2025–26 Royal Antwerp F.C. season

Royal Antwerp
2025–26 season
OwnerPaul Gheysens
ChairmanPaul Gheysens
ManagerStef Wils
StadiumBosuilstadion
Pro League7th
Belgian CupTBD
Top goalscorerLeague: Vincent Janssen (2 goals)
All: Vincent Janssen (2 goals)
All statistics correct as of 25 June 2025.

The 2025–26 season is Royal Antwerp Football Club's 146th season in existence and ninth consecutive in the Belgian Pro League. They are also competing in the Belgian Cup.

Players

First-team squad

As of 23 January 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF  BEL Kobe Corbanie
3 DF  BEL Björn Engels
4 DF  JPN Yuto Tsunashima
5 DF  BEL Daam Foulon
6 MF  COD Jules Ahoka
7 FW  SUR Gyrano Kerk
8 MF  BEL Dennis Praet
9 FW  KSA Marwan Al-Sahafi (on loan from Al-Ittihad)
10 MF  NED Isaac Babadi (on loan from PSV)
11 MF  BEL Geoffry Hairemans
15 GK  BEL Yannick Thoelen
16 MF  ARG Mauricio Benítez (on loan from Boca Juniors)
17 DF  BEL Semm Renders
18 FW  NED Vincent Janssen
19 FW  UZB Mukhammadali Urinboev
20 DF  BEL Rein Van Helden
21 MF  BEL Andreas Verstraeten
22 MF  CIV Farouck Adekami
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 DF  NED Glenn Bijl
24 FW  BEL Thibo Somers
25 DF  MLI Boubakar Kouyaté
30 MF  GER Christopher Scott
33 DF  BEL Zeno Van Den Bosch
34 MF  FRA Mahamadou Diawara (on loan from Olympique Lyon)
41 GK  JPN Taishi Brandon Nozawa
43 MF  BEL Youssef Hamdaoui
55 FW  ECU Anthony Valencia
67 DF  CIV Arouna Koné
76 FW  NGA Orseer Achihi
78 MF  BEL Xander Dierckx
79 FW  BEL Gerard Vandeplas
81 GK  BEL Niels Devalckeneer
92 FW  NGA Gabriel Jesus David

Transfers

In

Pos. Player Transferred from Fee Date Source
DF Rein Van Helden STVV € 1,500,000 23 January 2026 [1]
MF Jules Ahoka AC Normands Undisclosed 8 September 2025 [2]
MF Mahamadou Diawara Olympique Lyon On loan 8 September 2025 [3]
MF Isaac Babadi PSV On loan 1 September 2025 [4]
FW Marwan Al-Sahafi Al-Ittihad On loan 21 August 2025 [5]
DF Boubakar Kouyaté Montpellier HSC Free 12 August 2025 [6]
DF Yuto Tsunashima Tokyo Verdy € 800,000 6 August 2025 [7]
DF Glenn Bijl KS Samara Free 24 July 2025 [8]
FW Thibo Somers Cercle Brugge € 1,500,000 18 July 2025 [9]
FW Mukhammadali Urinboev Pakhtakor FC € 500,000 7 July 2025 [10]
GK Taishi Brandon Nozawa FC Tokyo € 1,000,000 26 June 2025 [11]
MF Mauricio Benítez Boca Juniors On loan 1 July 2025
MF Geoffry Hairemans K.V. Mechelen Free [12]
DF Daam Foulon K.V. Mechelen Free [13]

Out

Pos. Player Transferred to Fee Date Source
DF Rosen Bozhinov Pisa SC € 5,000,000 14 January 2026 [14]
MF Mahamadou Doumbia Al-Ittihad € 16,000,000 8 September 2025 [15]
GK Senne Lammens Manchester United € 21,000,000 1 September 2025 [16]
FW Michel-Ange Balikwisha Celtic € 5,200,000 28 August 2025 [17]
DF Jelle Bataille Maccabi Haifa Option not validated 3 July 2025 [18]
MF Denis Odoi NAC Breda Mutual consent 24 June 2025 [19]
MF Tjaronn Chery NEC Nijmegen € 500,000 15 June 2025 [20]
MF Jaïro Riedewald Sheffield United End of contract 30 June 2025
MF Milan Smits De Graafschap
DF Toby Alderweireld End of career
Notes

Pre-season and friendlies

28 June 2025 Friendly Antwerp 0–1 Zulte Waregem Antwerp, Belgium
  • Traoré
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 0
3 July 2025 Friendly Antwerp 1–2 Beveren Antwerp, Belgium
  • Gabriel Jesus
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 0
11 July 2025 Friendly Antwerp 2–1 FC Nordsjælland Wörgl, Austria
12:30 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Sportzentrum Wörgl
Attendance: 0
11 July 2025 Friendly Antwerp 0–0 FC Nordsjælland Wörgl, Austria
14:30 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Sportzentrum Wörgl
Attendance: 0
19 July 2025 Friendly Antwerp 2–0 Willem II Tilburg Antwerp, Belgium
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 5,000
20 July 2025 Friendly Antwerp 2–0 Eupen Antwerp, Belgium
  • Gabriel Jesus
  • Achichi
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 0

Competitions

Overall record

Competition First match Last match Starting round Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
Belgian Pro League 25 July 2025 22 March 2026 Matchday 1 30 9 8 13 31 32 −1 030.00
Europe Play-offs 3 April 2026 23 May 2026 Matchday 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
Belgian Cup 29 October 2025 12 February 2026 Seventh round 5 3 1 1 9 9 +0 060.00
Total 35 12 9 14 40 41 −1 034.29

Source: Competitions

Belgian Pro League

Main article: 2025–26 Belgian Pro League

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
8 Standard Liège 30 11 7 12 27 35 −8 40 Qualification for the Europe play-offs
9 Westerlo 30 10 9 11 36 40 −4 39
10 Antwerp 30 9 8 13 31 32 −1 35
11 Charleroi 30 9 7 14 38 42 −4 34
12 OH Leuven 30 9 7 14 32 43 −11 34
Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch)
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Play-off.[21]

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
30 9 8 13 31 32  −1 35 6 4 5 21 18  +3 3 4 8 10 14  −4

Source:

Results by round

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
GroundHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHA
ResultDDWDWLLDLDLLLWLWWWDWLLWLLLWDDL
Position910775681213131414151414121088789910111110101010
Source:
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 20 June 2025.[22]

25 July 2025 1 Antwerp 1–1 Union SG Antwerp
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 12,398
Referee: Erik Lambrechts
3 August 2025 2 Genk 1–1 Antwerp Genk
13:30 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Cegeka Arena
Attendance: 18,030
Referee: Lawrence Visser
10 August 2025 3 Antwerp 3–1 OH Leuven Antwerp
19:15 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Wesli De Cremer
17 August 2025 4 Charleroi 1–1 Antwerp Charleroi
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Stade du Pays de Charleroi
Attendance: 6,600
Referee: Simon Bourdeaud'hui
24 August 2025 5 Antwerp 2–1 K.V. Mechelen Antwerp
13:30 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 12,818
Referee: Bram Van Driessche
30 August 2025 6 Westerlo 2–0 Antwerp Westerlo
18:15 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Het Kuipje
Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Jan Boterberg
14 September 2025 7 Antwerp 1–2 Gent Antwerp
13:30 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 13,650
Referee: Lawrence Visser
20 September 2025 8 Anderlecht 0–0 Antwerp Anderlecht
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Lotto Park
Attendance: 22,500
Referee: Erik Lambrechts
27 September 2025 9 Zulte Waregem 2–0 Antwerp Waregem
16:00 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Elindus Arena
Attendance: 6,947
Referee: Bert Verbeke
4 October 2025 10 Antwerp 1–1 Cercle Brugge Antwerp
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 11,495
Referee: Nathan Verboomen
17 October 2025 11 Standard Liège 1–0 Antwerp Liège
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne
Attendance: 17,000
Referee: Lothar D'Hondt
Note: The match got suspended at a 1-0 score, because of cups being thrown on the pitch and to the referee multiple times by the homefans. The match will be finished on 20 October behind closed doors.[23]
26 October 2025 12 Antwerp 0–1 Club Brugge Antwerp
13:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 14,036
Referee: Nicolas Laforge
2 November 2025 13 STVV 1–0 Antwerp Sint-Truiden
18:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Stayen
Attendance: 6,489
Referee: Nathan Verboomen
8 November 2025 14 Antwerp 3–1 La Louvière Antwerp
20:45 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 11,328
Referee: Bram Van Driessche
23 November 2025 15 Antwerp 1–2 Dender EH Antwerp
16:00 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 11,352
Referee: Wesli De Cremer
30 November 2025 16 Club Brugge 0–1 Antwerp Bruges
13:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium
Attendance: 29,042
Referee: Lothar D'Hondt
7 December 2025 17 Antwerp 3–0 Genk Antwerp
18:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 21,000
Referee: Jasper Vergoote
14 December 2025 18 Gent 0–2 Antwerp Ghent
13:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Planet Group Arena
Attendance: 14,747
Referee: Nicolas Laforge
21 December 2025 19 Antwerp 2–2 Anderlecht Antwerp
18:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 20,495
Referee: Erik Lambrechts
27 December 2025 20 Antwerp 2–1 Zulte Waregem Antwerp
13:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 18,567
Referee: Bert Verbeke
18 January 2026 21 Dender EH 1–0 Antwerp Denderleeuw
16:00 CET (UTC+1)
  • Květ 32',  56'
  • Moutha-Sebtaoui  90+7'
 Stadium: Dender Football Complex
Attendance: 2,512
Referee: Michiel Allaerts
25 January 2026 22 Antwerp 0–2 Charleroi Antwerp
13:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 16,783
Referee: Jan Boterberg
31 January 2026 23 Cercle Brugge 0–4 Antwerp Bruges
16:00 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium
Attendance: 5,450
Referee: Simon Bourdeaud'hui
8 February 2026 24 KV Mechelen 2–0 Antwerp Mechelen
19:15 CET (UTC+1)
  • Verstraeten  62'
 Stadium: Achter de Kazerne
Attendance: 14,003
Referee: Lothar D'Hondt
15 February 2026 25 Antwerp 0–2 Westerlo Antwerp
16:00 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 11,830
Referee: Bert Verbeke
21 February 2026 26 Union SG 2–1 Antwerp Saint-Gilles
20:45 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Joseph Marien Stadium
Attendance: 6,344
Referee: Bram Van Driessche
28 February 2026 27 Antwerp 1–0 STVV Antwerp
18:15 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 13,272
Referee: Wesli De Cremer
6 March 2026 28 La Louvière 0–0 Antwerp La Louvière
20:45 CET (UTC+1)
  • Maisonneuve  59'
  • Scott  65'
  • Dierckx  81'  88'
 Stadium: Easi Arena
Attendance: 4,978
Referee: Jasper Vergoote
15 March 2026 29 Antwerp 1–1 Standard Liège Antwerp
16:00 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 16,549
Referee: Nathan Verboomen
22 March 2026 30 OH Leuven 1–0 Antwerp Leuven
18:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Den Dreef
Attendance: 7,204
Referee: Nicolas Laforge

Europe Play-Off

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation GNK STA WES ANT CHA OHL
1 Genk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 Qualification for the European competition play-off — 25 Apr 10 May 19 May 21 Apr 12 Apr
2 Standard Liège 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 16 May — 11 Apr 21 Apr 23 May 8 May
3 Westerlo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 18 Apr 19 May — 25 Apr 5 Apr 2 May
4 Antwerp 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 3 Apr 3 May 23 May — 10 May 18 Apr
5 Charleroi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 2 May 18 Apr 16 May 10 Apr — 19 May
6 OH Leuven 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 23 May 4 Apr 21 Apr 15 May 25 Apr —
Updated to match(es) played on 15 March 2026. Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Regular season finishing position.[24]

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
0 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Results by round

Round12345678910
GroundHAHAAHHAAH
Result
Position
Source: Jupiler Pro League
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

3 April 2026 1 Antwerp v Genk Antwerp
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Bosuilstadion
10 April 2026 2 Charleroi v Antwerp Charleroi
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Stade du Pays de Charleroi
18 April 2026 3 Antwerp v OH Leuven Antwerp
16:00 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Bosuilstadion
21 April 2026 4 Standard Liège v Antwerp Liège
20:30 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne
25 April 2026 5 Westerlo v Antwerp Westerlo
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Het Kuipje
3 May 2026 6 Antwerp v Standard Liège Antwerp
16:00 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Bosuilstadion
10 May 2026 7 Antwerp v Charleroi Antwerp
16:00 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Bosuilstadion
15 May 2026 8 OH Leuven v Antwerp Leuven
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Den Dreef
19 May 2026 9 Genk v Antwerp Genk
20:30 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Cegeka Arena
23 May 2026 10 Antwerp v Westerlo Antwerp
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Bosuilstadion

Belgian Cup

Main article: 2025–26 Belgian Cup
29 October 2025 Seventh round Antwerp 3–1 Eupen Antwerp
20:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 8,838
Referee: Matonga Simonini
3 December 2025 Eighth round Antwerp 3–3 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)		 STVV Antwerp
20:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 9,021
Referee: Erik Lambrechts
Penalties
13 January 2026 Quarter-finals Antwerp 2–1 (a.e.t.) La Louvière Antwerp
20:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 12,865
Referee: Nathan Verboomen
5 February 2026 Semi-final 1st leg Anderlecht 0–1 Antwerp Anderlecht
20:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Lotto Park
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Lawrence Visser
12 February 2026 Semi-final 2nd leg Antwerp 0–4
(1–4 agg.)		 Anderlecht Antwerp
20:30 CET (UTC+1)
Stadium: Bosuilstadion
Attendance: 20,780
Referee: Nathan Verboomen

Goalscorers

Rank No. Pos Nat Name Belgian Pro League Belgian Cup Total
1 18 FW Vincent Janssen 7 3 10
2 7 FW Gyrano Kerk 2 4 6
3 14 FW Anthony Valencia 4 0 4
24 FW Thibo Somers 4 0
5 16 MF Mauricio Benítez 3 0 3
30 MF Christopher Scott 2 1
7 20 MF Mahamadou Doumbia 2 0 2
22 MF Farouck Adekami 2 0
9 4 DF Yuto Tsunashima 1 0 1
9 FW Marwan Al-Sahafi 1 0
10 FW Michel-Ange Balikwisha 1 0
25 DF Boubakar Kouyaté 1 0
26 DF Rosen Bozhinov 1 0
43 MF Youssef Hamdaoui 0 1
Totals 31 8 39

References

  1. ^ "Rein Van Helden is a Red!" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  2. ^ "Jules Ahoka nieuwe Rood-Witte middenvelder" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  3. ^ "RAFC versterkt zich met Mahamadou Diawara" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  4. ^ "Isaac Babadi op huurbasis naar RAFC" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  5. ^ "RAFC haalt met Al-Sahafi nieuwe aanvallende kracht in huis" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  6. ^ "Kiki Kouyaté versterkt defensie RAFC" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  7. ^ "RAFC versterkt zich met Yuto Tsunashima" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  8. ^ "RAFC versterkt zich met Nederlander Glenn Bijl" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  9. ^ "RAFC versterkt zich met Thibo Somers" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  10. ^ "RAFC versterkt zich met Oezbeek Urinboev" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  11. ^ "Taishi Brandon Nozawa tekent contract op de bosuil" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  12. ^ "Geoffke Deurne-Noord tekent contract op de Bosuil" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  13. ^ "Daam Foulon is a Red!" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  14. ^ "Rosen Bozhinov zet carrière verder in de Serie A" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  15. ^ "Mahamadou Doumbia zet carrière voort in Saoedi-Arabië" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  16. ^ "Senne Lammens voortaan in doel bij Manchester United" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  17. ^ "Michel-Ange Balikwisha gaat voetballen voor Celtic FC" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  18. ^ "RAFC neemt afscheid van Jelle Bataille" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  19. ^ "Denis Odoi en RAFC in onderling overleg uit elkaar" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  20. ^ "Chery getransfereerd naar NEC Nijmegen" (in Flemish). Royal Antwerp F.C.
  21. ^ "Bondsreglement Titel 7: Competities" [Association Rules Title 7: Competitions] (PDF). Royal Belgian Football Association. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Kalender 2025-2026: Kampioen Union opent bij Antwerp, Club Brugge begint tegen KRC Genk". 20 June 2025.
  23. ^ "Ongeloof in Sclessin: wedstrijd gestaakt door wangedrag van supporters, slot Standard-Antwerp volgt achter gesloten deuren". sporza.be. 17 October 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  24. ^ "BOEK P" [BOOK P] (PDF). Belgian FA. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
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