Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, abbreviated to Union SG, unofficially simply called Union, is a Belgian football club originally located in the municipality of Saint-Gilles, in Brussels, although since the 1920s it has been based at the Stade Joseph Marien in the neighbouring municipality of Forest. The club is one of the most successful in the history of Belgian football, but currently plays in the second division. The club won eleven Belgian championships between 1904 and 1935, making it the most successful Belgian club before World War II. The team colours are blue and yellow and its matricule is the n°10. The team is traditionally popular with the Flemish- and French-speaking natives of Brussels and both the French and the Flemish speaking free universities.
History
The club was founded in 1897 and obtained its first of eleven titles as Champion of Belgium in 1904. From 1933 to 1935 the team played 60 consecutive matches undefeated, setting a still unbeaten record in Belgium. In the early 1900s the club also had a dominant spell in some of the very first "European" Cup competitions that took place, prior to officially sanctioned UEFA competitions. Between 1958 and 1965 the club had a brief spell of European success, playing the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and reaching the semi-finals in the 1958–60 edition after a two legged victory against A.S. Roma. In 1963, however, the club was relegated to the second division, and in 1980 even fell as low as the Belgian Promotion division. On 21 May 2018, Tony Bloom, chairman of English Premier League side, Brighton & Hove Albion was confirmed as the majority shareholder. Alex Muzio, the Chairman of Union, was a co-investor with Tony Bloom in 2018 and holds a minority interest in the club.
Supporters and Rivalries
Union attract supporters primarily from the Brussels region, especially from the South of the Belgian capital. Their ultras are known as the Union Bhoys, and sit in the all-standing Tribune Est. The Union Bhoys have friendships with RFC Liège and Cercle Bruges supporters. Union share a Brussels city derby, also known as a "derby of the :fr:Zwanze|Zwanze" with Racing White Daring Molenbeek, which stems from their old rivalry with Daring Club Brussels, that has been encapsulated in the Brussels play Bossemans et Coppenolle. However, the two are said to have a love-hate relationship, having both experienced financial difficulty in the modern era, and organised friendlies together in support. Union also have a rivalry with neighbour RSC Anderlecht, although the two have met even fewer times in the modern era than RWDM and Union have. They met for the first time since 1979 in the Belgian Cup in 2018, with Union stunning Anderlecht 0–3 at the Stade Constant Vandenstock.
