Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each, who primarily use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport.
Guy Jean-Leonard Thys was a Belgian football manager, mostly known for being the most successful manager in the history of the Belgium national football team as he managed to lead the national side to their only UEFA European Championship final in 1980 and a fourth–place finish at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
Jan Anna Gumaar Ceulemans is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as midfielder. A prolific goalscorer, Ceulemans was known for his stamina, aerial ability, technique and was also recognized as one of the greatest Belgium footballers of all time. He was also known for his power, imposing frame and natural authority.
The Belgium national football team has officially represented Belgium in men's international football since their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in Europe by UEFA—both of which were co-founded by the Belgian team's supervising body, the Royal Belgian Football Association. Periods of regular Belgian representation at the highest international level, from 1920 to 1938, from 1980 to 2002 and again from 2014 onwards, have alternated with mostly unsuccessful qualification rounds. Most of Belgium's home matches are played at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.
The Belgian Cup is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed to partake. As of 1964, the Belgian Cup has been organised annually. Since the 2015–16 edition, the Belgian Cup is called the Croky Cup, for sponsorship purposes. The final traditionally takes place at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.
François Vercauteren, nicknamed "The Little Prince", is a Belgian former footballer who played as a left winger. He is currently the sports director of the Royal Belgian Football Association.
Wesley Sonck is a Belgian professional football manager and former player who manages the Belgium U19 national team. He played as a striker for Molenbeek, Ninove, Germinal Ekeren, Germinal Beerschot, Genk, Ajax, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Club Brugge. He was capped by Belgium at international level.
Eric Van Meir is a Belgian football manager and former player who played as a defender.
Hypoliet Geraard van den Bosch, nicknamed Poly, was a Belgian football player who finished top scorer of the Belgian League in 1954 while playing for R.S.C. Anderlecht. He played 8 times with the Belgium national team between 1953 and 1957. "Poly" made his international debut on 22 November 1953 in a 2–2 friendly draw against Switzerland and he scored twice. Van den Bosch was in the team for the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
The following are the association football events of the year 1955 throughout the world.
Howard Melton Webb MBE is an English former professional football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League from 2003 to 2014, as well as for FIFA as a FIFA international referee from 2005 to 2014.
Koen Casteels is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Pro League club Al-Qadsiah and the Belgium national team.
This is a list of the Belgium national football team's results from 1890 to the present day that, for various reasons, are not accorded the status of official internationals.
Julie Biesmans is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for OH Leuven in the Belgian Women's Super League.
The Belgian Division 2, commonly referred to as simply Tweede Afdeling or Division 2 is the fourth-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian National Division 1. It was created by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 2016, replacing the Belgian Third Division and named Belgian Second Amateur Division until the 2019–20 before it was renamed due to the negative connotation of the word amateur. The division consists of three separate leagues with 16 teams each, two of these leagues consist of teams playing with a license from the Voetbalfederatie Vlaanderen and one with teams with a license from the Association des Clubs Francophones de Football.
The Belgian Division 3, commonly referred to as simply Derde Afdeling or Division 3 is the fifth-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Division 2. It was created by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 2016 as a new layer at the fifth level of the league system, at that time named Belgian Third Amateur Division. From the 2020–21 season on it was renamed to Belgian Division 3, due to the negative connotation of the word amateur. The division consists of four separate leagues with 16 teams each, two of these leagues consist of teams playing with a license from the Voetbalfederatie Vlaanderen and two with teams with a license from the Association des Clubs Francophones de Football.
Royal Knokke Football Club is a Belgian association football club based in Knokke, West Flanders. The club currently play in the Belgian National Division 1, the third tier of Belgian football.
Amber Tysiak is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Women's Super League club West Ham United and the Belgium national team.
The 2023 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship was the 20th edition of the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, the annual international youth football championship organised by UEFA for the women's under-19 national teams of Europe. Belgium hosted the tournament on 18–30 July. It was the first women's final tournament held in Belgium. A total of eight teams played in the tournament, with players born on or after 1 January 2004 eligible to participate.
