Belgium - Pro League

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After missing out on Messi, Saudis give Benzema gala welcome

2 days ago

Former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was unveiled as an Al-Ittihad player in front of thousands of fans in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, a day after the oil-rich kingdom just failed to reel in Lionel Messi.

Messi makes decision over his future just days after his agent's meeting with Barcelona president

3 days ago

Barcelona, Inter Miami, and Al-Hilal all wish to sign the Argentine this summer but two of those three teams have been handed a huge blow.

Modric, Lloris among 'more than 10' Saudi targets: source

5 days ago

Luka Modric and Hugo Lloris feature on a list of "more than 10" top-level Saudi Arabian football transfer targets headed by Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema, a source close to the negotiations has told AFP.

Ancelotti reveals eye-catching update on Benzema's Real Madrid future amid links to Saudi giants Al-Ittihad

1 week ago

The Frenchman reportedly agreed to leave Los Blancos for Saudi Pro League giants Al-Ittihad but Ancelotti poured cold water on these claims.

Karim Benzema decides to leave Real Madrid for Saudi Pro League giants Al Ittihad

1 week ago

After 14 trophy-laden seasons at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu, the Ballon d'Or winner has informed the Spanish giants of his decision to leave ahead of a move to the Middle East.

No swag, but Ronaldo puts swagger in Saudi football

1 week ago

Cristiano Ronaldo's first season in Saudi Arabia ended with a whimper, but with hundreds of millions in wages and unprecedented attention on Saudi football he may not be the last megastar to grace the oil-rich kingdom.

Agent Jorge Mendes comes clean about relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo

1 week ago

The Portuguese duo ended their professional relationship back in December after a falling out on where the footballer should keep on playing.

The Belgian First Division A, or Jupiler Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is Belgium’s top-tier football league. It was founded in 1895 and is run by the Royal Belgian Football Association.

The Belgian top-flight is played yearly by 18 teams, following a relegation-promotion system like most leagues in Europe. Only one team is relegated to the Belgian First Division B after the 30 regular-season games are played.

Each of the 18 teams competing in the Pro League hosts every other team once in the regular season. In the end, a total of 34 matches are played between August and April. Three points are awarded for a win while a draw attracts one point. No point is given for a loss.

Teams are ranked by total number points accumulated, and then by total wins and finally by goal difference. If teams are still level, the number of scored goals, number of away goals and number of away wins are used to make the split. A test-match played over two legs is the last resort if the final order in the standings cannot be determined. A championship playoff phase is then played from May.

The championship is determined by a complicated playoff system. The six top-ranked clubs enter this stage with their points being halved prior to the ten playoff games. The team that wins the most points during this playoff, added by the halved points from the regular season, wins the title.

The winner of the competition is guaranteed a spot in the Group stage of the UEFA Champions League, while the runner up gets to play the preliminary stages of the competition. There are three more spots available for the UEFA Europa League: one that will go to the third-best team in the competition, and two more that will see Belgian teams fighting for a spot in the preliminary rounds.