Belgian football league system explained

The Belgian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Belgium.

Men's system

The league system underwent restructuring which was approved by the Royal Belgian Football Association. One important step was the introduction of a national fifth level for the first time. Its implementation took effect as of the 2016–17 season.^[1] Changes since 2016:

From the 2020–21 season on:
- the third, fourth and fifth level were renamed due to the negative connotation of the word Amateur. The First Amateur Division, Second Amateur Division and Third Amateur Division were rebranded respectively as National Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3.
- the First Division B no longer involved all eight teams playing two separate round-robin competitions with the two winners playing off for the title, but rather involved all teams playing each other four times.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Belgian First Division A was expanded temporarily from 16 to 18 teams.
From the 2022–23 season, the two highest leagues were renamed, from First Division A and First Division B to Pro League and Challenger Pro League respectively. Furthermore, the Challenger Pro League expanded to 12 teams and now included as well four U23-teams. Also in the National Division 1 and Division 2 U23 teams were added.
The Pro League again reverted to 16 teams from the 2023–24 season, with a new playoff system similar to the pre-COVID period, but most importantly now with two teams directly relegating and a third one playing a play-off to avoid it. The Challenger Pro League expands to 16 teams.
From the 2024–25 season, the highest non-professional level (Belgian National Division 1) was split into two separate divisions, one for VV and ACFF each, with the number of clubs expanding from 18 to 28 (16 VV + 12 ACFF).

Level	League(s)/Division(s)
	Professional Leagues
1	Belgian Pro League 16 clubs 2 relegations + 1 relegation play-off
2	Challenger Pro League 16 clubs 2 promotions + 1 promotion play-off 2 relegations
	Semi-/Non-Professional Leagues
3	National Division 1 VV 16 clubs 1 promotion, 1 relegation	National Division 1 ACFF 12 clubs 1 promotion, 1 relegation
4	Belgian Division 2 VV 36 clubs divided in 2 series of 18 1 promotion, 4 relegations	Belgian Division 2 ACFF 18 clubs 1 promotion, 2 relegations
5	Belgian Division 3 VV 32 clubs divided in 2 series of 16 4 promotions, 3 relegations	Belgian Division 3 ACFF 32 clubs divided in 2 series of 16 2 promotions, 3 relegations
	Amateur Leagues
6	(All divisions run in parallel) Belgian Provincial Leagues, First Level Eerste Provinciale Antwerpen – 16 clubs Eerste Provinciale Brabant (Flemish) – 16 clubs Première Provinciale Brabant (Francophone) – 16 clubs Première Provinciale Hainaut – 16 clubs Première Provinciale Liège – 18 clubs Eerste Provinciale Limburg – 16 clubs Première Provinciale Luxembourg – 14 clubs Première Provinciale Namur – 16 clubs Eerste Provinciale Oost-Vlaanderen – 16 clubs Eerste Provinciale West-Vlaanderen – 16 clubs
7	(All divisions run in parallel) Belgian Provincial Leagues, Second Level Tweede Provinciale Antwerpen – 32 clubs divided in 2 series of 16 Tweede Provinciale Brabant (Flemish) – 32 clubs divided in 2 series of 16 Deuxième Provinciale Brabant (Francophone) – 32 clubs divided in 2 series of 16 Deuxième Provinciale Hainaut – 48 clubs divided in 3 series of 16 Deuxième Provinciale Liège – 46 clubs divided in 3 series; 2 of 15 teams and 1 of 16 teams Tweede Provinciale Limburg – 32 clubs divided in 2 series of 16 Deuxième Provinciale Luxembourg – 42 clubs divided in 3 series of 14 Deuxième Provinciale Namur – 32 clubs divided in 2 series of 16 Tweede Provinciale Oost-Vlaanderen – 48 clubs divided in 3 series of 16 Tweede Provinciale West-Vlaanderen – 32 clubs divided in 2 series of 16
8	(All divisions run in parallel) Belgian Provincial Leagues, Third Level Derde Provinciale Antwerpen – 48 clubs divided in 3 series of 16 Derde Provinciale Brabant (Flemish) – 32 clubs divided in 2 series of 16 Troisième Provinciale Brabant (Francophone) – 32 clubs divided in 2 series of 16 Troisième Provinciale Hainaut – 64 clubs divided in 4 series of 16 Troisième Provinciale Liège – 64 clubs divided in 4 series of 16 Derde Provinciale Limburg – 48 clubs divided in 3 series of 16 Troisième Provinciale Luxembourg – 72 clubs divided in 6 series; 4 of 14 teams and 2 of 13 teams Troisième Provinciale Namur – 48 clubs divided in 3 series of 16 Derde Provinciale Oost-Vlaanderen – 80 clubs divided in 5 series of 16 Derde Provinciale West-Vlaanderen – 48 clubs divided in 3 series of 16
9	(All divisions run in parallel) Belgian Provincial Leagues, Fourth Level Vierde Provinciale Antwerpen – 82 clubs divided in 5 series; 3 of 16 teams and 2 of 17 teams Vierde Provinciale Brabant (Flemish) – 96 clubs divided in 6 series of 16 Quatrième Provinciale Hainaut – 115 clubs divided in 8 series; 5 of 14 teams and 3 of 15 teams Quatrième Provinciale Liège – 112 clubs divided in 8 series; 3 of 13 teams, 2 of 14 teams and 3 of 15 teams Vierde Provinciale Limburg – 52 clubs divided in 8 series; 2 of 17 teams and 1 of 18 teams Quatrième Provinciale Namur – 78 clubs divided in 6 series of 13 Vierde Provinciale Oost-Vlaanderen – 72 clubs divided in 5 series; 3 of 16 teams and 2 of 17 teams Vierde Provinciale West-Vlaanderen – 52 clubs divided in 3 series; 1 of 16 teams and 2 of 18 teams

Pre-2016 structure

Until the end of the 2015–16 season, the structure was as follows. For each division, its official name, sponsorship name (which often differs radically from its official name) and number of clubs is given. The winner(s) of each division promoted to the division(s) directly above them and relegated to the division(s) that lie directly below them.

Level	League(s)/Division(s)
1	Belgian First Division (Jupiler Pro League) 16 clubs
2	Belgian Second Division (Belgacom League) 18 clubs
3	Belgian Third Division (Nationwide league) 36 clubs divided in 2 series of 18
4	Belgian Fourth Division (Nationwide league) 64 clubs divided in 4 series of 16
5	West Flanders 1 Provinciaal 16 clubs East Flanders 1 Provinciaal 16 clubs Antwerp Eerste Provinciale 16 clubs Limburg Eerste Provinciale 16 clubs Brabant Eerste Provinciale 16 clubs Hainaut 1 Provinciale 16 clubs Namur 1 Provinciale 16 clubs Luxembourg 1 Provinciale 16 clubs Liège I Provinciale 16 clubs (All divisions run in parallel)
6	West Flanders 2 Provinciaal (2 parallel divisions) East Flanders 2 Provinciaal (2 parallel divisions) Antwerp Tweede Provinciale (2 parallel divisions) Limburg Tweede Provinciale (3 parallel divisions) Brabant Tweede Provinciale (3 parallel divisions) Hainaut 2 Provinciale (3 parallel divisions) Namur 2 Provinciale (2 parallel divisions) Luxembourg 2 Provinciale (3 parallel divisions) Liège II Provinciale (3 parallel divisions)
7	West Flanders 3 Provinciaal (3 parallel divisions) East Flanders 3 Provinciaal (5 parallel divisions) Antwerp Derde Provinciale (3 parallel divisions) Limburg Derde Provinciale (3 parallel divisions) Brabant Derde Provinciale (6 parallel divisions) Hainaut 3 Provinciale (5 parallel divisions) Namur 3 Provinciale (3 parallel divisions) Luxembourg 3 Provinciale (5 parallel divisions) (Lowest in Luxembourg) Liège III Provinciale (5 parallel divisions)
8	West Flanders 4 Provinciaal (3 parallel divisions) East Flanders 4 Provinciaal (5 parallel divisions) Antwerp Vierde Provinciale (5 parallel divisions) Limburg Vierde Provinciale (4 parallel divisions) Brabant Vierde Provinciale (9 parallel divisions) Hainaut 4 Provinciale (8 parallel divisions) Namur 4 Provinciale (4 parallel divisions) Liège IV Provinciale (6 parallel divisions)

Men's league historical timeline

The timeline below lists the evolution of the men's tiers and leagues related to the Belgian FA since 1895. The provincial leagues often span multiple tiers.DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyyImageSize = width:1500 height:auto barincrement:20Period = from:1889 till:2030TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalPlotArea = left:20 right:150 bottom:50 top:20Legend = left:20 top:20 columnwidth:50Colors = id:barcolor id:line value:pink id:bg value:white id:tier1 value:dullyellow legend:Tier-1 id:tier2 value:gray(0.8) legend:Tier-2 id:tier3 value:yellow2 legend:Tier-3 id:tier4 value:skyblue legend:Tier-4 id:tier5 value:coral legend:Tier-5 id:tier6 value:yellowgreen legend:Tier-6PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:tier1 from:01/07/1895 till:30/06/1900 text:Coupe de Championnat (1895–1900) bar:2 color:tier1 from:01/07/1900 till:30/06/1914 text:E(e)re Afde(e)ling (1900–1914 & 1919-1939 & 1941–1944 & 1945–1952) bar:2 color:tier1 from:01/07/1919 till:30/06/1939 text: bar:3 color:tier1 from:01/07/1940 till:30/06/1941 text:Ere Afdeling (unofficial) (1940–1941) bar:2 color:tier1 from:01/07/1941 till:30/06/1944 text: bar:2 color:tier1 from:01/07/1945 till:30/06/1952 text: bar:4 color:tier1 from:01/07/1952 till:30/06/2009 text:Eerste Klasse (1952–2009) bar:5 color:tier1 from:01/07/2009 till:30/06/2016 text:Pro League (2009–2016) & (2022–present) bar:6 color:tier1 from:01/07/2016 till:30/06/2022 text:Eerste Klasse A (2016–2022) bar:5 color:tier1 from:01/07/2022 till:end text:

bar:7 color:tier2 from:01/07/1896 till:30/06/1909 text:Eerste Afdeeling (1896–1909) bar:8 color:tier2 from:01/07/1909 till:30/06/1914 text:Promotion (1909–1914 & 1919-1926) bar:8 color:tier2 from:01/07/1919 till:30/06/1926 text: bar:9 color:tier2 from:01/07/1926 till:30/06/1931 text:Eerste afdeeling (1926–1931) bar:10 color:tier2 from:01/07/1931 till:30/06/1939 text:Eerste afdeeling A & B (1931–1939 & 1941-1944 1945-1952) bar:10 color:tier2 from:01/07/1941 till:30/06/1944 text: bar:10 color:tier2 from:01/07/1945 till:30/06/1952 text: bar:11 color:tier2 from:01/07/1952 till:30/06/2016 text:Tweede Klasse (1952–2016) bar:12 color:tier2 from:01/07/2016 till:30/06/2022 text:Eerste Klasse B (2016–2022) bar:13 color:tier2 from:01/07/2022 till:end text:Challenger Pro League (2022–present)

bar:14 color:tier3 from:01/07/1898 till:30/06/1900 text:Tweede Afdeeling (1898-1900 & 1901–1909) bar:14 color:tier3 from:01/07/1901 till:30/06/1909 text:

bar:15 color:tier3 from:01/07/1926 till:30/06/1939 text:Promotion (1926–1939 & 1941-1944 1945-1952) bar:15 color:tier3 from:01/07/1941 till:30/06/1944 text: bar:15 color:tier3 from:01/07/1945 till:30/06/1952 text: bar:18 color:tier3 from:01/07/1952 till:30/06/2016 text:Derde Klasse (1952–2016) bar:19 color:tier3 from:01/07/2016 till:30/06/2020 text:Eerste Amateur (2016–2020) bar:20 color:tier3 from:01/07/2020 till:end text:Eerste Nationale (2020–present)

bar:21 color:tier4 from:01/07/1952 till:30/06/2016 text:Promotion (or Vierde Klasse) (1952–2016) bar:22 color:tier4 from:01/07/2016 till:30/06/2020 text:Tweede Amateur (2016–2020) bar:23 color:tier4 from:01/07/2020 till:end text:Tweede Afdeling (2020–present)

bar:24 color:tier5 from:01/07/2016 till:30/06/2020 text:Derde Amateur (2016–2020) bar:25 color:tier5 from:01/07/2020 till:end text:Derde Afdeling (2020–present)

bar:26 color:tier4 from:01/07/1904 till:30/06/1909 text:Provincial divisions (up to four tiers, depending on year and province) bar:26 color:tier3 from:01/07/1909 till:30/06/1914 text: bar:26 color:tier3 from:01/07/1919 till:30/06/1926 text: bar:26 color:tier4 from:01/07/1926 till:30/06/1939 text: bar:26 color:tier4 from:01/07/1941 till:30/06/1944 text: bar:26 color:tier4 from:01/07/1945 till:30/06/1952 text: bar:26 color:tier5 from:01/07/1952 till:30/06/2016 text: bar:26 color:tier6 from:01/07/2016 till:end text:

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:4 start:1889TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:

Women's system

From 2012/13 to 2014/15 the top teams played in the BeNe League, a joint league with clubs from the Netherlands. The Super League was created in 2015.^[2]

Level	League(s)/Division(s)
1	Super League 8 clubs
2	First Division 14 clubs
3	Second Division (Nationwide league) 14 clubs
4	Third division (Nationwide league) 28 clubs divided in 2 series of 14
5+	Provincial leagues

References

News: LA RÉFORME DU FOOT BELGE À PARTIR DE LA SAISON 2016-2017 APPROUVÉE: VOICI À QUOI VA RESSEMBLER LE PAYSAGE FOOTBALLISTIQUE BELGE. 15 June 2015. sudinfo.be. 9 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20180105002601/http://www.sudinfo.be/1311352/article/2015-06-15/la-reforme-du-foot-belge-a-partir-de-la-saison-2016-2017-approuvee-voici-a-quoi. 5 January 2018. fr.
Web site: Vrouwenvoetbal.be. www.vrouwenteam.be . https://web.archive.org/web/20150418003945/http://www.vrouwenteam.be/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3342%3Asuper-league-vrouwenvoetbal-gaat-van-start-in-2015-16 . 2015-04-18.

External links

League321.com - Belgian Football League Tables, Records & Statistics Database.
Belgian Football League summary(flashscore)