In 1900 the Belgian count Carl Van der Straeten Ponthoz offered a cup to the winner of an international tournament. As the champions of all three existing nationwide leagues on the continent (those of Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland) were present in Brussels, newspapers at that time called it the club championship of the continent. Thus, we might consider R.A.P. from Amsterdam (who defeated the champions of all three countries) the first ever continental European club champions.
The success of the first edition led to the introduction of the Coupe Vanden Abeele in Antwerp, originally intended as an international club tournament as well but eventually the starting point for the Derby der Lage Landen.
The second edition, with only the leading teams from Holland and Belgium, ended in a row: H.V.V. left the tournament as they were discontent with the refereeing of their semifinal match against Racing Club de Bruxelles. According to the Dutch the referee allowed too much foul play. The dispute raised the question whether there should be an overall governing body for international matches. This finally led to the foundation of the FIFA in 1904. Another result of the second edition was the Internationale Competitie te Rotterdam om den zilveren voetbal, first held in September 1901.
The tournament was last held in 1907, when Union became the first club to win it three times in succession and were allowed to keep the trophy. It was succeeded by the Coupe Jean Dupuich.
1900 R.A.P. (Amsterdam)
1901 H.B.S. ('s-Gravenhage)
1902 Pilgrims FC
1903 Racing CB (Bruxelles)
1904 Racing CB (Bruxelles)
1905 Union Saint-Gilloise
1906 Union Saint-Gilloise and Racing CB (Bruxelles) [shared]
1907 Union Saint-Gilloise
1900 R.A.P. (Amsterdam) 2-1 H.V.V. ('s-Gravenhage)
1901 H.B.S. ('s-Gravenhage) 1-0 Racing CB (Bruxelles)
1902 Pilgrims FC 4-2 D.F.C. (Dordrecht)
1903 Racing C.B. (Bruxelles) 6-5 Pilgrims FC [aet]
1904 Racing C.B. (Bruxelles) 3-2 Union Saint-Gilloise
1905 Union Saint-Gilloise 5-1 Racing CB (Bruxelles)
1906 Union Saint-Gilloise 2-2 Racing CB (Bruxelles) [aet]
1907 Union Saint-Gilloise 1-0 Hampstead FC
Number of Wins (9, 1 shared; lost finals (7) between square brackets):
3 [ 2] Racing CB (Bruxelles) [one win shared with Union]
3 [ 1] Union Saint-Gilloise [one win shared with Racing CB]
1 [ 1] Pilgrims FC [combination of English and Beerschot players]
1 H.B.S. ('s-Gravenhage)
1 R.A.P. (Amsterdam)
[ 1] D.F.C. (Dordrecht)
[ 1] Hampstead FC
[ 1] H.V.V. ('s-Gravenhage)
NB: first edition; all matches at field of Léopold FC at Chaussée de Waterloo 513;
Austrian and German clubs had also been invited to enter but did not register
for the tournament.
Participants:
Antwerp Daring Club Antwerpen Belgium [withdrew]
Grasshopper Club Zürich Switzerland [1899/00 national champions]
H.V.V. Den Haag Netherlands [1899/00 national champions]
Iris Club Lille France [withdrew]
Léopold Club Bruxelles Belgium
Racing Bruxelles Belgium [1899/00 national champions]
R.A.P. Amsterdam Netherlands [1898/99 national champions]
NB: Antwerp Daring Club (a second level side) withdrew after the draw; they were
to play hosts Léopold in a preliminary round, with the winners meeting H.V.V.
in the first round; they were not replaced;
Iris withdrew after the draw in which they had received a bye in the first
round; they were replaced by "a second first team" of Racing (which, like
the first team, included (the maximum number of) five English players) who
played H.V.V. in the semifinal (a reversal of the original draw, in which
the semifinals were drawn as: Iris against the winners of Racing vs. R.A.P.
and Grasshopper against the winners of Léopold/Antwerp Daring vs. H.V.V.).
First Round [Apr 15]
Racing 1-2 R.A.P. [HT: 0-1]
[1-1 N.N.; 0-1 Van den Berg, 1-2 Kampschreur]
[R.A.P.: L. Koopman; J. van Wijk, C. Potter; J. Glaser, C. Gorter, F. Lieftinck;
G. Zweerts jr., J. Hisgen, J. van den Berg, J. van Son tot Gillicum,
F. Kampschreur; note that Gorter, Van den Berg (both Haarlem) and
Van Son tot Gillicum (Volharding (Amsterdam)) were guest players;
ref: chevalier Paul de Borman (Belgium)]
Léopold 1-8 H.V.V. [HT: 0-4]
[0-1 to 0-4: Pijnacker (1), Sol (3); 0-5 Sol, 0-6 E. Mundt, 1-6 Van Heuckelum,
1-7 Sol, 1-8 Hesselink]
[Léopold: Victor Robijns de Schneidauer; Fahon, N.N.; N.N., Pelgrims, N.N.;
N.N., N.N., Immink, Van Heuckelum, N.N.; Immink (formerly Rapiditas)
and Van Heuckelum (formerly H.B.S.) were Dutch;
H.V.V.: H. von Oven; E. Mundt, A. van Waveren; A. Broese van Groenou, F. Klein,
F. Beukema; Th. Mundt jr., J. Sol, F. Pijnacker Hordijk, W. Hesselink, K. Beukema;
note that E. Mundt (U.D. (Deventer); formerly and afterwards with H.V.V.)
and Van Waveren (H.F.C. (Haarlem)) were guest players]
Grasshopper bye
Iris Club bye (withdrew after draw)
Semifinals [Apr 16]
Racing II 0-3 H.V.V. [HT: 0-0]
[0-1 Pijnacker, 0-2 Pijnacker, 0-3 Pijnacker]
[H.V.V.: H. von Oven; E. Mundt, A. van Waveren; A. Broese van Groenou, F. Klein,
F. Beukema; E. Sol, J. Sol, F. Pijnacker Hordijk, W. Hesselink, K. Beukema;
note that Mundt (U.D. (Deventer); formerly and afterwards with H.V.V.)
and Van Waveren (H.F.C. (Haarlem)) were guest players;
ref: chevalier Paul de Borman (Belgium)]
Grasshopper 2-3 R.A.P. [HT: 2-1]
[0-1 Van den Berg, 1-1 Blijdensteijn, 2-1 Blijdensteijn, 2-2 Kampschreur,
2-3 Van den Berg]
[Grasshopper reportedly included one English player (Chessex, outside left) and
one Dutch player, captain Harry Blijdensteijn;
R.A.P.: L. Koopman; J. van Wijk, C. Potter; J. Glaser, C. Gorter, F. Lieftinck;
G. Zweerts jr., J. Hisgen, J. van den Berg, J. van Son tot Gillicum,
F. Kampschreur; note that Gorter, Van den Berg (both Haarlem) and
Van Son tot Gillicum (Volharding (Amsterdam)) were guest players;
ref: A. Zellekens (Netherlands)]
Final [Apr 17]
R.A.P. 2-1 H.V.V. [HT: 0-0]
[65' 0-1 Koopman (own goal; also credited to Beukema), 80' 1-1 Van den Berg,
85' 2-1 Hisgen; goal minutes are approximate]
[R.A.P.: L. Koopman; J. van Wijk, C. Potter; J. Glaser, C. Gorter, F. Lieftinck;
G. Zweerts jr., J. Hisgen, J. van den Berg, J. van Son tot Gillicum,
F. Kampschreur; note that Gorter, Van den Berg (both Haarlem) and
Van Son tot Gillicum (Volharding (Amsterdam)) were guest players;
H.V.V.: H. von Oven; E. Mundt, A. van Waveren; A. Broese van Groenou, F. Klein,
F. Beukema; W. Coops, J. Sol, F. Pijnacker Hordijk, W. Hesselink, K. Beukema;
note that Mundt (U.D. (Deventer); formerly and afterwards with H.V.V.)
and Van Waveren (H.F.C. (Haarlem)) were guest players;
ref: chevalier Paul de Borman (Belgium) (replaced originally appointed A. Zellekens)]
NB: R.A.P. played and defeated the 1889/00 champions of Belgium, Switzerland and
the Netherlands on three successive days.
Topscorers:
5 John Sol (H.V.V.)
4 Jan van den Berg (R.A.P.; guest player from Haarlem)
F. Pijnacker Hordijk (H.V.V.)
2 Harry Blijdensteijn (Grasshopper Club)
F. Kampschreur (R.A.P.)
NB: after the tournament, Grasshopper played three friendlies in the Netherlands,
albeit without some first choice players who had played in their semifinal:
[Apr 18, Den Haag]
H.V.V. 7-1 Grasshopper [HT: 4-0]
[Apr 19, Leiden]
Ajax (Leiden) 8-1 Grasshopper [HT: 4-1]
[Apr 22, Arnhem]
Vitesse 6-0 Grasshopper [HT: 5-0]
NB: second edition; all matches at field of Léopold FC at Chaussée de Waterloo 513.
Participants:
Athletic & Running Club Bruxelles Belgium
Beerschot A.C. Antwerpen Belgium
Celeritas Rotterdam Netherlands
D.F.C. Dordrecht Netherlands
H.B.S. Den Haag Netherlands
H.V.V. Den Haag Netherlands
Léopold Club Bruxelles Belgium
Racing Club Bruxelles Belgium
R.A.P. Amsterdam Netherlands
Rapiditas Rotterdam Netherlands
Sporting Club Bruxelles Belgium
NB: eventually, Beerschot, Rapiditas and Sporting only played friendlies.
First Round [Apr 6]
Racing 6-1 D.F.C. [HT: 3-0]
Beerschot o/w Celeritas [forfait Beerschot]
Athletic & Running 2-11 R.A.P. [HT: 0-7]
NB: Beerschot arrived late and forfeited the match against Celeritas, but upon
their arrival it was agreed to play a friendly over 2x30 minutes:
Beerschot 1-1 Celeritas [HT: 0-0; match played 2x30 minutes]
Quarterfinals [Apr 7]
Racing 3-1 Celeritas [HT: 2-0]
Sporting o/w Rapiditas [forfait Sporting]
Léopold 3-6 H.V.V. [HT: 3-1]
R.A.P. 0-1 H.B.S. [HT: 0-0]
NB: Sporting forfeited the match against Rapiditas; a friendly over 2x30 minutes
was played instead:
Sporting 0-2 Rapiditas [HT: 0-2; match played 2x30 minutes]
Semifinals [Apr 8]
Racing awd H.V.V. [HT: 2-1; abandoned at 2-2, H.V.V. walked
off; awarded to Racing]
H.B.S. w/o Rapiditas [forfait Rapiditas]
NB: Rapiditas forfeited the match against H.B.S.; a friendly was played instead:
H.B.S. 3-0 Rapiditas [HT: 1-0]
Final [Apr 9]
Racing 0-1 H.B.S. [HT: 0-1]
[K. Douw van der Krap]
NB: third edition; all matches at field of Léopold FC.
Participants:
Daring Bruxelles FC Bruxelles Belgium
D.F.C. Dordrecht Netherlands
H.B.S. Den Haag Netherlands
Léopold Club Bruxelles Belgium
Pilgrims FC Belgium/England
Racing Club Roubaix France [withdrew]
Union Saint-Gilloise Bruxelles Belgium
Voorwaarts Tiel Netherlands [withdrew]
NB: Pilgrims FC was a combination of Belgian (e.g. 'keeper Grisar) and English
players (from various English cities, and some of them active in Belgium,
e.g. Herbert Potts of Beerschot) formed on the occasion of this tournament.
Quarterfinals [Mar 30]
Union Saint-Gilloise 2-8 D.F.C. [HT: 1-6]
Daring 1-4 H.B.S. [HT: 1-3]
Pilgrims w/o Voorwaarts [forfait Voorwaarts]
Léopold w/o Racing (Roubaix) [forfait Racing]
Semifinals [Mar 31]
D.F.C. 2-1 H.B.S. [HT: 0-1]
Léopold 0-4 Pilgrims [HT: 0-0]
Final [Apr 1]
Pilgrims 4-2 D.F.C. [HT: 2-1]
NB: fourth edition; all matches in Brussel (fields Léopold).
Participants:
Athletic & Running Club Bruxelles Belgium
Beerschot A.C. Antwerpen Belgium
Celeritas Rotterdam Netherlands
Daring Club Bruxelles Belgium
D.F.C. Dordrecht Netherlands
H.B.S. Den Haag Netherlands [withdrew]
Léopold Club Bruxelles Belgium
Maidstone CIWFC Maidstone England
Olympia Club Bruxelles Belgium
Pilgrims FC Belgium/England
Racing Club Bruxelles Belgium
Union Saint-Gilloise Bruxelles Belgium
Velocitas Breda Netherlands [withdrew]
NB: full name Maidstone: Maidstone Church Institute Wanderers FC;
Pilgrims FC was a combination of Belgian (e.g. right back Friling) and
English players (from various English cities, and some of them active
in Belgium, e.g. Herbert Potts of Beerschot).
First Round [Apr 11]
Beerschot w/o Velocitas [forfait Velocitas]
Daring 0-6 Pilgrims [HT: 0-1 (also reported 0-2)]
Léopold 3-7 D.F.C. [HT: 1-4]
Olympia 2-1 Celeritas [HT: 1-0]
Racing 1-0 Maidstone [HT: 0-0]
Athletic & Running bye
Union Saint-Gilloise bye
H.B.S. bye
Quarterfinals [Apr 12]
Athletic & Running 5-2 Beerschot
Racing 3-1 D.F.C. [HT: 2-1]
Olympia 1-8 Pilgrims [HT: 1-4]
Union Saint-Gilloise w/o H.B.S. [forfait H.B.S.]
Friendly [Apr 12]
Léopold 0-4 Maidstone
Semifinals [Apr 13]
Racing w/o Athletic & Running [forfait Athletic & Running]
Union Saint-Gilloise 1-6 Pilgrims [HT: 1-1]
Friendly [Apr 13, after semifinal; in honour of Prince Albert of Belgium]
Léopold 3-1 D.F.C. [HT: 1-1]
Final [Apr 14]
Racing 6-5 Pilgrims [aet; HT: 2-1; FT: 5-5]
NB: fifth edition; matches were played in Antwerp (ground Beerschot) and
Brussels (grounds Léopold and Racing (Viviers d'Oie, Uccle)).
Participants:
Athletic & Running Club Bruxelles Belgium
Beerschot A.C. Antwerpen Belgium
Celeritas Rotterdam Netherlands
Daring Club Bruxelles Belgium
D.F.C. Dordrecht Netherlands [withdrew]
H.B.S. Den Haag Netherlands
H.V.V. II Den Haag Netherlands [withdrew]
Léopold Club Bruxelles Belgium
FC Liégeois Liège Belgium
S.A. de Montrouge Paris France [withdrew]
Pilgrims FC Belgium/England [withdrew]
Racing Club Bruxelles Belgium
Union Saint-Gilloise Bruxelles Belgium
NB: Pilgrims had been part of the original draw; their place was taken,
as per earlier agreement, by Beerschot.
First Round
[Apr 2, at Beerschot]
Beerschot w/o H.V.V. II [forfait H.V.V. II]
Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 FC Liégeois
[Apr 2, at Racing]
Athletic & Running w/o D.F.C. [forfait D.F.C.]
Léopold o/w H.B.S. [forfait Léopold]
Celeritas bye
Daring bye
Montrouge bye
Racing bye
NB: Léopold forfeited the match against H.B.S. in order not to compromise
the chances of the latter, as H.B.S. did not have the full first team
available on the first day, but was complete for the second; instead,
a friendly was played (at the Racing ground):
Léopold 4-2 H.B.S. [HT: 2-0]
Quarterfinals
[Apr 3, at Beerschot]
Daring 2-1 Celeritas [aet; HT: 1-0; FT: 1-1]
Racing w/o Montrouge [forfait Montrouge]
[Apr 3, at Léopold]
Athletic & Running 2-4 Beerschot [HT: 2-1]
Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 H.B.S. [HT: 2-1]
Semifinals [Apr 4, at Racing]
Racing 5-0 Beerschot [HT: 0-0]
Union Saint-Gilloise w/o Daring [forfait Daring]
Friendly [Apr 4]
Léopold II 2-1 D.F.C. II
Final [Apr 5, at Léopold]
Racing 3-2 Union Saint-Gilloise
Participants: Daring Club Bruxelles Belgium D.F.C. Dordrecht Netherlands East Sheen FC London England H.F.C. Haarlem Netherlands Léopold Club Bruxelles Belgium Notts Magdala FC Nottingham England Racing Club Bruxelles Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise Bruxelles Belgium NB: Notts Magdala replaced Hesketh Park FC (Liverpool). Quarterfinals [Apr 23] Union Saint-Gilloise 3-1 East Sheen [HT: 1-1] Léopold 2-6 H.F.C. [HT: 2-2] Daring 1-4 D.F.C. [HT: 1-1] Racing 3-0 Notts Magdala [HT: 1-0] Semifinals [Apr 24] Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1 H.F.C. [HT: 1-0] Racing 3-1 D.F.C. [HT: 1-0] Final [Apr 25] Union Saint-Gilloise 5-1 Racing [HT: 3-0]
Participants:
Daring Club Bruxelles Belgium
Emerity FC London England
H.F.C. Haarlem Netherlands
Léopold Club Bruxelles Belgium
Racing Club Bruxelles Belgium
Union Saint-Gilloise Bruxelles Belgium
Quarterfinals [Apr 15]
Daring 1-0 H.F.C.
Racing 2-0 Emerity
Léopold bye
Union Saint-Gilloise bye
Friendly [Apr 16]
Emerity 2-2 H.F.C.
Semifinals [Apr 16]
Union Saint-Gilloise 4-2 Daring
Racing 4-1 Léopold
Friendly [Apr 17]
Léopold/Emerity 3-0 D.F.C./Achilles [HT: 0-0; match played 2x30 minutes]
NB: D.F.C. (Dordrecht), who had played matches over Easter in Verviers and
Liège, included four players of Achilles (Rotterdam), who had played
in Gent and Brugge.
Final [Apr 17]
Union Saint-Gilloise 2-2 Racing [aet; HT: 0-1; FT: 1-1]
[the organisation was at a loss as how to handle the situation in
which the final was drawn after extra time; after contacting the
secretary of the (English) FA, it was decided to proclaim both
teams as 'joint holders']
Participants:
Dortmund FC Dortmund Germany
Emerity FC London England
Hampstead FC London England
Léopold Club Bruxelles Belgium
Racing Club Bruxelles Belgium
Racing Club Roubaix France
Sparta Rotterdam Netherlands
Union Saint-Gilloise Bruxelles Belgium
NB: Sparta replaced H.F.C. (Haarlem), who had originally accepted to
enter but saw four of their five forwards selected for the match
between the Netherlands and the England amateur side on Apr 1.
Quarterfinals [Mar 31]
Hampstead 5-3 Racing (Roubaix) [HT: 3-2]
Racing (Bruxelles) 2-0 Emerity [HT: 0-0]
Léopold 0-2 Sparta [HT: 0-0]
Union Saint-Gilloise 12-0 Dortmund [HT: 5-0]
Semifinals [Apr 1]
Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0 Sparta [HT: 2-0]
Racing (Bruxelles) 1-3 Hampstead [HT: 0-1]
Friendly [Apr 2]
Léopold 0-5 Emerity [HT: 0-3]
Final [Apr 2]
Union Saint-Gilloise 1-0 Hampstead [HT: 1-0]
Sources included many contemporary Dutch magazines (Het Sportblad, Sportkroniek) and newspapers (all available through Delpher).
Prepared and maintained by Allard Doesburg, Karel Stokkermans and Dirk Willocx for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Authors: Allard Doesburg, Karel Stokkermans and Dirk Willocx
Last updated: 9 Jan 2024
(c) Copyright Allard Doesburg, Karel Stokkermans, Dirk Willocx and RSSSF 2002/24
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the authors. All rights reserved.