City Archives of Bruges & Foundation join forces for sustainable future of Club history

Club Brugge Foundation and the City Archives of the City of Bruges today concluded a cooperation agreement concerning the long-term preservation of Club Brugge's paper and audiovisual archives. In this way, the rich archive file of Club Brugge can be preserved and inventoried in a professional way.

Club Brugge has a rich soccer history, with an echo in the Belgian and international soccer world. Its history dates back to November 13, 1891. This makes it one of the oldest teams in our country. Over the years, the club has collected no less than 18 national titles, 11 Belgian soccer cups and 17 Super Cups. To these are added two European Cup finals and countless other legendary European matches. Over the years, tens of thousands of people have been captivated by the Bruges blue-black soccer team.

All this has resulted in a rich archive. For example, there are the minutes of board meetings that give a nice picture of the operation through the decades. You can also browse through decades of the club magazine Blauw Zwart Magazine. The oldest of these go back to the 1950s. And there is the series of booklets published on the occasion of the many European matches. Those of the European Cup finals against Liverpool FC, including at Wembley, stand out. There are also numerous files with statistics and all possible information per season, dozens of video cassettes with unique footage, correspondence, photographs, newspaper articles and much more.

The cooperation between Stadsarchief Brugge and Club Brugge Foundation around the preservation of the paper and audiovisual archives is an important step in a broader process that began about a year ago. It aims to secure not only the said archive, but also all Club Brugge heritage objects: cups, match pennants, jerseys and various other objects.

Mayor Dirk De fauw: "This ensures the future of unique Bruges heritage"

Mayor Dirk De fauw was particularly proud to announce this cooperation: "As city council, we always invite the board of Club Brugge's European opponents to the City Hall for an official reception. Here we always notice how great the resonance of Club Brugge is. But also when we go abroad and speak about our Brugge, we note that Club Brugge is a very proud ambassador of our city, with its rich history as a soccer club.

With this cooperation we ensure the future of this unique Bruges heritage. This is a fine example of how the City supports its sports clubs and associations with a glorious past."

Alderman of Culture Nico Blontrock: "Of great importance in Belgian soccer and sports in general"

As the competent Alderman of Culture, Alderman Nico Blontrock signed this cooperation agreement with conviction: "As a City of Bruges, we can be proud of our heritage work and the way we deal with it. The importance of Club Brugge's archive is not only great for our city, but for the Belgian soccer and sports world in general.

We are very excited that Club Brugge wants to work with us in a structural way to preserve their beautiful history and make it available to the general public. Here we are at the beginning of a great challenge that will add value to the soccer club and the city."

Head of Foundation Peter Gheysen: "A sustainable future for our Club history"

Club Brugge Foundation took on the task several years ago of appropriately managing the valuable Club history, so that the rich soccer history of blue-black can also be experienced by future generations.

Peter Gheysen, Head of Foundation at Club Brugge: "With our Foundation projects, we have been fulfilling the great social responsibility of our soccer club for years. Besides programs around sports participation, education, health, inclusion and sustainability, we are also committed to managing Club's unique sporting heritage in the best possible way.

In a recent past, valuable initiatives around Club's sports heritage have already been realized. For example, in 2016, on the occasion of Club's 125th anniversary, there was an impressive pop-up expo on Club's history in the City Halls that attracted more than 12,000 visitors. This temporary installation was subsequently given a permanent place in the 'Club Museum' in the east stand of the Jan Breydel Stadium, where visitors to our Stadium Tours can come and discover our Club history. In the context of Club's ^130th anniversary, an interactive city walk through the city center of Bruges was mapped out under the title 'We AR Bruges', in which Club's history came to life via augmented reality. More than 35,000 people took part.

With this new collaboration, we are taking another step towards a sustainable future for Club Brugge's rich history!"

Allemoale Thope joining forces

In signing this cooperation agreement, Club Brugge would like to thank Stad Brugge, Stadsarchief Brugge under the leadership of Chief Archivist Jan D'Hondt and Heritage Archivist Dieter Viaene, Erfgoedcel Brugge and the enthusiastic team of Club volunteers who work on this every week for their commitment.