Francis Dessain

Francis Joseph Dessain (25 July 1875 – 23 August 1951) was a Belgian lawyer, priest, and footballer who played as a forward for Royal Léopold at the turn of the century. He served as the fifth president of the Royal Belgian Football Association from 1945 until 1951, as well as the second president of K.V. Mechelen for 45 years, from 1906 until he died in 1951, being replaced by his nephew Patrick Dessain.

He is the younger brother of , who was mayor of Mechelen for over 25 years. and even won several first prizes in the shot put and hammer throw. He remained loyal to the club for nearly a decade, until 1905, when he retired at the age of 30.

Managerial career Around 1905, Dessain moved to the newly created K.V. Mechelen, becoming its president in September 1906, a position he held for 45 years, until August 1951. During his long presidential reign of Mechelen, he also acted as the team's manager for 13 years, from 1911 until 1924, when he was replaced by William Maxwell. He was also one of the founders and directors of the , the result of the merger of many schools and other Catholic associations, and which was admitted to the UBSSA in 1907. On 27 August 1911, Dessain, along with a few other people, acquired a 2.5-acre site on which the club still plays today, the so-called Achter de Kazerne ("Behind the Army Barracks").

His position as president of Mechelen allowed him to rise through the ranks within the RBFA, becoming a member of its central committee in 1911, the vice-president of its committee in 1913, the RBFA's vice-president in 1937, and finally its fifth president on 30 June 1945, a position that he also held until he died in Mechelen on 23 August 1951, at the age of 76, being then replaced by Georges Hermesse.

Outside sports At the start of the First World War, his older brother Charles, then mayor of Mechelen, was in England with a large group of Mechelen refugees, so Francis was employed for a few months as the city's acting mayor, which was a highly exceptional circumstance at the time. In December 1915, Dessain entered the seminary, being ordained a priest on 2 January 1921, and becoming a canon later that year. He then became the private secretary to Cardinals Désiré-Joseph Mercier and Groep Van Roey, archbishops of Mechelen, and he also taught at the Sint-Romboutscollege in Mechelen.

Dessain was also a deputy director of an insurance company, and manager of the printing company H. Dessain.

Honours Club Royal Léopold Belgian First Division Runner-up (1): 1901–02

Challenge International du Nord Champions (2): 1898 and 1899 Runner-up (1): 1901

International Belgium Coupe Vanden Abeele: Champions (1): 1904