Royale Union Saint-Gilloise became champions of Belgium yesterday for the 12th time in the club’s history! A bit surprising news, given that the football public has got used to Club Brugge and Anderlecht’s dominance with occasional interference from Antwerp, Standard, Gent, and Genk in the last 15 years.So, when did this club with a long name even appear in Belgian football and how on Earth do they have 12 titles when hardly any football fan knows a thing about them?To respond to these questions, we’ll have to return almost an entire century to the past.C’MOOOOOOON! WE ACTUALLY DID IT!! 🏆💥 pic.twitter.com/3YyEpco5kA— Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (@UnionStGilloise) May 25, 2025 Royale Union Saint-Gilloise – hereinafter called just Union – was founded in 1897 in one of 19 municipalities of the Belgian capital Brussels, named after the French seventh-century monk Saint Giles. Six years later, the club won its maiden title and then triumphed in the following three editions of Belgian championship.By 1923, Union had already become the most successful Belgian team, with eight titles. Following a nine-year trophy drought, the club’s golden years began. Between 1932 and 1935, Union won three consecutive titles, making a 60-game unbeaten run that has yet to be surpassed by any Belgian side.NO WORDS pic.twitter.com/R9HJVntbWN— Royale Union Saint-Gilloise (@UnionStGilloise) May 25, 2025 And that’s when things started falling apart. In the years prior to the beginning of World War II, Union were still among top three teams in the country, but after the War, things started going seriously south for the popular Apaches. During the 1960s, they balanced between the two top tiers until 1973 when they were relegated to the second flight in which they’d spend almost half a century.Throughout the following 40 years, Union hit bottom, reaching the fourth tier of Belgian football in the 1980s, while life in the third division became a regular thing for them.The year in which eternal losers broke the shackles of ill fortuneThe club’s last contact with third-tier football occurred in 2015, and the genuine resurrection of this fallen giant started in 2018 when Brighton’s chairman, Tony Bloom, became its majority shareholder.Three years later, Union returned to the Belgian top flight after a 48-year absence and immediately finished at the top of the table in the regular season, only to fall short in the championship playoffs, and take the second place with four points less than the champions Club Brugge.In the following two seasons, Union topped the regular-season table (in 2023, they were tied with Genk), but the title somehow slipped from their hands both times, as the playoffs were an insurmountable obstacle for them. In 2023, they were only third, while the season after was a genuine tragedy.##NAJAVA_MECA_8951053##Namely, Union managed to bottle a seven-point advantage from the regular season, and lose the title to Club Brugge by a single point. Yet, this season, they finally changed their fortunes.This time, they were only third after 30 rounds but completely dominated the playoffs with nine wins and a draw, emerging victorious with three points more than Brugge for the first time after 90 years!C’est l’Union qui sourit 😏 🏆⚽🇧🇪Union Saint-Gilloise has just won the Belgian league for the first time since 1935. And the people are obviously celebrating accordingly.De Bruxelles la fierté 🟦🟨 pic.twitter.com/7ljvaFnpUD— Adrian Fuentes (@fuenareva) May 25, 2025 Given that they won their last titles even before the Champions League (earlier known as the European Cup) was even formed, Union will make their maiden appearance in the elite competition of European football in the 2025/2026 season!Truth be told, they participated in the UCL qualifiers in 2023, but were stopped on the first step by the Scottish Rangers.The man who’s probably the most deserving of this utmost success – even though it’s a team accomplishment – is the Canadian born wonder of Nigerian descent, Promise Oluwatobi Emmanuel David Akinpelu aka Promise David. The 23-year-old exploded this season, netting 16 goals and becoming the third-leading scorer in Belgium, even though he hadn’t even been the primary option for the striker.##EDITORS_CHOICE##During the previous June Transfer Window, Union brought in two strikers – Franjo Ivanovic from Croatian side Rijeka for €4 million and the Ghanaian Mohammed Fuseini from Austrian Sturm Graz for half as much. David was signed as a backup option for just €400,000 from Estonian team Kalju.Only three years earlier, he played for the Croatian third-tier team Trnje (“thorns” in English) and over the American Tulsa, and Valletta and Sirens from Malta, he reached Estonia and then Union.Yesterday, in a decisive match against Gent, David entered the game in the 58th minute at 1-1 and scored a title-winning brace.BUILT DIFFERENT. 😎#CanMNT 🇨🇦 striker Promise David scores 2x in a 3-1 win over KAA Gent to secure the Belgian Championship title for Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 🇧🇪 – their 1st in 90 years! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/CEDUzIbIA5— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 25, 2025 He went through thorns and reached the stars, becoming one of the greatest wonders of European football at the moment. If he stays in Belgium, his performances in the Champions League next season will only improve his status and his price, and then the sky will be the limit.In the end, we cannot know if anyone gave a promise to return Union where they belonged once things started going south, but the fact that a man named Promise brought them the title they waited for 90 years cannot be a coincidence. Promise David celebrating Union St. Gilloise’s league title with the Canadian flag on his back 🥺🇨🇦#CanMNT pic.twitter.com/FtabDNPigy— CanMNTBible (@CanMNTBible) May 25, 2025 The club with a saint in its name has finally received some mercy from the heavens and the promise – if there ever was one – has been kept. Both Union and their best striker endured severe hardships and finally reached the stars. And even if waiting for 90 years and playing in Croatia, Malta, and Estonia – with all due respect – was a condition for the success, it was totally worth it.
