Belgian First Division B
Season2020–21
ChampionsUnion SG
PromotedUnion SG
Seraing
Relegatednone

The 2020–21 season of the Belgian First Division B began in August 2020 and ended in April 2021. Union SG became champions on 13 March 2021, returning to the highest level of Belgian football for the first time since the 1972–73 season.

Team changes

In

Out

  • Due to the Belgian First Division A expanding from 16 to 18 teams, both finalists Beerschot and OH Leuven were promoted to Belgian First Division A for the next season.
  • Lokeren went bankrupt and folded. Temse moved to Lokeren and renamed themselves K.S.C. Lokeren-Temse playing in the Belgian Second Amateur Division.
  • Both Roeselare and Virton were denied a professional licence and forced to relegate, Roeselare to the Belgian First Amateur Division, Virton to the Belgian Second Amateur Division as they were also refused a remunerated licence.

Format changes

Only in the 2020–21 season,[1] the league will no longer consist of two separate competitions but will be one single league in which all teams play each other four times. There will be no more playoffs, no teams will qualify for the Europa League playoffs and the bottom team will be relegated directly.

Team information

Stadiums and locations

Locations of the 2020–21 Belgian First Division B teams
Matricule Club City First season of
current spell at
second level		 Coming from 2019-20 result Stadium Capacity
3 Club NXT Brugge[lower-alpha 1] 2020–21 – – Daknamstadion[lower-alpha 1] 12,136
818 K.M.S.K. Deinze Deinze 2020–21 Belgian First Amateur Division 1st (D1Am) Burgemeester Van de Wiele Stadion 7,515
3970 Lierse Kempenzonen Lier 2020–21 Belgian First Amateur Division 13th (D1Am) Herman Vanderpoortenstadion 14,538
2554 Lommel SK Lommel 2018–19 Belgian First Amateur Division 6th (D1B) Soevereinstadion 8,000
5479 RWD Molenbeek Molenbeek 2020–21 Belgian First Amateur Division 6th (D1Am) Edmond Machtens Stadium 12,266
167 Seraing Seraing 2020–21 Belgian First Amateur Division 4th (D1Am) Stade du Pairay 14,234
10 Union SG Saint-Gilles, Brussels 2015–16 Belgian Third Division 4th (D1B) Stade Joseph Marien 5,500
2024 K.V.C. Westerlo Westerlo 2017–18 Belgian First Division A 1st (D1B) Het Kuipje 8,035
  1. 1 2 Club Brugge NXT is not playing its home matches at the same venue as the A-squad of Club Brugge (the Jan Breydel Stadium) but rather they will move to Lokeren, thus moving from West Flanders to East Flanders.[2]

Personnel and kits

Club Manager Kit Manufacturer Sponsors
Club NXT Belgium Rik De Mil Macron Alheembouw
Deinze Belgium Cédric Vlaeminck Legea Dakota Vastgoed & Declercq Stortbeton
Lierse Kempenzonen Belgium Tom Van Imschoot Jako Keukens Van Lommel
Lommel England Liam Manning Masita United Telecom
RWD Molenbeek Belgium Vincent Euvrard Joma Symbio
RFC Seraing Belgium Emilio Ferrera Kappa VOO, Willy Naessens & Startpeople
Union SG Belgium Felice Mazzù Le Coq Sportif Culture et Formation
Westerlo Belgium Bob Peeters Saller Soudal

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position Replaced by Date of appointment
Union SG Spain Thomas Christiansen Contract not prolonged [3] End of 2019–20 season Pre-season Belgium Felice Mazzù 24 May 2020 [4]
Lommel Belgium Peter Maes Contract not prolonged [5] England Liam Manning 10 July 2020 [6]
RWD Molenbeek Belgium Frédéric Stilmant (caretaker) Caretaker replaced Belgium Laurent Demol 11 June 2020 [7]
RWD Molenbeek Belgium Laurent Demol Sacked 2 December 2020 [8] 6th Belgium Frédéric Stilmant (caretaker) 2 December 2020
RWD Molenbeek Belgium Frédéric Stilmant (caretaker) Caretaker replaced 7 December 2020 6th Belgium Vincent Euvrard 7 December 2020 [9]
Deinze Belgium David Gevaert Sacked 4 March 2021 [10] 6th Belgium Cédric Vlaeminck (caretaker) [lower-alpha 1] 4 March 2021
  1. ↑ 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.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification USG SER LOM WES DEI RWD LIE NXT USG SER LOM WES DEI RWD LIE NXT
1 Union SG (C, P) 28 22 4 2 69 24 +45 70 Promotion to the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A — 3–2 4–2 0–0 3–0 2–1 5–0 6–0 — 2–0 3–2 2–1 2–2 2–1 2–1 3–1
2 Seraing (O, P) 28 16 4 8 54 37 +17 52 Qualification to Promotion play-off 1–0 — 1–0 0–2 3–2 0–1 1–3 6–1 0–2 — 5–0 FF [lower-alpha 1] 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–1
3 Lommel 28 13 4 11 49 47 +2 43 0–1 3–5 — 1–1 1–2 4–0 3–2 3–1 0–2 1–3 — 1–0 4–2 3–2 2–1 2–1
4 Westerlo 28 10 13 5 41 30 +11 43 1–4 1–1 2–1 — 3–0[lower-alpha 2] 3–0[lower-alpha 3] 0–0 2–1 2–2 4–3 1–1 — 4–0 2–2 2–0 1–1
5 Deinze 28 10 9 9 45 46 −1 39 0–2 3–0[lower-alpha 4] 1–1 2–2 — 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–4 0–0 2–1 0–1 — 4–4 [lower-alpha 5] 3–0 4–0
6 RWDM47 28 10 5 13 44 48 −4 35 3–1 3–4 0–1 3–1 1–1 — 2–0[lower-alpha 6] 2–0 0–2 2–4 [lower-alpha 7] 2–5 2–1 1–1 — 1–0 1–1
7 Lierse Kempenzonen[lower-alpha 8] 28 4 4 20 25 54 −29 16 0–2 2–5 1–3 0–1 3–4 4–2 — 2–1 1–3 0–1 0–1 0–0 1–1 0–3 — 3–1
8 Club NXT (Y) 28 2 7 19 23 64 −41 13 Not eligible for promotion or relegation and left the league due to Virton's readmission. 1–1 0–4 2–2 1–1[lower-alpha 9] 1–1 0–2 2–0 — 0–4 0–1 0–2 1–1 [lower-alpha 5] 2–4 1–3 2–0 —
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.[20]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (Y) Canmot get promoted or relegated
Notes:
  1. ↑ 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.[11]
  2. ↑ 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,[12] but on 28 September the match was postponed again and eventually it was played on 18 November 2020.[13]
  3. ↑ 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.[14]
  4. ↑ 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.[15]
  5. 1 2 Due 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.[16]
  6. ↑ 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.[17]
  7. ↑ 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.[18] The match was eventually played on 3 March 2021.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ 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.[19]

Season statistics

Top scorers

[21]

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Georgia (country) Georges Mikautadze Seraing 19
Belgium Dante Vanzeir Union SG
3 Germany Deniz Undav Union SG 17
4 Turkey Atabey Çiçek Westerlo 12
5 Belgium Lennart Mertens Deinze 10
Costa Rica Manfred Ugalde Lommel
7 Belgium Youssef Challouk Deinze 8
France Kévin Mata RWDM47
Angola Igor Vetokele Westerlo
10 Belgium Dylan De Belder Deinze 7
Portugal Leandro Rocha RWDM47
Belgium Nicolas Rommens RWDM47
Belgium Alessio Staelens Deinze
Belgium Lukas Van Eenoo Westerlo
Belgium Anass Zaroury Lommel
6 goals (5 players)
5 goals (7 players)
4 goals (6 players)
3 goals (6 players)
2 goals (22 players)
1 goal (38 players)
1 own goal (4 players)

Top assists

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Belgium Youssef Challouk Deinze 10
2 Belgium Christian Brüls Westerlo 7
Belgium Kevin Kis Lommel
Denmark Casper Nielsen Union SG
Belgium Alessio Staelens Deinze
Belgium Dante Vanzeir Union SG

Clean sheets

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Luxembourg Anthony Moris Union SG 10
2 France Guillaume Dietsch Seraing 9
3 Turkey Berke Özer Westerlo 8
4 Belgium Anthony Sadin RWDM47 5
5 France William Dutoit Deinze 4

Team of the season

Upon completion of the regular season a team of the season award was compiled, based upon the results of the team of the week results throughout the season, constructed based on nominations from managers, assistant-managers, journalists and analysts. The results were announced from 4 May 2021, with one player revealed each day.

Pos PlayerClubRef
GKBelgiumAnthony SadinRWDM47[22]
RBBelgiumIebe SwersSeraing[23]
CBSenegalNoël SoumahWesterlo[24]
CBEnglandChristian BurgessUnion SG[25]
LBFranceGerald KilotaSeraing[26]
RWColombiaMarlos MorenoLommel[27]
MFDenmarkCasper NielsenUnion SG[28]
MFMaltaTeddy TeumaUnion SG[29]
LWBelgiumYoussef ChalloukDeinze[30]
FWBelgiumDante VanzeirUnion SG[31]
FWGeorgia (country)Georges MikautadzeSeraing[32]

Number of teams by provinces

While Club NXT is a team from West Flanders, they are playing their home matches in Lokeren, which is located in East Flanders.

Number of teams Province or region Team(s)
2  AntwerpLierse Kempenzonen and Westerlo
 BrusselsRWD Molenbeek and Union SG
1  East FlandersDeinze
 LiègeSeraing
 LimburgLommel
 West FlandersClub NXT

References

  1. ↑ "Communication à la suite de l'Assemblée Générale". jupilerproleague.be (in French). Archived from the original on 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  2. ↑ "Beloften van Club Brugge spelen hun thuismatchen in 1B op Daknam" [Youngsters of Club Brugge will play their 1B home games at Daknam] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "THOMAS CHRISTIANSEN : FIN DE LA COLLABORATION" [THOMAS CHRISTIANSEN : END OF COOPERATION.] (in French). rusg.brussels. 2020-05-22.
  4. ↑ "Officieel: Felice Mazzu moet Union naar 1A loodsen " [Confirmed: Felice Mazzu must bring Union to 1A.] (in Dutch). sporza. 2020-05-24.
  5. ↑ "Lommel SK verlengt overeenkomst met Peter Maes niet" [Lommel SK does not prolong agreement with Peter Maes] (in Dutch). lommelsk.be. 2020-05-28.
  6. ↑ "Lommel SK benoemt Liam Manning tot nieuwe hoofdcoach" [Lommel SK appoints Liam Manning to new head manager] (in Dutch). lommelsk.be. 2020-07-10.
  7. ↑ "RWDM vat avontuur in 1B aan met trainer Laurent Demol" [RWDM commences adventures in 1B with coach Laurent Demol] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-06-11.
  8. ↑ "RWDM zet samenwerking met coach Laurent Demol stop" [RWDM ends cooperation with manager Laurent Demol] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-12-02.
  9. ↑ "Vincent Euvrard neemt roer bij 1B-club RWDM over" [Vincent Euvrard takes over control at 1B-club RWDM] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-12-07.
  10. ↑ "Wim De Decker volgt ontslagen David Gevaert op bij Deinze" [Wim De Decker successor of sacked David Gevaert at Deinze] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-12-02.
  11. ↑ "Lommel laat verstek gaan voor match bij Seraing door coronagolf" [Lommel forfeits match at Seraing following wave of COVID19 infections] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  12. ↑ "10 positieve coronagevallen bij Westerlo, match tegen Deinze uitgesteld" [10 positive Coronacases at Westerlo, match against Deinze postponed] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  13. ↑ "Competitieduel Westerlo-Deinze in 1B is om coronaredenen opnieuw uitgesteld" [League fixture Westerlo-Deinze in 1B postponed for Coronareasons again] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  14. ↑ "Weer match van Westerlo uitgesteld: "Maar quarantaine heeft effect"" [Yet another Westerlo match postponed: "But quarantine has its effect"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  15. ↑ "Moeskroen-STVV en Deinze-Seraing worden uitgesteld" [Mouscron-STVV and Deinze-Seraing postponed] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  16. ↑ "Zondagswedstrijden in 1B uitgesteld, ook Nederland plooit voor de sneeuw" [Sunday matches in 1B postponed, the Netherlands also yields to the snow] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "RWDM - Lierse Kempenzonen wordt uitgesteld door corona-uitbraak bij RWDM" [RWDM - Lierse Kempenzonen postponed due to Corona-outbreak at RWDM] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "RWDM en Seraing spelen opnieuw niet, Brussels veld ligt te slecht" [Again no match for RWDM and Seraing, Brussels' pitch in poor condition] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  19. ↑ "Meer dan 7 coronagevallen bij Westerlo: match tegen Club NXT uitgesteld" [More than 7 coronacases at Westerlo: match against Club NXT postponed] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  20. ↑ "General terms Belgian competition" (PDF). kbvb.be. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  21. ↑ "Spelersstatistieken". Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  22. ↑ "D1B Pro League XI van het seizoen // DOELMAN // Anthony Sadin (RWDM)" [D1B Pro League XI of the season // GOALKEEPER // Anthony Sadin (RWDM)]. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  23. ↑ "D1B Pro League XI van het seizoen // RECHTSBACK // Iebe Swers (RFC Seraing)" [D1B Pro League XI of the season // RIGHTBACK // Iebe Swers (RFC Seraing)]. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  24. ↑ "D1B Pro League XI van het seizoen // CENTRUMVERDEDIGER 2 // Noël Soumah (KVC Westerlo)" [D1B Pro League XI of the season // CENTRAL DEFENDER 2 // Noël Soumah (KVC Westerlo)]. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  25. ↑ "D1B Pro League XI van het seizoen // CENTRUMVERDEDIGER 1 // Christian Burgess (Union SG)" [D1B Pro League XI of the season // CENTRAL DEFENDER 1 // Christian Burgess (Union SG)]. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  26. ↑ "D1B Pro League XI van het seizoen // LINKSBACK // Gérald Kilota (RFC Seraing)" [D1B Pro League XI of the season // LEFTBACK // Gérald Kilota (RFC Seraing)]. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  27. ↑ "D1B Pro League 'XI van het seizoen' // RECHTSBUITEN // Marlos Moreno (Lommel SK)" [D1B Pro League 'XI of the season' // RIGHT WINGER // Marlos Moreno (Lommel SK)]. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  28. ↑ "D1B Pro League 'XI van het seizoen' // MIDDENVELD (CENTRAAL) 2 // Casper Nielsen (Union SG)" [D1B Pro League 'XI of the season' // MIDFIELD (CENTRAL) 2 // Casper Nielsen (Union SG)]. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  29. ↑ "D1B Pro League 'XI van het seizoen' // MIDDENVELD (CENTRAAL) 1 // Teddy Teuma (Union SG)" [D1B Pro League 'XI of the season' // MIDFIELD (CENTRAL) 1 // Teddy Teuma (Union SG)]. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  30. ↑ "D1B Pro League 'XI van het seizoen' // LINKSBUITEN // Youssef Challouk (SK Deinze)" [D1B Pro League 'XI of the season' // LEFT WINGER // Youssef Challouk (SK Deinze)]. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  31. ↑ "D1B Pro League 'XI van het seizoen' // SPITS (1) // Dante Vanzeir (Union SG)" [D1B Pro League 'XI of the season' // STRIKER (1) // Dante Vanzeir (Union SG)]. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  32. ↑ "D1B Pro League 'XI van het seizoen' // SPITS (2) // Georges Mikautadze (Seraing)" [D1B Pro League 'XI of the season' // STRIKER (2) // Georges Mikautadze (Seraing)]. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
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