May 7 – Qatari-owned KAS Eupen has been relegated from the Belgian top-flight following a 1-0 defeat to KV Kortrijk in the relegation play-offs.
Eupen have been condemned to the drop after eight seasons in the elite tier of Belgian football. In the 29th minute, they had Boris Lambert sent off before Joao Pedro scored the only goal of the game for Kortrijk, who with this win maintain a chance of avoiding relegation.
“In the coming days we will analyze where things went wrong this season, as a club, as a staff, as players,” said assistant manager Nicolas Collubry.
“The owner spoke to us in the dressing room after the match, although it is difficult to find the right words now. These are the most difficult moments in a player’s career, but also for members of the staff.”
“We now have to look at how we can do better in the future to come back stronger. That is also what the owner wants.”
In 2014, Qatar and the Aspire Zone attracted global headlines when they bought the club in the sleepy Belgian town.
For Eupen, the Qatari investment was a welcome injection of much-needed money and financial resources. For Qatar and the Aspire Academy, the club in the southeast corner of Belgium represented a backdoor into the elite European football system and a key cog in honing players for the national team in the lead-up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Assim Madibo, Abdelkarim Hassan, Yousef Hassan, Salem Al-Hajri, Akram Afif and Homan Ahmed, who all had spells at Eupen, were selected for The Maroons’ World Cup squad.
At times, the club attracted big-name veterans, including Luis Garcia Claude Makélélé, Adriano and Victor Vazquez. Eupen often fought against relegation, but this season proved a step too far after management had slashed budgets in 2021.
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