The following article is a summary of the 2020–21 football season in Belgium, which is the 118th season of competitive football in the country and will run from August 2020 until June 2021.
^Genk qualifies for at least the play-off round of the Europa League through winning the 2021 Belgian Cup.
^ abOn 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.[1] Both Excel 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.[2][3]
Not eligible for promotion or relegation and left the league due to Virton's readmission.
Source: Belgian First Division B Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won; 7) Play-off.[5] (C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (Y) Cannot get promoted or relegated Notes:
^Normally, the team finishing in last place (except Club NXT which is ineligible for promotion/relegation) would have been relegated. However, the general meeting of the Pro League decided on 16 March that no team would be relegated, as the 2020–21 Belgian National Division 1 had been cancelled due to measures taken by the Belgian government against the spread of COVID-19 prohibiting amateur football, causing no team to be promoted from that league to fill the gap.
All leagues from the third level and below, were cancelled in January 2021 with just a few matches played, as measures taken by the Belgian government against the spread of COVID-19 prohibited amateur football.[15] The tables below represent the standings at the time the leagues were cancelled, however the season will be recorded as a "blank season", meaning all results are void and no teams will be promoted or relegated for sportive reasons. Clubs might however still be removed in case they do not fulfill the requirements for their level or want to restart at the bottom of the pyramid.
^The match between Deinze and Seraing was postponed from 1 November 2020 to 15 November 2020 due to the home team suffering from an excessive number of A-squad players being placed in quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test.[6]
^The match between Club NXT and Westerlo was postponed from 25 September 2020 to 14 November 2020 due to the away team suffering from an excessive number of A-squad players being placed in quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test.[7]
^The match between RWDM47 and Lierse Kempenzonen of 24 October 2020 was postponed to 14 November 2020 due to the home team suffering from an excessive number of A-squad players being placed in quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test.[8]
^The match between Westerlo and Deinze was postponed due to the home team suffering from an excessive number of A-squad players being placed in quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test, initially from 20 September 2020 to 30 September 2020,[9] but on 28 September the match was postponed again and eventually it was played on 18 November 2020.[10]
^The match between Westerlo and RWDM47 was postponed from 1 October 2020 to 9 November 2020, due to the home team suffering from an excessive number of A-squad players being placed in quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test.[11]
^ abDue to expected severe weather conditions involving excessive snow, the matches Club NXT-Westerlo and Deinze-RWDM of 7 February 2021 were postponed the day before. Club NXT-Westerlo was eventually played on 3 March 2021, while Deinze-RWDM was played on 18 March 2021.[12]
^Due to excessive snow and cold, the pitch of RWDM was deemed unsuitable for football on 12 February 2021, resulting in postponement of the match against Seraing which was originally scheduled to be played two days later.[13] The match was eventually played on 3 March 2021.
^Lommel forfeited the match against Seraing, thereby automatically losing the match 5–0. On the day of the match, Lommel had five players test positive for COVID-19, with twenty others (players and staff) required to go into quarantine as a result. The match can only be postponed in case 7 or more A-squad players test positive, however, the club chose to forfeit the match to prevent taking excessive risks and allowing the virus to spread further.[14]
^Mid-April, Visé was refused a Belgian remunerated football license due to use of an incorrect employment contract as its manager José Riga was self-employed rather than signed full-time as per the requirements. Visé appealed the decision with the Belgian Court for Sports Arbitration, adjusting the contract ahead of the new deadline, but also used the appeal to apply for a Belgian professional football license, which would allow the club to play at the second level. The BAS ruled in favor of the club, meaning that in case any vacant places open up at a higher level, Visé would be eligible if manage to adhere to the more stringent requirements, such as extra capacity in the stadium and sufficient luminous intensity in the stadium.[16]
^Patro Eisden Maasmechelen announced on 13 April 2021 that it would not be receiving a Belgian remunerated football license, a requirement to play at this level, due to outstanding debts related to social security and taxes. The club added it would appeal the decision with the Belgian Court for Sports Arbitration and believed it would be receiving a license in the end, as in the meantime the necessary funds had been obtained.[17] Eventually the license was indeed granted.
^Roeselare went bankrupt before the season actually started,[18] resulting in the team automatically finishing last. After the season neighbouring club Forza Dadizele, playing at the highest level of the Belgian Provincial Leagues, was renamed SK Roeselare-Daisel, hoping to lure in supporters from the defaulted club to help climb the club up the pyramid.
^On 12 May 2020, Virton were refused both a professional football license and a remunerated football license, meaning they were relegated two levels, directly from the 2019–20 Belgian First Division B to the 2020–21 Belgian Division 2.[22] The club refused to take part in the 2020–21 Belgian Division 2, forfeiting its matches and instead appealing the license decision. While initially seeming to lose the appeal, eventually the Belgian Competition Authority (BMA) ruled on 20 November 2020 that the Belgian FA had violated the competition rules in the license application of Virton. As the competitions had already progressed too far at that point, the BMA asked to reinstate Virton at the second level from the 2021–22 season, while only requiring the club to adhere to the conditions for a remunerated football license for that season, rather than the stricter rules for a professional football license, which is normally the case at this level. Among other things, this would allow the club to also employ players on amateur contracts for their initial season back at the second level. Virton has applied for a license to be allowed to play in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B and has sued the Belgian FA for 15 million euro in damages.[23] On 12 May 2021, the BAS agreed with the appeal of Virton, not only awarding the license to play in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B, but also including not to be placed under extreme financial scrutiny for the 2021–22 season.[24]
^On 3 April 2020, Stade Braine announced it would merge with neighboring Tubize to form Royale Union Tubize-Braine, which will start playing at the current level of Tubize, the Belgian Division 2. As such, the place of Stade Braine in the Belgian Division 3 will be vacated. [28]
Champions Club Brugge qualified directly for the group stage of the Champions League, while runners-up Gent started in the qualifying rounds. Cup winners Antwerp started in the group stage of the Europa League, while Charleroi and Standard Liège started in the UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds after respectively finishing third and fifth.
^Wim De Decker was appointed the new manager of Deinze, but would only be observing and analysing the players for the remainder of the season. Assistant-manager Cédric Vlaeminck will take up the role of manager until the end of the season, leading the training sessions and being on the sideline during matches.
^Club NXT was not promoted, but rather admitted as a youth squad into the 2020–21 Belgian First Division B, to fill the open gap left, as only 23 teams had obtained the required Belgian professional football license, while 24 teams were needed. Club NXT is ineligible for promotion as well as relegation.
^While van den Brom was announced on 6 November 2020, caretaker Domenico Olivieri was still leading the group during the match of 7 November 2020 against Sint-Truiden, with van den Brom only officially taking charge of 8 November 2020.