Founded in 1908, the club first reached the highest level in Belgian football in 1921–22 and have been playing in the first division continuously since 1935–36 and in Europe since 1964–65.

[4] They joined the official competition in 1909–10, starting at the lowest level in the Belgian football league system, then the third provincial division.

With Jef Mermans, a striker signed from K Tubantia FC in 1942 for a record fee of 125,000 Belgian francs, Anderlecht won their first league title in 1947.

In the 1960s, under the coaching of Pierre Sinibaldi and then of Andreas Beres, the club even won five titles in a row (from 1963–64 to 1967–68), which is still a Belgian league record.

Anderlecht played in the first European Champion Clubs' Cup in 1955–56, and lost both legs of their tie against Vörös Lobogo.

They had to wait until the 1962–63 season to win their first European tie, with a 1–0 victory over Real Madrid, which followed a 3–3 draw in Spain.

The 1982–83 season was a noteworthy season for the club for numerous reasons: former Anderlecht favourite Paul Van Himst was named the new coach, they won the 1982–83 UEFA Cup and under the impulse of sporting director Michel Verschueren, the rebuilding of the club stadium began.

Their bid to retain the UEFA Cup in 1983–84 failed at the final hurdle against English side Tottenham Hotspur.

Anderlecht reached the final by bribing the semi-final referee to the equivalent of £27,000, ensuring passage against another English side, Nottingham Forest.

[6] After three second-place finishes in a row, the Purple and Whites secured an easy 18th title in 1984–85, 11 points ahead of Club Brugge.

They then lost key players Franky Vercauteren, Enzo Scifo (transferred in the summer of 1987) and Juan Lozano (heavily injured in a game at KSV Waregem a few months earlier).

[7] A weakened team coached by Raymond Goethals finished only fourth in 1988 behind Club Brugge, KV Mechelen and Royal Antwerp, but they nonetheless managed to lift the Belgian Cup for the sixth time in club history after a 2–0 victory over Standard Liège, with goals by Luc Nilis and Eddie Krnčević.

The next year, Anderlecht retained the trophy with goals by Eddie Krncevic and Milan Janković (again with a 2–0 win over Standard), but finished second in the championship.

In 2009–10, the Purple and Whites won their 30th Belgian league title, while in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, Anderlecht made history by becoming the first Belgian team to finish the group stage of a European competition with the maximum number of points, dominating group opposition Lokomotiv Moscow, Sturm Graz and AEK Athens.

After the appointiment of young Swiss coach René Weiler, Anderlecht, with youth players like Youri Tielemans and Leander Dendoncker, became champions again in the 2016–17 season.

Due to the ban on gambling advertising, Napoleon Sports & Casino moved to the back in January 2025, and Sunweb became the main sponsor.

[20] In 2013 the stadium was refurbished, with installation of new scoreboards and advertising strips alongside the border of the pitch in accordance with UEFA regulations for the Champions League.

[citation needed] Anderlecht supporters hail from all over the country and only a minority come from the Brussels Capital Region.

Anderlecht counts 77 fan clubs, of which 5 are abroad (one in France, one in Poland, one in Texas, USA, one in Montreal, Canada and one in Sunderland, England).

[citation needed] On 1 January 2024, RSC Anderlecht had 4 million followers on social media, the highest among Belgian football clubs.

A tifo of a Standard supporters association, with the image of a decapitated Steven Defour in 2015 directed to their former player caused a lot of controversy in Belgium, after which the Federal Public Service Interior launched an investigation.

[32] 1982–83 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.