FM 2016 Competitions Preview: Belgium

Hi guys, today we are going to show you a preview of the competitional system from Belgium. Football, a sport which has been played in Belgium since the end of the 19th century, is that country’s most popular sport. Traditionally, RSC Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard de Liege are the three big teams, all of them playing and/or winning one or more European Cup Final(s). Except for Standard de Liege and Charleroi, most professional clubs have Flemish backgrounds.

Top League & Continental Winners

Jupiler Pro League: Anderlecht (33), Club Brugge (13), Union Saint-Gilloise (11), Standard Liege (10), Beerschot VAC (7), Racing de Bruxelles (6), RFC Liege, Daring de Bruxelles (5), Antwerp FC, KV Mechelen, Lierse SK (4), KRC Genk, Cercle Brugge (3), KSK Beveren (2), KAA Gent, RWD Molenbeek (1).

UEFA Champions League: none. UEFA Europa League: Anderlecht (1983).

Tier I: Jupiler Pro League

• 30 games (teams play each other twice)
• Squad Registration: N/A
• Match Rules: Match squad must have at least 6 players trained by a club in Belgium
• Continental Qualification: 2 places for CL, 3 places for EL
• Relegation: Bottom team is relegated

The Belgian Pro League (officially known as Jupiler Pro League) is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Belgian Second Division. Seasons run from late July to early May, with teams playing 30 matches each in the regular season, and then entering play-offs 1, play-offs 2 or the relegation play-off according to their position in the regular season.

Jupiler Pro League Clubs (Ordered by Media Prediction)

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Tier II: Proximus League

• 32 games (teams play each other twice)
• Squad Registration: N/A
• Match Rules: Match squad must have at least 6 players trained by a club in Belgium
• Promotion: Top team promoted
• Relegation: Bottom 9 teams are relegated

The Belgian Second Division (known as the Proximus League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system after the Belgian Pro League. The season comprises the regular season (18 teams, 34 match days) and the play-offs.

Proximus League Clubs (Ordered by Media Prediction)

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Tier III: Belgian Third Division

• 34 games (teams play each other twice)
• Squad Registration: N/A
• Match Rules: Match squad must have at least 2 under-21 players
• Promotion: Top 6 from each group qualify for Playoffs
• Relegation: Bottom 12 teams are relegated

The Belgian Third Division is the third highest level in Belgian football. It has two leagues of 18 teams each (A and B) at the same level. At the end of the regular season, both league winners promote to the second division and a play-off is played to determine a possible third club to promote.

Belgian Third Division Clubs (Ordered by Media Prediction)

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The Cups

• Croky Cup — knockout tournament open to all clubs
  
• Belgian Super Cup — single match between Jupiler Pro League champions and Croky Cup winners

Next time we’ll take a quick look at some other playable nations in the game. Below are some of the conventions I took in order to show more information in a compact view in the tables. Thanks for reading and please feel free to leave any comments or feedback. Happy managing!

Table Conventions

• Under INT – CL, EL = Europe during first season / (p) = promoted club / (r) = relegated club
• Under Finance – asterisk sign (*) = club is under transfer embargo due to breach of financial regulations
• Under Estimated Value – loan debt is shown in parenthesis ().