Royal Antwerp Football Club heads to England for a prestigious friendly match against Millwall, part of the Bistiaux tradition that brings the club back to life in the off-season. The club has a strong connection with England and has been a part of the country's football history for over a century. Paul Bistiaux introduced the idea of crossing the Channel in the off-season two years ago. He sought a way to maintain a certain status and how better to do that than with an annual trip to the birthplace of football? The British-Antwerp connection goes further. Two years ago – in 2003 – Bistiaux introduced the idea of crossing the Channel in the off-season. “Our European matches were lost in the early 21st century because we were relegated. Moreover, we played friendly matches against teams whose names I do not want to mention, but which I thought: ‘In God's name, must we go there now? We are well _den_ Antwerp hé.’ I sought a means to maintain a certain status and how better to do that than with an annual trip to the birthplace of football?” The name reveals it already. The oldest football association in the country was founded in 1880 by a group of English workers. Bistiaux: “There was once a trend that wanted to vernacularize the club name to ‘Antwerp Football Club.’ That was fortunately smothered in the bud, because it sounds utterly not. Antwerp has been a concept for over a century.”