2020–21 Belgian First Division A
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 6 August 2020 – 30 May 2021 |
← 2019–20 2021–22 → | |
The 2020–21 Belgian First Division A will be the 118th season of top-tier football in Belgium. As part of a proposal by the Jupiler Pro League's board of directors accepted by the General Assembly on 15 May 2020, the 2020–21 season will involve shortened playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the top four teams will play off for the title, while teams five through eight will playoff for the remaining ticket into Europe.[1]
Team changes
Waasland-Beveren was relegated as the team was in the last position when the 2019–20 Belgian First Division A was stopped prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their replacement is still uncertain, in case OH Leuven and Beerschot manage to complete the second leg of their promotion playoff in time before the start of the season, the winner will take the spot of Waasland-Beveren, if not, Westerlo will promote instead.
Format change
While the regular season remains unchanged, the end of season play-offs have been shortened temporarily and for the 2020–21 season only. The title playoffs will now only be played by the top four teams (instead of six) and the Europa League play-offs will now be played by the teams finishing fifth through eight (instead of all teams finishing below 6th).
Teams
Stadiums and locations
Bruges
Locations of the 2020–21 Belgian First Division A teams
| Matricule | Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Anderlecht | Anderlecht | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium | 21,500 |
| 1 | Antwerp | Antwerp | Bosuilstadion | 12,975 |
| 12 | Cercle Brugge | Bruges | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,042 |
| 22 | Charleroi | Charleroi | Stade du Pays de Charleroi | 14,000 |
| 3 | Club Brugge | Bruges | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,042 |
| 4276 | Eupen | Eupen | Kehrwegstadion | 8,363 |
| 322 | Genk | Genk | Luminus Arena | 24,956 |
| 7 | Gent | Ghent | Ghelamco Arena | 20,000 |
| 19 | Kortrijk | Kortrijk | Guldensporen Stadion | 9,399 |
| 25 | Mechelen | Mechelen | AFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne | 16,700 |
| 216 | Mouscron | Mouscron | Stade Le Canonnier | 10,571 |
| 31 | Oostende | Ostend | Versluys Arena | 8,432 |
| 373 | Sint-Truiden | Sint-Truiden | Stayen | 14,600 |
| 16 | Standard Liège | Liège | Stade Maurice Dufrasne | 30,023 |
| 5381 | Zulte Waregem | Waregem | Regenboogstadion | 12,500 |
Personnel and kits
| Club | Manager | Kit Manufacturer | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht |  Vincent Kompany and Franky Vercauteren
|
Joma | BNP Paribas Fortis |
| Antwerp |  Ivan Leko
|
Jako | Ghelamco |
| Cercle Brugge | position vacant | Erima | Napoleon Games |
| Charleroi |  Karim Belhocine
|
Kappa | Proximus |
| Club Brugge | Philippe Clement
|
Macron | Unibet |
| Eupen |  Beñat San José
|
Nike | Aspire Academy |
| Excel Mouscron | position vacant | Uhlsport | Star Casino |
| Genk |  Hannes Wolf
|
Nike | Beobank |
| Gent |  Jess Thorup
|
Craft | Vdk bank |
| Kortrijk | Yves Vanderhaeghe
|
Jako | AGO Jobs & HR |
| Mechelen | Wouter Vrancken
|
Jartazi | Telenet |
| Oostende | Alexander Blessin
|
Joma | DIAZ Be |
| Sint-Truiden |  Kevin Muscat
|
Umbro | Golden Palace |
| Standard Liège | Philippe Montanier
|
New Balance | VOO |
| Zulte-Waregem | Francky Dury
|
Patrick | Willy Naessens Group |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cercle Brugge | Bernd Storck
|
End of contract[2] | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | ||
| Antwerp |  László Bölöni
|
End of contract[3] | Ivan Leko
|
20 May 2020[4] | ||
| Sint-Truiden |  Miloš Kostić
|
Mutual consent[5] | Kevin Muscat
|
2 June 2020[6] | ||
| Oostende |  Adnan Čustović
|
Replaced[7] | Alexander Blessin
|
7 June 2020[7] | ||
| Standard Liège | Michel Preud'homme
|
Resigned[8] | Philippe Montanier
|
10 June 2020[9] | ||
| Excel Mouscron | Bernd Hollerbach
|
Mutual consent[10] |
Regular season
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Club Brugge (C) | 34 | 24 | 4 | 6 | 73 | 26 | +47 | 76 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League and Play-offs I[a] |
| 2 | Antwerp | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 57 | 48 | +9 | 60 | Qualification for the Play-offs I |
| 3 | Anderlecht | 34 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 51 | 34 | +17 | 58 | |
| 4 | Genk[b] | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 56 | |
| 5 | Oostende[c] | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 53 | Qualification for the Play-offs II |
| 6 | Standard Liège | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 52 | 41 | +11 | 50 | |
| 7 | Gent | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 55 | 42 | +13 | 49 | |
| 8 | Mechelen | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 48 | |
| 9 | Beerschot | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 58 | 64 | −6 | 47 | |
| 10 | Zulte Waregem | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 53 | 69 | −16 | 46 | |
| 11 | OH Leuven | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 54 | 59 | −5 | 45 | |
| 12 | Eupen | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 44 | 55 | −11 | 43 | |
| 13 | Charleroi | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 46 | 49 | −3 | 42 | |
| 14 | Kortrijk | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 39 | |
| 15 | Sint-Truiden | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 38 | |
| 16 | Cercle Brugge | 34 | 11 | 3 | 20 | 40 | 51 | −11 | 36 | |
| 17 | Waasland-Beveren (R) | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 44 | 70 | −26 | 31 | Qualification for the Relegation play-off |
| 18 | Excel Mouscron[c] (R) | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 32 | 54 | −22 | 31 | Relegation to First Division B |
Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Play-off.[14]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Play-off.[14]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ The regular season winners will qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League if they do not qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League in the playoffs or for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League through the 2020–21 Belgian Cup.
- ^ Genk qualifies for at least the play-off round of the Europa League through winning the 2021 Belgian Cup.
- ^ a b On 14 April 2021 news was released that both Excel Mouscron and Oostende had not received a Belgian professional football license for the coming season, a requirement to play at the top two levels of Belgian football. For Oostende, a lack of financial transparency, together with generally poor quality and incompleteness of the submitted report, was given as the main reason by the committee for not awarding a license, while Excel Mouscron was refused a license as besides insufficient transparency, the committee also questioned several cash flows and whether the club was creditworthy in general, also due to the fact that the wages for the months of February and March had not yet been paid at that point. For Excel Mouscron, it was already the sixth year running the license was (initially) refused, however, the club has appealed the decision with the Belgian Court for Sports Arbitrage (BAS) successfully on each occasion and intended to do so again. Oostende was planning to launch an appeal as well, with the BAS to rule on the matter for both clubs before the 10th of May. Both clubs were allowed to add new documents to their case, but in case they however still did not receive a license after appeal, knew they would have been forced to relegate to the 2021–22 Belgian Division 2 and start the season with a 3-point penalty.[11] Both Exel Mouscron and Oostende were however eventually awarded a license after appeal, meaning Oostende remained at the top level, while Excel Mouscron only dropped one level.[12][13]
Results
Notes
References
- ^ "Communicatie na de Algemene Vergadering". Jupiler Pro League. 15 May 2020.
- ^ "Cercle Brugge ziet zijn redder vertrekken: Bernd Storck gaat niet in op voorstel" [Cercle Brugge sees saviour depart: Bernd Storck does not accept proposition] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-04-22.
- ^ "OFFICIEEL: Geen Bölöni meer volgend seizoen bij Antwerp" [OFFICIAL: No Bölöni anymore next season at Antwerp] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-05-14.
- ^ "Ivan Leko volgt Laszlo Bölöni op als coach van Antwerp" [Ivan Leko succeeds Laszlo Bölöni as Antwerp manager] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-05-20.
- ^ "STVV EN MILOS KOSTIC NEMEN AFSCHEID" [STVV AND MILOS KOSTIC SAY GOODBYE] (in Dutch). stvv.com. 2020-06-02.
- ^ "Muscat is nieuwe STVV-coach, Kostic hield enkel stoel warm: "Plan van Japanners"" [Muscat new STVV-manager, Kostic was only keeping his seat warm: "Japanese Plan"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-06-02.
- ^ a b "Duitser Blessin wordt de nieuwe coach van KV Oostende" [German Blessin becomes new manager of KV Oostende] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-06-07.
- ^ "Michel Preud'homme stopt als hoofdcoach bij Standard: "Eerlijk zijn met jezelf"" [Michel Preud'homme quits as Standard manager: "Have to be fair to yourself"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-06-08.
- ^ "Standard tovert Philippe Montanier uit zijn hoed als nieuwe trainer" [Standard comes up with Philippe Montanier as new manager by surprise] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-06-10.
- ^ "Moeskroen en coach Bernd Hollerbach gaan uit mekaar" [Mouscron and manager Hollerbach part ways] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-06-10.
- ^ "KV Oostende en Moeskroen krijgen (weer) geen licentie in eerste zit" [KV Oostende and (again) Mouscron don't receive a license at their first attempt] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
- ^ "KV Oostende krijgt licentie van BAS, afwachten voor Moeskroen" [KV Oostende awarded license by BAS, Mouscron still waiting] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "Degradant Moeskroen bemachtigt via BAS opnieuw een licentie" [Relegated Mouscron again obtains license after appeal at BAS] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "Bondsreglement Titel 7: Competities" [Association Rules Title 7: Competitions] (PDF). Royal Belgian Football Association. p. 19. Retrieved 25 August 2020.