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Sporting Charleroi Through the Eyes of an Ultra

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Nestled in Belgium’s rustbelt, Charleroi is a city with a gritty charm and an unshakable identity, much like its beloved football team, Royal Charleroi Sporting Club. Known colloquially as Sporting Charleroi, the club has been a mainstay of Belgian football since its founding in 1904. Despite a trophy cabinet that remains conspicuously bare after 120 years, the club boasts a fierce and passionate fanbase, embodied by its ultras who transform the Stade du Pays de Charleroi – affectionately called Stade du Mambourg -into a cauldron of energy and emotion.

Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
Sporting Charleroi Ultars © Foxinthestands

Fox in the Stands, a photographer, ultra, and lifelong fan of Sporting Charleroi, offers a unique insider’s perspective in his provocative photo series. Through is work, he captures the visceral culture of Charleroi’s ultras: their passion, camaraderie, and undying loyalty. For Fox, it’s personal. “Our club is a ‘shit club,’” he admits, “but you don’t support a club for trophies. I go to the stadium for my friends, my brothers, to connect with the new generation.”

Charleroi itself mirrors the spirit of the ultras. Once a thriving industrial hub, it now embraces its raw, working-class identity. The stadium, a fortress since 1939, becomes a second home to its supporters – a place where social boundaries blur as fans unite behind their team.

Through the crackling flares, choreographed chants, and steadfast brotherhood, Fox captures what it truly means to be an ultra. “Football culture is incredible,” he says. “It’s more than a game – it’s a lifestyle.” His work is a tribute to the traditions of Charleroi’s football scene, preserving memories and celebrating a movement that thrives on passion over glory.

© Foxinthestands | LOWER BLOCK
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands

“My surname in Charleroi is “the greek” or “Fox”. I’m from the city of Charleroi in Belgium, but all my family came from Greece. I support Sporting Charleroi, our local football team, who currently play in the Belgian first division.

In Belgium, the city of Charleroi has a bad reputation, like a “dangerous” city. I’ve lived here my whole life and personally, I have never had any problems.

I really began to go and watch Charleroi at the Mambourg each weekend during my studies. Of course, I was going to the stadium before, but not with the ultras. When i arrived in Bruxelles, RCSC went down in the second league. With my best friend, we were there each weekend. I think it was a way to be proud of our city. Indeed, people from Bruxelles are always bad talking about my city – even if i had a lot of friends there. This year, is the 16th year I go to the stadium, 10 of those years in the ultras’s group.

Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands

“I go to the stadium for my friends, my brothers, to connect with the new generation, to see how amazing it’s to be with people from others social groups.”

Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands

The club means a lot to me. To be honest, our club is a shit club – 120 years without any trophy, but you don’t support a club for this. I go to the stadium for my friends, my brothers, to connect with the new generation, to see how amazing it’s to be with people from others social groups. I love some old players, but i’ll never ask for an autograph. For me, players are like mercenaries now. all for the money, that’s all.

I remember the first time I went to the stadium with my father. It was in October and it was very cold at this time. It is one of my best memories from all my life. But the one thing who surprised me this day, was all the ultras without any t-shirts on, singing, shouting, clapping. When I left the stadium, I told to myself “one day, I want to be ultra”. During this time I had discovered British hooligan films like Football Factory, Hooligans, Rise of the Footsoldier, and I.D., and i loved how they were all dressed. The movement changed my life, and all my clothes too. It became my lifestyle.

Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands

“Football is a different experience for every generation. We have to keep the atmosphere, teach it to the the youngest, and teach them to keep it ultra and casual!”

Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands

I wanted by this project to show to everyone that the football scene in Charleroi is very rich and one of the most important in Belgium, and I wanted to create a memory of my passage in the ultra’s movement in Charleroi.

Football culture is amazing. You have so many things to see and to show; the clothes, the synchronisation between the lads, the pyro, the stadium, the away days, the funny moments, all this stuff is incredible to see and be part of.

Football is a different experience for every generation. We have to keep the atmosphere, teach it to the the youngest, and teach them to keep it ultra and casual!”

You can follow Fox in the Stands on Instagram.

Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands
Sporting Charleroi football fan culture, ultras, Belgium
© Foxinthestands

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