flanders but just over the border to Hainaut, Mouscron could also be included due to its very close proximity, especially towards Kortrijk (15 km).
• Antwerp Province derby: Lierse Kempenzonen vs. KV Mechelen ^{[22] [23] [24]}
• Denderstreek derby: Dender vs. Eendracht Aalst ^[25]
• East of Flemish Brabant derby: OH Leuven vs. Tienen.
• The Dijle Derby: between OH Leuven and KV Mechelen, named as such due to both cities located on the Dijle river.

References

1. FIFA.com. "Welcome to FIFA.com News – The Classic: Standard Liege-RSC Anderlecht – FIFA". FIFA. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021.
2. "Une Gantoise séduisante remporte la "Bataille des Flandres" contre un Club Bruges décevant". RTBF . 6 November 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
3. "Derby wallon: le Standard condamne les incidents d'après-match de ses supporters". sudinfo.be. 11 September 2017.
4. Newmedia, R. T. L. (13 February 2018). "Bonne nouvelle pour le Standard avant le derby face à Charleroi". RTL sport.
5. "Charleroi seul en tête après un derby sans but face au Standard". RTBF Sport. 10 September 2017.
6. "Royal Antwerp Football Club – History". Royal Antwerp. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
7. "RWDM-Anderlecht, un derby rempli de nostalgie". Édition digitale de Bruxelles. 21 June 2018.
8. "Football : le derby de la zwanze boycotté par les supporters du RWDM". 30 December 2017.
9. https://www.hln.be/sport/voetbal/belgisch-voetbal/5-000-fans-verbroederen-voor-mythische-brusselse-derby-met-verrassende-score~a4fdf401/.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
10. "RFC LIÈGE : LE GÉANT ENDORMI". SOFOOT.com. 2 July 2017.
11. "Le grand retour du derby Liège-Standard". Édition digitale de Liège. 28 March 2017.
12. Linden, Leo van der (30 July 2009). "Morgen weer stadsderby: Lyra tegen Lierse". Het Nieuwsblad.
13. https://www.hln.be/regio/mechelen/derby-tussen-kvm-en-racing-is-decor-voor-nieuwe-film~a229cfcc/.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
14. News, Flanders (6 August 2018). "Big win for Anderlecht, victory for Club Brugge and a draw in the Limburg derby". vrtnws.be.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
15. https://www.hln.be/sport/voetbal/belgisch-voetbal/jupiler-pro-league/aa-gent-maatje-te-groot-voor-lokeren-in-oost-vlaamse-derby-3-0~a77379b6/.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
16. "Sporting Lokeren goes bust". sporza.be. 20 April 2020.
17. "Lokeren heeft revanche op Waasland-Beveren beet na spectaculaire ommekeer op de Freethiel". Voetbalkrant.com. 26 December 2015.
18. "Lokeren gaat erop en erover in derby". Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
19. "Privacy settings". Hln.be.
20. "Sporting Lokeren goes bust". sporza.be. 20 April 2020.
21. "Kortrijk – Zulte-Waregem 05.03.2016". Ultras-tifo.net.
22. KuGu (29 April 2017). "Streekderby tussen Lierse en KV Mechelen eindigt op scoreloze draw". Gazet van Antwerpen.
23. jtp. "KV Mechelen raakt pas in het slot voorbij Lierse in derby". Het Nieuwsblad.
24. ""Match van het seizoen"? Sfeervolle derby tussen Lierse en Mechelen brengt alles, behalve ..." Voetbalkrant.com. 29 April 2017.
25. "Privacy settings". Hln.be.