BELGIUM: R Wavre Sports (1923-1988) / Racing Jet Wavre (1988-2018) / Wavre Sports FC (2018-2020) / R Wavre Limal (2021-2022)

Stade Justin Peeters, Waver = Wavre (R Wavre Limal, formerly R Wavre Sports / Racing Jet Wavre / Wavre Sports FC)

Belgium, province: Walloon Brabant

2 IV 2010 / Racing Jet Wavre - RFC Sérésien 3-1 / National League 4D (= BE level 4)

30 III 2022 / R Wavre Limal - RCS Brainois B 2-2 / Brabant, ACFF Provincial League 2B (= BE level 7)

Note 1: Footballing history in the town of Wavre began in 1920 with the foundation of Wavre Sports (matricule 79); although sources are conflicting, it seems the club settled down at the ground later renamed Stade Justin Peeters (Justin Peeters being a socialist politician and mayor of Wavre between 1953 and 1976) in 1923. The club acquired the royal epithet in 1960, just prior to a period of relative success with sixteen seasons of national league football in Divisions 3-4 (1962-68 & 1969-79). In 1988, the club concluded a merger with R Union Limaloise, forming R Wavre Limal - and moving away to Limal's Stade Martineau and its training pitches at Rue Charles Jaumotte. This coincided with the arrival in Wavre of another club, Racing Jet de Bruxelles (matricule 4549), which had been formed in 1970 as a merger of R Stade de Bruxelles (matricule 281) and Racing Club de Jette (matricule 4549). For the first seventeen years of its existence, Racing Jet de Bruxelles played at Laeken's Annexe Heysel - eventually climbing up to National League 1, where it played for three seasons (1984-85, 1986-88). When the club were invited to settle down in Wavre by that town's council in 1988, the logical decision was taken to change the name to Racing Jet Wavre. Wavre's town council modernised the ground with a new grandstand, facing the much smaller old version. Racing Jet Wavre's first seasons were spent in National Division 2 (1988-92), upon which a slow descent down the league ladders ensued in the following decades. In 2018, Racing Jet Wavre changed their name to become Wavre Sports FC, in an apparent attempt at reviving the old R Wavre Sports, but, burdened by heavy debts, the club had to cease all activities in the summer of 2020. Meanwhile, in Limal, R Wavre Limal were forced out of Stade Martineau, destined to make way for housing. Wavre's town council invited the club to take Wavre Sports FC's place at Stade Justin Peeters, initially at its side pitches, leaving the stadium itself unused, but using the main pitch for first team football in the 2021-22 season. In the near future, the club are due to move to a new, smaller stadium on the side pitches of the Centre Sportif Justin Peeters, while the stadium itself, after being in use by various football clubs for nearly a century, will be turned into Belgium's national field hockey stadium.

Note 2: Below, a compilation of photos of three different visits: pictures 1, 5-10, 18, 23, 35 & 37 = match visit, April 2010 / pictures 2, 11-13 & 15-17 = non-matchday visit, December 2021 / pictures 3-4, 14, 19-22, 24-34, 36 & 38-42 = match visit, March 2022.