Ten Football legends were officially inducted into the Pro League Hall of Fame on Monday evening in the Bozar. The Belgian fans voted en masse and gave Jan Ceulemans, Jean-Marie Pfaff and Vincent Kompany, among others, an eternal place in this exclusive hall of fame. Together with Aline Zeler, celebrity of Belgian women’s football who was previously inducted, the Hall of Fame now consists of 11 members. From now on, the Pro League will award this award annually to two figureheads of Belgian football.
Discover the 11 names in the Hall of Fame
The Pro League celebrates its 50th anniversary this season. And we celebrate this, among other things, with the establishment of a Hall of Fame. Since August, we have been looking for the 10 most illustrious football players since our founding in 1974, together with our clubs, a professional jury and the fans. Our professional clubs selected 49 nominees to which our panel added 8 wild cards. A total of 57 candidates were presented to the fans, who could submit their top 3 between September 11 and October 16.
Out of a total of almost 40,000, these 10 players collected the most preference votes*:
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Buffalo, Thomas (KRC Genk)
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Ceulemans, Jan (Club Brugge)
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Gerets, Eric (Standard de Liège)
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Kompany, Vincent (RSC Anderlecht)
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Nilis, Luc (RSC Anderlecht)
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Pfaff, Jean-Marie (SK Beveren)
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Preud’homme, Michel (KV Mechelen)
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Sonck, Wesley (KRC Genk)
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Van der Elst, Franky (Club Brugge)
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Zetterberg, Pär (RSC Anderlecht)
*arranged in alphabetical order
These 10 legends join Aline Zeler in the Pro League Hall of Fame, who was the first to be inducted in 2022 when the Pro League Hall of Fame was announced for her services to women’s football. All Hall of Famers received their official gold suit vests on Monday evening. This unique piece of clothing belongs only to the greatest and is the ultimate symbol of success in Belgian football. Vincent Kompany, the only absentee from the Bozar due to Champions League commitments, received his Hall of Fame blazer in Munich.
Watch the report with Vincent Kompany:
“During the Hall of Fame campaign, the Pro League worked closely with its clubs to teach younger fans about our football history and place its legends on a pedestal. This was achieved with Belgian fans who voted 40,000 times for the heroes of their club and our competition. They were the Kevin De Bruyne or Thibaut Courtois of the past 50 years and are our ambassadors par excellence. We must embrace them and give them the respect they deserve”says Lorin Parys, CEO of the Pro League. “Fan voting is always exciting, but the 10 names undoubtedly each have their deserved place in the Hall of Fame. It’s a nice mix of generations, field positions and backgrounds. These 10 legends are adored by a wide audience and transcend club colours. We will now include two legends in our Pro League Awards every year. One will be chosen by the fans, and one by the jury.”
This project also has an important social component linked to the Alzheimer League. During the campaign, the Pro League called on all voters to make donations to its social partner to support the Football Memories project. “With the help of this support, the Alzheimer League can set up even more football discussion groups. Four will have been installed by the end of 2024, at STVV, KRC Genk, KVC Westerlo and Club Brugge. In these Football Memories sessions, people with dementia recall football memories. In this way we slow down the disease and remove this vulnerable group from isolation. All content we collect for the Hall of Fame is gratefully used for this purpose”said Lorin Parys.
After the inauguration of the Hall of Fame, the Pro League is working on even more activities to celebrate its 50th anniversary. “Of course we will continue to tell beautiful stories of our history on our digital channels. But we will soon also be launching the first Pro League clothing line: nice t-shirts that pay tribute to our Hall of Famers. At the end of the season we organize the biggest football quiz in Europe, maybe even the world, in which all fans can participate. And we also have a unique surprise for this season’s new national champion. The Pro League is 50 but still very young”Parys already provides a glimpse of the veil.
Alles over de Hall of Fame
