Belgium - First Division A

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Turner Broadcasting System Inc. » Seasons 2018-2020 Available on: B/R Live

The Belgian First Division A, or Jupiler Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is Belgium’s top-tier football league.

The Belgian top-flight is played yearly by 16 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. Added to that, the tournament grants the winner of the competition 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.

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 2018-19 First Division A ended with KRC Genk lifting their fourth title in history. The Smurfs claimed the title over Club Brugge by a narrow two-point margin. Standard Liege earned a spot in the Group stage of the UEFA Europa League, while Antwerp and Gent made it to the previous rounds of the competition. On the other side of the table, Lokeren was relegated to the First Division B category.

The 2019-20 season begins on July 26, 2019, with Mechelen taking Lokeren’s spot in the Belgian top-flight category. The last playoff game is scheduled to be played on May 2020.

Did you know? Anderlecht is the most winning team in the Belgian top flight, with 34 titles to their name. The Purple and White team won its last title in the 2016-17 season.