Francs Borains

The Francs Borains that plays now traces its line back to SC de Boussu-Bois, formed in 1922.

That paperwork matters more here than it usually does. In 2014 the club sold the one it had held since 1922 — number 167 — and bought 5192 from Charleroi Fleurus. The trade cost it the older number but returned the name Francs Borains.

The title on the honours board came without a final whistle. In 2019/20 the side was top of the Belgian Second Amateur Division with 52 points from 24 matches when the pandemic stopped the season; the standings were ratified and the promotion held. Three seasons later, on 14 May 2023, a third-place finish in Belgian National Division 1 was enough to secure a place in the Challenger Pro League, the second tier, from 2023/24 onwards. Before any of that, in 2016/17, the club had come through the third-tier play-off round past Tournai and Jeunesse Aischoise.

Among the players who arrived with the climb, Jérémy Huyghebaert stayed on after his playing days to take charge of the squad as manager — a Mouscron product who ended up running the club he had defended for.

Home is the Stade Robert Urbain, on the edge of Boussu, where the green and white gave the side the nickname it still answers to. Second-division football in a town of the Borinage is a recent arrangement, and the ground was built for something smaller.