Sporting Charleroi
Full nameRoyal Charleroi Sporting Club
Nickname(s)Les Zèbres (The Zebras),
Les Carolos
Founded1 January 1904 (1904-01-01)
GroundStade du Pays de Charleroi
Capacity15,000[1]
ChairmanFabien Debecq[2]
Managing DirectorMehdi Bayat
ManagerFelice Mazzù
LeagueBelgian First Division A
2022–23Belgian First Division A, 9th
WebsiteClub website

Royal Charleroi Sporting Club, often simply known as Charleroi or Sporting Charleroi, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Charleroi, in the province of Hainaut. Charleroi plays in the Belgian Pro League and their current spell at the highest level in Belgian football has started in the 2012–13 season. Charleroi was founded in 1904 and they first reached the first division in 1947–48. Their highest finish was runner-up in the 1968–69 season. They have also twice reached the Belgian Cup final, losing in 1977–78 to Beveren and in 1992–93 to Standard Liège.

Sporting Charleroi have a long-standing rivalry with their crosstown rival ROC de Charleroi-Marchienne, currently playing in the third division. Charleroi play their home matches at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi, which was refurbished for the UEFA Euro 2000. The stadium hosted 3 group stage games in the Euro 2000 among which the 1–0 victory of England against Germany. Charleroi have been recruiting several French players in recent years, including Michaël Ciani, Cyril Théréau and goalkeeper Bertrand Laquait.

History

Charleroi Sporting Club was founded in 1904 and they received the matricule n°22. Twenty years after their foundation, they qualified to play in the Promotion (then the second level in Belgian football) and in 1929, the club changed its name to Royal Charleroi Sporting Club. Rivals from Olympic Charleroi were playing in the first division in the late 1930s and the 1940s, while Sporting Charleroi was playing one level down, until they promoted in 1947. In 1949, Sporting Charleroi finished 4th (2 points behind Standard Liège) whereas Olympic Charleroi was 14th. But Olympic took the lead again until 1955 and their relegation to the second division. At the end of the 1956–57 season, Olympic Charleroi had promoted to the first division but Sporting Charleroi finished last in the first division and was thus relegated to the second division. A spell of 9 seasons in the second division followed and in 1966–67 Sporting Charleroi was back at the top level. They finished at the second place in 1968–69 5 points behind Standard Liège but within two years they were relegated again.

In 1974 the first division was changing from 16 to 20 teams and Sporting Charleroi was chosen to play at the top level. Olympic Charleroi promoted too as they had won the second division right before but they remained at the top level for just one season. Sporting underwent a new relegation in 1979–80 (17th on 18) but was back five years later. Their best result since then in the first division is a 4th place in 1993–94. In September 2005, the G-14 took FIFA to court over the eight-month injury incurred by Abdelmajid Oulmers whilst on international duty with Morocco.

Colours and badge

Characters Boule et Bill as Charleroi-supporters

The colours of Charleroi are black and white with a shirt generally striped, which led to the team being nicknamed The Zebras.

Stadium

The actual ground was baptized in 1939 with a match Sporting-Union du Centre and it was located near the coal mine named Mambourg. In 1985 the stadium was slightly modernized as the club had qualified for the first division. It was then heavily renewed in the late 1990s in view of the 2000 European Football Championship. The name changed on 24 May 1999 from Stade du Mambourg to Stade du Pays de Charleroi. During the tournament, the full capacity of the stadium was up to 30,000 seats. The Stade du Pays de Charleroi hosted notably the match between Germany and England. The highest stand was eventually reduced and the capacity is now 15,000.[3]

Honours

European record

Overview

Correct as of May 2016

Competition Played W D L GF GA
UEFA Cup 2 1 0 1 2 3
UEFA Intertoto Cup 10 3 3 4 11 11
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 4 3 0 1 8 5
UEFA Europa League 4 2 0 2 9 7
TOTAL 20 9 3 8 30 26

Matches

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1R Croatia Zagreb 2–1 3–1 5–2
2R France FC Rouen 3–1 0–2 3–3(a)
1994–95 UEFA Cup 1R Romania Rapid București 2–1 0–2 2–3
1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 10 Israel Beitar Jerusalem 1–0 3rd
Turkey Bursaspor 0–2
Slovakia FC Košice 2–3
England Wimbledon 3–0
1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 4 Denmark Silkeborg IF 2–4 3rd
Wales Conwy United 0–0
Poland Zagłębie Lubin 0–0
Austria SV Ried 3–1
2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup 2R Finland Tampere United 0–0 0–1 0–1
2015–16 UEFA Europa League 2Q Israel Beitar Jerusalem 5–1 4–1 9–2
3Q Ukraine Zorya Luhansk 0–2 0–3 0–5
2020–21 UEFA Europa League 3Q Serbia Partizan 2–1 (aet)
PO Poland Lech Poznań 1–2

Current squad

As of 31 August 2023[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK France FRA Pierre Patron
2 DF Denmark DEN Jonas Bager
3 DF Switzerland SUI Stefan Knezevic
4 DF Belgium BEL Jules Van Cleemput
5 DF Togo TOG Loïc Bessilé
6 MF Algeria ALG Adem Zorgane
7 FW Belgium BEL Isaac Mbenza
8 MF Ivory Coast CIV Parfait Guiagon
9 FW State of Palestine PLE Oday Dabbagh
10 FW Senegal SEN Youssouph Badji
12 GK Belgium BEL Nicolas Closset
15 DF Norway NOR Vetle Dragsnes
16 GK Burkina Faso BFA Hervé Koffi
17 FW Belgium BEL Antoine Bernier
18 MF Belgium BEL Daan Heymans
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW Serbia SRB Nikola Štulić
21 DF Cyprus CYP Stelios Andreou
22 MF France FRA Adrien Trebel
25 MF France FRA Damien Marcq
26 MF Madagascar MAD Marco Ilaimaharitra (captain)
27 DF Belgium BEL Roméo Monticelli
28 FW Belgium BEL Ken Nkuba
29 MF Slovenia SVN Žan Rogelj
32 DF Belgium BEL Mehdi Boukamir
42 MF Belgium BEL Thomas Lutte
44 MF Japan JPN Ryota Morioka
45 FW Algeria ALG Ahmed Nadhir Benbouali
55 GK Belgium BEL Martin Delavallée
66 DF Nigeria NGA Valentine Ozornwafor
88 FW Belgium BEL Mitchy Ntelo

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF Belgium BEL Martin Wasinski (at Kortrijk until 30 June 2024)
MF Belgium BEL Jackson Tchatchoua (at Hellas Verona until 30 June 2024)

Club officials

Position Staff
PresidentBelgium Fabien Debecq
Chief commercial officerBelgium Walter Chardon
Managing directorFrance Mehdi Bayat
ManagerBelgium Felice Mazzù
Assistant managerBelgium Rudi Cossey
Belgium Frank Defays
Goalkeeper coachFrance Cédric Berthelin
Fitness coachBelgium Frédéric Renotte
Strength & conditioning coachEngland James Dickinson
England Jordan Chenge
Video analystBelgium Nicolas Still
Data analystFrance Baptiste Henry
Head physioBelgium Benjamin Tubiermont
DoctorFrance Dr.Julien Tricot
PhysiotherapistBelgium Lilian Scarlata
Belgium Tristan Blyckaerts
Belgium Frédéric Vanbelle
MassagetherapistNetherlands Karim Oudalha
Head of educationBelgium Christophe Dessy
KitmanFrance Pierre-Yves Bonhivers
DelegateBelgium Arnaud Charlier

Coaches

References

  1. Het Stade du Pays de Charleroi sporting-charleroi.be (last check 30 March 2018)
  2. "Fabien Debecq nouveau président du Sporting de Charleroi". RTL Sport. RTL Belux S.A. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  3. Het Stade du Pays de Charleroi sporting-charleroi.be (last check 30 March 2018)
  4. "Équipes | RCSC". R. Charleroi S.C. - Web Oficial. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
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