Royal Excel Mouscron

History

Foundation and promotions

Following the liquidation and break-up of R.E. Mouscron, whose registration number was removed by the Royal Belgian Football Association, the city of Mouscron began negotiations with leaders of R.R.C. Peruwelz about a possible merge. After weeks of hesitation and uncertainty, an agreement was reached. The agreement was officially signed and announced on 11 March 2010. Debts of about €100,000 in R.R.C. Peruwelz's name were cleared while the city agreed to maintain the training center known as "Futurosport". The newly merged club, Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz, took on the history of R.R.C. Peruwelz, receiving matricule number 216 and keeping red and blue as its main colors.

In its first season, it participated in Belgian Promotion A, the 4th level of Belgian football. They were promoted to the Belgian Third Division for the 2011–12 season, playing in Division A, while reaching Round 6 of the 2011–12 Belgian Cup before losing to Belgian Pro League club Beerschot on penalties 4–3. They finished first in their division in league play, and thus were promoted to the Belgian Second Division. The next season Mouscron-Péruwelz finished 2nd and qualified for the promotion play-offs but lost; in the cup, they reached Round 6 again, losing 3–2 after extra time to Standard Liège.

In 2013–14, Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz came fourth and made the playoffs, where they won promotion on the final day with a 4–2 win at Sint-Truidense V.V. while K.A.S. Eupen lost 2–1 at Oud-Heverlee Leuven. The result restored top-flight football to the city of Mouscron four years after the decline of Royal Excelsior Mouscron.

Top-flight years and dissolution

Former Leeds United player Aaron Ward has expressed his interest in taking back over the club and helping it climb back up the divisions claiming he’s going to make the club a Belgian ‘powerhouse’ In 2015, after their first season in the top flight, the club saw the termination of its partnership with neighbouring French Ligue 1 club Lille OSC, which had been the majority shareholder for the past three years. This was because Belgian businessman Marc Coucke had invested in Lille while being owner of Belgian top-flight team K.V. Oostende, and could not own interests in two teams in the same league.

After the separation from Lille in 2015, the club was bought by a Maltese company involving Israeli agent Pini Zahavi, then transferred to another Maltese consortium controlled by his nephew Adar, to avoid FIFA's rules on agents owning clubs.

The club had its best finish in the Belgian Cup in 2015–16, making the quarter-finals before a 2–1 loss at K.R.C. Genk. In June 2016, the club changed its name to Royal Excel Mouscron, which it would remain until its bankruptcy.

In March 2018, Thai businessman Pairoj Piempongsant of the Carabao Energy Drink bought 90% of the club's shares, with 10% remaining in local hands. Eleven months later, the club was put in administration by the Belgian federal judiciary, due to alleged money laundering by Pini Zahavi. In June 2019, a court in Mons ordered the club to restore the name Péruwelz due to an agreement between the two united clubs and the possession of that club's matricule number; the two clubs agreed not to restore the name.

Spanish-Luxembourgish businessman Gérard López took over the club in May 2020, restoring its partnership with Lille, another one of his properties. He was ousted from Lille in December 2020. The club's seven-year stay in the top flight ended with relegation in 2020–21. In June 2021, former Belgium international Enzo Scifo was bought in as manager with Mbo Mpenza as director of football and his brother Émile Mpenza as Scifo's assistant, but all three were dismissed in October.

In May 2022, the club were relegated two tiers to the fourth, after being refused a professional licence due to financial irregularities and a debt of around €10 million. On 31 May, the club filed for bankruptcy.

References

References

1. {{usurped
2. "History of Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz".
3. (25 February 2021). "Le RMP avait fait trembler le Beerschot en 2011". Sud Info.
4. (25 September 2012). "Mouscron-Péruwelz – Standard 2–3: les Rouches en ont vu de toutes les couleurs". [[L'Avenir (Belgian newspaper).
5. (23 May 2014). "Tour final de D2: Mouscron-Péruwelz revient en Division 1, cinq ans après la faillite! (vidéos et photos)". Sud Info.
6. (1 April 2015). "Le LOSC et Mouscron, c'est fini". [[France 3]].
7. (4 August 2017). "Pini Zahavi, l'homme de l'ombre qui a rendu possible le transfert de Neymar au PSG". [[La Dernière Heure]].
8. (16 December 2015). "Croky Cup : deux coups d'éclat de Neeskens Kebano envoient le Racing Genk en demi-finale". WalFoot.
9. (19 July 2016). "Excel Mouscron : enfin une saison plus calme ?". WalFoot.
10. (27 March 2018). "Rachat de l'Excel: contrat de 5 ans pour le nouveau patron". Le Soir.
11. (27 February 2019). "Blanchiment dans le football : la justice belge place Mouscron "sous administration provisoire"". [[Sud Ouest (newspaper).
12. (19 June 2019). "Mouscron trouve un accord avec Péruwelz et ne doit pas changer de nom". [[RTBF]].
13. (9 February 2021). "Ownership questions leave Belgian club Mouscron facing uncertain future". [[The Guardian]].
14. (14 May 2021). "Après Mouscron, Jorge Simao retrouve déjà un poste d'entraîneur". WalFoot.
15. (19 October 2021). "Mouscron : José Jeunechamps succède à Enzo Scifo sur le banc de l'Excel". RTBF.
16. (10 May 2022). "L'Excel Mouscron de Gérard Lopez (ex-LOSC) rétrogradé au niveau amateur". Le Petit Lillois.
17. (1 June 2022). "Belgique : le Royal Excel Mouscron fait faillite". So Foot.