The historical Belgian club built its own futsal section after merging with Halle Gooik with the goal of being one of the best squads in Europe
Futsal seems that, step by step, is overcoming borders and opening up new markets. In the shadow of countries with a long futsal tradition like Brazil, Spain or Portugal, new countries are looking for sportive and business opportunities in our sport. Asia, with Japan and Iran as main references; the appearances of Argentina and Paraguay in a region dominated, since its beginnings, by Brazil; and the impulse of Central Europe countries in a sport led by the Portugal-Spain binomial.
In the latter case, projects with great support, such as that of the RSC Anderlecht, are fundamental to provide the necessary continuity for the implementation of a sport that is unknown in many parts of our beloved continent. Under the guidance of Lieven Baert, an experienced professional in the sector, the Belgian club decided in 2022 to promote a futsal section. The club from the city of Anderlecht, founded in 1908 as a soccer club, began the process of merging with Halle Gooik, a club with a lot of international experience, with the aim of consolidating itself as one of the reference clubs at European level. Obviously, with the structural, business, financial and communicative support of RSC Anderlecht, the Belgian team has confirmed itself as the best club in the country and achieved a historic milestone last season.
The qualification for the F4 of the UEFA Futsal Champions League, eliminating Barça, marked a before and after in European futsal. RSC Anderlecht booked their ticket to the finals, overthrowing the total and absolute domination of Portuguese, Spanish and Russian clubs. It also opened a window of light for the European entities that, little by little, are betting on futsal. The section, directed by Lieven Baert, wants to move away from sporadic triumphs like the French ACCS Futsal or the Hungarian Gyor ETO and build a stable project that allows opening new European markets.
