A Unique Football Identity Forged in Diversity

When Belgium's national anthem reverberates through Seattle's Lumen Field before their World Cup opener against Egypt on June 15, it will not sound like a harmonious choir. The Belgian fans' voices will clash, rhythms will interfere, and some will be singing completely different words than others. This is because Belgium is one of the few nations in the world whose national anthem can be sung in three different languages.

"We don't even have a national anthem in one language," says Paul Van den Brande, 60, who travels from his home in Antwerp to stadiums all over the world following Belgium's team — nicknamed the Red Devils. "There are the Dutch fans singing Flemish and the French fans singing French, but that's the only barrier in the travelling support: language. There is unity."

The Three-Language Nation

La Brabanconne, the French version, De Brabanconne in Dutch, and less commonly Die Brabanconne in German — belonging to just one per cent of the population — represent Belgium's uniquely blended identity. A federal state of just 11 million people, Belgium comprises three regions and 10 provinces, each with distinct cultural and linguistic characteristics.

Approximately 59 per cent of the population speaks Dutch, primarily in Flanders in the north, bordering the Netherlands. French is spoken by 40 per cent in Wallonia to the south, adjacent to France. The German-speaking community occupies a small region in East Belgium, near the Belgian-German-Dutch border tri-point.

"During our Red Devils games, these moments are maybe the only time when Belgium is united as a single country," says Michael Vandersteen, president of the country's biggest fan group, De Bemvoort. "In normal life, that feeling is not part of our people, I'm afraid. Shared pride for our country is what we are missing."

Football as the Great Unifier

Belgium's motto on its coat of arms reads 'Unity makes strength' (Eendracht maakt macht), but it is the football songbook that best captures that ideal. When Belgian fans travel to North America for this World Cup, the most commonly-heard song will be 'Waar is dat feestje? Hier is dat feestje!', which translates as 'Where's the party? Here's the party!' and, although it has Dutch lyrics, it is also sung by those from the south of the country.

The reverse is also true for the slogan heard at every single national-team match — 'Tous Ensembles, Tous Ensembles', which means All Together, chanted by Dutch speakers despite its French origins.

The passion is exemplified by a tight-knit, hardcore group of around 300 fans who go to every game, but they are representative of the wider country. They organise a fan-walk to every away match, and at the 2018 World Cup in Russia had 10,000 supporters who came together.

"There was a problem with everyone bringing their regional club flags to the ground (for Belgium matches) 15 years ago, but that changed and they're gone," says Steven Vekeman, who has run a supporters' club, Kelderduivelsm, in the city of Mechelen since his homeland co-hosted the 2000 European Championship with the Netherlands. "Different colours, same passion."

A Golden Generation's Legacy

Belgium's national team has been a force for solidarity throughout their history. In 1986, Belgium's surprise journey to the World Cup semi-finals in Mexico moved the needle on national identity. There was a 15 per cent jump in the number of people in the Flemish community who said they felt Belgian.

Former captain and manager Marc Wilmots became a symbol of unity during his spell in charge of the team between 2012 and 2016. He spoke all three official state languages and was married to a Flemish woman.

"We're a big example of the power of unity," says Dietert Bernaers, 55, from Leuven. "We're small but complex. Everybody does their best to speak both languages. If not, it's no problem, we will find a third or fourth to speak in. That is what is important. Being proud of these colours means standing for all people across Belgium."

The Quest for World Cup Glory

Belgium's best and most talented squad emerged in the 2010s. Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, Vincent Kompany, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens, Mousa Dembele, Axel Witsel, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Thomas Vermaelen all played at the very elite of European club football for over a decade.

They helped Belgium to the top of FIFA's world rankings, occupying first place for a total of 1,352 days between 2018 and 2022, a period that included a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and a quarter-final exit against eventual champions Italy at Euro 2020.

Today, with only Lukaku, De Bruyne and Courtois as survivors of the old guard, a new Belgium team is emerging, with winger Jeremy Doku and attacking midfielder Charles De Ketelaere as its key protagonists.

"When you have a golden team, there is pressure to perform, and we get criticised that we don't get prizes," says Geert Verdonck, 60, whose fan club boasts 50 members and who has not missed a Belgium game since 2013. "When we don't have a golden team, we get laughed at when we don't win a trophy. For the few hundred who follow (Belgium) everywhere, it doesn't matter. It's been fun to have these players (of that generation) but now we have a new generation building."

It is the perennial question when it comes to Belgium, a nation defined by its distinct differences attempting to compromise its way to a solution, to be tous ensemble. These fans hope that, without the egos and fame, this 2026 group might strike the perfect balance.