AFC Tubize training ground; Tubize, Belgium

I'm not sure of the actual name of this small ground, presumably a former home of a Tubize side, before the new ground was built. This ground is up on a hill, directly behind the main AFC Tubize stadium. I wasn't looking for it, I found it by 'accident' as I was heading towards the big venue.

An extremely muddy pitch, it is a basic railed off one. Next to it, on a lower level, is an all weather one, which we will look at in a moment.

Hard standing behind the goal.

Grass banking down the side, notice those red seats further along, behind the dugouts...

There appears to be the shell of a small stand,

With the old seats dumped in a skip.

As we walk across the pitch itself you can see how muddy it is!

Set back behind the goal is a 'training wall'.

Through netting on the other side we look across the pitch to the grass banking opposite.

Here is the all weather pitch, the grass pitch is behind us, as we look towards it. The main AFC Tubize ground is down the hill, past the far corner of this photo.

Another angle of the all-weather surface, as local youngsters take part in coaching sessions.

Set behind this goal is a changing room building, with the higher level with the glass front being a bar area.

The bins are in club colours, not as strange as it sounds, as they are the corporate colours of the local authority.

We leave this ground, and walk out behind the bar, round the back, and down the hill to the main stadium. On the way down, through the park, is this wonderful piece of 'street art', cartoon type sculptures of footballers! I've certainly not seen anything like this before!

It was the only thing worth seeing in the town....even the local museum was shut!

King Baudouin Stadium; Brussels, Belgium

I'm including here some more pictures of the King Baudouin Stadium, in Brussels. All shots from outside, to add to the ones I took before, which you can see if you continue after looking at these:
The name of the stadium in the glass fronting at the bottom.



I cannot believe I missed this street sign last time!



One of the entrances into the stadium, from Football Avenue.



In front of the entrance are hand prints of famous sporting Belgians...



Here are a couple more examples:




The old facade at the front of the redeveloped stadium:



Close ups of the stonework:





The memorial to the Heysel disaster, of May 1985.



Around the perimeter is the poem 'Stop all the clocks' by WH Auden.



The memorial tablet on the wall of the stadium.



A close-up of a section of it.



Another angle of the memorial, with the stadium behind.



The old blending in with the new.



Ditto, with the floodlight in the background.



Another view of the main entrance.



Finally a sign for 'Sport Avenue'. A name 'dear to my heart' as the suggested name from a local NIMBY John Beasley, from the Peckham Society , for the approach road to the Champion Hill Stadium, home of Dulwich Hamlet, was...Sport Road! He actually led the campaign against the building of the ground! Thankfully I helped with a campaign that got it named Edgar Kail Way, after our greatest player!



My earlier pictures are below:

The King Baudouin Stadium is the national stadium of Belgium. This ground will always be known as the Heysel, and forever associated with the terrible disaster there when 39,mostly Italian, people died before the 1985 European Cup final. Since then it has been totally rebuilt & re-branded. I've not seen a game here, but had a look early last year, and here is the memorial to those who died here.











The main entrance to the stadium has the old facade preserved, as you can see here. i'm not too sure about the tractors, I think there was some sort of Trade Fair on!





Outside the ground are handprints of many famous Belgian sports stars.



Not just footballers.





There is also this old sculpture, set in front of the ground.





And this one.





I'm not entirely sure what they are commemorating, as I only understand English, unfortunately.







The street name has obvious sporting connotations.





I wasn't sure if i could get into the stadium or not, I knew they did organised tours, but couldn't see any signs advertising them. I walked through a door by the main entrance...went down some stairs, walked along a corridor, turned right...and then suddenly...I was by the side of the pitch! A bit shocked, I didn't walk round but quickly took a few snaps, which you can see here, and left!

Here they are for you to look at, I covered all four sides of the stadium, from the main entrance side.