Bosuilstadion

Royal Antwerp FC don't do shy. Founded in 1880 by English expats with a cricket bat in one hand and a football in the other, they're Belgium's oldest club, matricule number one, the self-styled "Great Old". Their home, the Bosuilstadion, opened in 1923 and is the oldest top-flight ground still in use in Belgium, a brick-and-floodlight survivor tucked into the Deurne suburbs north-east of the city centre.

A phased renovation has slowly modernised the place since 2017, with the western Tribune 1 rebuilt first, the family-friendly south stand finished in 2021, and a brand-new eastern stand opened in December 2025. Capacity sits around 16,144 in standard configuration, with the next expansion targeting 21,000. What hasn't changed is the Belgian-style standing terrace behind the goal, where the hardcore Bosuil faithful turn out in red and white and produce the kind of low, rolling noise that bounces off the old corrugated roofing.

The Great Old finally ended a 66-year title drought in 2022/23 under Mark van Bommel, sealing a domestic double and a return to the Champions League group stage. Van Bommel has long since moved on, and the 2025/26 season has been a turbulent one in the dugout, with Stef Wils replaced by Joseph Oosting from December 2025. The mood swings, the football oscillates, but the Bosuil rolls on regardless.

If the league fixtures align in your favour, target an Antwerp derby against Beerschot, a venomous "Ploeg van 't Stad" clash born of a 1900 schism when half the squad walked out to found a rival across town. Otherwise, any home game pulls in a knowledgeable, beer-fuelled crowd that knows exactly what 145 years of football looks like.

Antwerp is Belgium's glittering second city, a place where 84 per cent of the world's rough diamonds change hands in a few streets behind Centraal Station, while Rubens' baroque saints still loom over the Cathedral of Our Lady. The medieval core is tight and walkable, the Scheldt-side port is vast and industrial, and somewhere in between the Antwerp Six rewrote 1980s fashion from a school called the Royal Academy.

It's a city that wears its contradictions lightly: Dries Van Noten flagship stores next to centuries-old brown cafés, container cranes framing Flemish gables. The local order is a "bolleke" of De Koninck pale ale, brewed in the city since 1833, and you'll find one in just about every bar before kick-off.

By tram

The Bosuilstadion sits in Deurne, about 4km north-east of Antwerpen-Centraal. The simplest matchday route is tram line 5 from the centre toward Wim Saerensplein, getting off at the Deurne Stadion stop right outside the ground. Reckon on around 30 minutes door to door, and buy a De Lijn day pass to save fumbling for change.

By bus

De Lijn bus routes 19, 33 and 37A all serve the Bosuil area from Antwerpen-Centraal and Rooseveltplaats. The 19 is the quickest, hitting Deurne Venneborg in about 15 minutes when the streets are clear, though pre-match traffic can stretch that comfortably.

On foot

A walk from Centraal Station takes 40 to 50 minutes through the residential streets of Borgerhout and into Deurne. Not scenic, but doable if the weather holds. Driving is not advised - parking around the stadium is residents-only on matchdays and the police are unsentimental.

Tickets through the club website tend to sell quickly for European nights and the Beerschot derby, but mid-table league games are usually walk-up affairs. Bring photo ID; Belgian grounds enforce it.

The stadium is cashless, with payment via card or the club app at all kiosks. Stick to a bolleke of De Koninck and a frikandel speciaal and you're doing it the local way.

Kick-off times shift constantly for Pro League TV deals - double-check 24 hours before travel, especially for Sunday fixtures that can land anywhere between 13:30 and 21:00.