Tournai
Thursday 1 March 2007
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Tournai's Luc Varenne Stadium (©URBSFA/KBVB 2007)
Click here for more about Tournai.
Click here for more about RFC Tournai.
Tournai - Doornik in Flemish - the venue for the UEFA European Under-17 Championship final, is in the province of Hainaut and along with Tongeren the oldest city in Belgium, home to 67,000 people.
Medieval wealth
The city dates from Roman times and in the fifth century was capital of the Frankish Empire before the move to Paris in 486. Part of France until 1513, for six years it was conquered by England, the only Belgian city to have been so and the town was even represented in Parliament. Rule by France, Spain and Austria followed before Tournai became part of Belgium on independence in 1830. Its Notre Dame cathedral, the oldest in Belgium, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, testament to the city's medieval wealth through trade and textiles.
RFC Tournai
The local team is third division RFC Tournai, the result of a 2002 merger between two of the oldest clubs in Belgium, RSU Tournaisienne and RRC Tournaisien, who won the 1956 Belgian Cup with a 2-1 defeat of CS Verviers.
Luc Varenne Stadium
The Luc Varenne Stadium has 2,486 covered seats, and capacity for 3,860 standing. The stadium will host four matches at the U17 finals including Belgium's last two group games, a semi-final and the final.
Distances:
Nivelles centre-Tournai: 88km (70 min)
Tubize centre-Tournai: 65km (70 min)
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