Football in Belgium - Women's Football

Women's Football

Both the Belgian FA and several regional amateur football leagues run a league for women. The league operated by the Belgian FA consists of 3 nationwide levels, with several levels per province below. The Belgian FA started to organise women's football in the early seventies, due to the UEFA obligating every member FA to organise leagues for women as well as for men. In the beginning the Belgian FA disencouraged women to play football and advised them to opt for sports such as volley ball. The first season only existing clubs (with male teams) could enrol a female team in the league. As popularity of women's football grew and more and more teams wanted to play in the league, the Belgian FA dropped the above rule and accepted new clubs to affiliate who only focussed on ladies' football. These clubs are assigned matricule numbers just like any other club, and meanwhile women's football is fully integrated in the Belgian football. That said, the league is not professional as yet (only a few female players have been full-time professionals) and the national team is amongst the weaker teams in Europe due to other countries such as Germany, Norway, Sweden having fully professional women's leagues. Clubs who have been successful in past or present in Belgian women's football include Brussels Dames '71 (currently the women's team of RSC Anderlecht), Rapide Wezemaal, Astro Begijnendijk, Eva's Kumtich, Sinaai Girls, Standard Fémina Liège, Dames Eendracht Aalst (previously tied to the club KSC Eendracht Aalst which was also successful in men's football). Plans exist to develop a new super league where existing clubs with professional men's teams would enrole a women's team. While this new league is not launched yet, several famous clubs have already created a women's team, such as Club Brugge, Lierse SK, Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen, and St-Truidense VV.