K.A.S. Eupen (short for Königliche Allgemeine Sportvereinigung Eupen, English: Royal General Sports Association Eupen, simply referred to as Eupen) is a Belgian professional association football club located in Eupen, Province of Liège, which currently plays in the Belgian Pro League, the top tier of Belgian football. The club was formed on 9 July 1945 through the merger of two older Eupen clubs, Jugend Eupen and FC Eupen 1920. The club has been playing at the Kehrwegstadion in Eupen since its inaugural season. Eupen is the first Belgian club based in the German-speaking Community of Belgium to have played in the Belgian top division. History Foundation and early years K.A.S. Eupen were formed on 9 July 1945 from the merger of Jugend Eupen and FC Eupen 1920, and played its first official match on 21 July during a festive tournament during a national holiday. A few weeks later, the club would begin on its inaugural season in the Liège Provincial Division II. While the first stand was built in 1947 and lighting was installed the following year, and the infrastructure thus improved, the club could not avoid relegation to the Regional Division II. Under the leadership of player-coach Roger Burgers, Eupen won the first title in its history, which was then repeated the following year, enabling the club to reach national divisions for the first time in 1951. The club's stint in the national division was short-lived at first, but the club secured another promotion at the end of the 1955–56 season. The team was then led by Albert Bertrand. After a further descent two years later, the club returned with promotion before the 1961–62 season to stabilise in the higher divisions until 1969. Having arrived at the club in 1966, Hubert Van Dormael took the team to a second-place finish in the 1967–68 season before taking a historic first promotion to the Belgian Third Division the following season, ahead of LC Bastogne and Herve FC in the standings. The club then decided to construct a new stand the following year. In the process, Van Dormael led the team to the Third Division title, which meant its first promotion to the Belgian Second Division. The title-winning team featured some of the most iconic players of the club's history, including Werner Pirard and Karl Franssen, the emblematic captain Günter Brüll, as well as goalkeeper Elmar Keutgen, future mayor of the City of