Philippe Bormans and Chris O'Loughlin sign contracts until 2028 at Union

Our CEO and Sporting Director sign a four-year contract. ‘I am extremely happy that Philippe and Chris will stay with us for at least another four seasons. This will allow us to extend the work the three of us have put into Union to a full decade,’ said chairman Alex Muzio.

Written by

Joseph Marien

Philippe Bormans (37) has served as a CEO at Union since 2018, when chairman Muzio and Langford Holdings Limited took over our club. Chris O'Loughlin (45) joined Union in 2019 as a Sporting Director. Muzio, Bormans and O'Loughlin promoted with Union to 1A in 2021. In the first season in the First Division, Union became vice-champions and played European football again for the first time since 1964. In the 2022-2023 season, the club reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League and we finished third in the league. Last season, we won the Belgian Cup again after a 110-year wait.

CEO Philippe Bormans: ‘I have been here for six years now, three years in the Second Division, three years in the First Division. And especially those last three seasons we have experienced a lot of great things. The agreement for the next four years proves that there is a lot of trust on both sides. I look forward to continuing our cooperation, with the colleagues I am already working with.’

Of course, important for the club's near and distant future remains a new stadium on the Bempt site in Forest. ‘The construction of the new stadium is the main challenge. We really want to do that now. In addition, we will further professionalise our youth academy and set up our own training centre for our first team,’ Bormans said.

For Chris O'Loughlin, the commitment between him and the club is clear: ‘I am very passionate about what me and my team do here, and Union Saint-Gilloise means a lot to me.’

The club's culture and the team's DNA go hand in hand for Sports Director O'Loughlin. ‘It's not just any players who come to Union. It is important that there is a match between player and club and vice versa. That's what I try to ensure and hopefully then we can continue to make fans happy in the years to come.’