2015–16 in Belgian football

Football in Belgium
Season 2015–16
Pro League Club Brugge
Second Division WS Bruxelles
Third Division A Beerschot Wilrijk
Third Division B Hamme
Cup Standard Liège
Super Cup Gent
← 2014–15 Belgium 2016–17 →

The following article is a summary of the 2015–16 football season in Belgium, which is the 113th season of competitive football in the country and runs from July 2015 until June 2016.

Promotion and relegation

Pre-season

League Promoted to league Relegated from league
Pro League
Second Division
Third Division

National teams

Belgium national football team

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Belgium Wales Bosnia and Herzegovina Israel Cyprus Andorra
1  Belgium 10 7 2 1 24 5 +19 23 Qualify for final tournament — 0–0 3–1 3–1 5–0 6–0
2  Wales 10 6 3 1 11 4 +7 21 1–0 — 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–0
3  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 5 2 3 17 12 +5 17 Advance to play-offs 1–1 2–0 — 3–1 1–2 3–0
4  Israel 10 4 1 5 16 14 +2 13 0–1 0–3 3–0 — 1–2 4–0
5  Cyprus 10 4 0 6 16 17 −1 12 0–1 0–1 2–3 1–2 — 5–0
6  Andorra 10 0 0 10 4 36 −32 0 1–4 1–2 0–3 1–4 1–3 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

UEFA Euro 2016

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016

13 June 2016 (2016-06-13)
21:00
Belgium  Match 10  Italy
Report

18 June 2016 (2016-06-18)
15:00
Belgium  Match 22  Republic of Ireland
Report

22 June 2016 (2016-06-22)
21:00
Sweden  Match 36  Belgium
Report

Friendlies

  1. ^ The friendly against Spain was canceled the night before it was planned to take place, due to the terror threat following the November 2015 Paris attacks.[7]
  2. ^ The friendly against Portugal on 27 March in Brussels was almost cancelled as well following the 2016 Brussels bombings on 22 March, however it was instead moved to Leiria, Portugal.

Belgium women's national football team

2017 UEFA Women's European Championship qualification

Group 7
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  England 8 7 1 0 32 1 +31 22 Final tournament — 1–1 7–0 1–0 5–0
2  Belgium 8 5 2 1 27 5 +22 17 0–2 — 1–1 6–0 6–0
3  Serbia 8 3 1 4 10 21 −11 10 0–7 1–3 — 0–1 3–0
4  Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 3 0 5 8 17 −9 9 0–1 0–5 2–4 — 4–0
5  Estonia 8 0 0 8 0 33 −33 0 0–8 0–5 0–1 0–1 —
Source: UEFA

Algarve Cup

Main article: 2016 Algarve Cup

Friendly

League competitions

Belgian First Division

Regular Season

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Club Brugge 30 21 1 8 64 30 +34 64 Qualification to Championship play-offs
2 Gent 30 17 9 4 56 29 +27 60
3 Anderlecht 30 15 10 5 51 29 +22 55
4 Oostende 30 14 7 9 55 44 +11 49
5 Genk 30 14 6 10 42 30 +12 48
6 Zulte Waregem 30 12 7 11 51 50 +1 43
7 Standard Liège 30 12 5 13 41 51 −10 41 Qualification to Europa League play-offs
8 Charleroi 30 10 9 11 36 39 −3 39
9 Kortrijk 30 10 9 11 31 35 −4 39
10 Mechelen 30 10 7 13 48 50 −2 37
11 Lokeren 30 8 10 12 35 40 −5 34
12 Waasland-Beveren 30 9 6 15 40 57 −17 33
13 Sint-Truiden 30 8 6 16 28 47 −19 30
14 Mouscron-Péruwelz 30 7 9 14 39 51 −12 30
15 Westerlo 30 7 9 14 35 59 −24 30
16 OH Leuven (R) 30 7 8 15 42 53 −11 29 Relegation to First Division B
Source: Belgian Pro League, Soccerway
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.[8]
(R) Relegated.

Championship play-offs

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CLU AND GNT GNK OOS ZWA
1 Club Brugge (C) 10 7 1 2 25 9 +16 54 Qualification to Champions League group stage — 4–0 2–0 3–1 2–2 5–0
2 Anderlecht 10 6 1 3 15 16 −1 47 Qualification to Champions League third qualifying round 1–0 — 2–0 1–0 2–1 2–0
3 Gent 10 3 3 4 10 15 −5 42 Qualification to Europa League third qualifying round 1–4 1–1 — 0–0 2–0 1–1
4 Genk 10 5 1 4 20 13 +7 40 Qualification to Testmatches to Europa League 4–2 5–2 1–2 — 4–0 2–0
5 Oostende 10 3 2 5 14 19 −5 36 0–1 4–2 0–1 2–1 — 3–3
6 Zulte Waregem 10 1 2 7 11 23 −12 27 0–2 1–2 4–2 1–2 1–2 —
Source: Belgian Pro League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Matches won; 4) Goal difference; 5) Goals scored; 6) Away goals scored; 7) Away matches won; 8) Play-off.[9]
(C) Champion.

Belgian Second Division

Due to a reform in the Belgian football league, the Belgian Second Division ceases to exist and is replaced by the Belgian First Division B from the 2016–17 season which will only contain 8 teams instead of the current 17. As a result, the bottom nine teams in the league are set to relegate to the newly created league at the third level of the Belgian football pyramid, the Belgian First Amateur Division. Due to the fact that WS Brussels did not receive a licence, they were relegated instead of Roeselare.

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 RWS Brussels (R) (C) 32 19 6 7 53 28 +25 63 Relegation to the 2016–17 Belgian First Amateur Division[1]
2 Eupen (P) 32 18 8 6 69 34 +35 62 Promotion to the 2016–17 Belgian First Division A[1]
3 Antwerp 32 18 8 6 52 20 +32 62 Qualification to the 2016–17 Belgian First Division B
4 Tubize 32 17 6 9 51 34 +17 57
5 Cercle Brugge 32 14 12 6 56 35 +21 54
6 Union SG 32 15 6 11 50 34 +16 51
7 Lierse 32 14 9 9 53 41 +12 51
8 Lommel 32 14 8 10 43 29 +14 50
9 Roeselare[1] 32 14 8 10 46 47 −1 50
10 Dessel (R) 32 14 6 12 38 40 −2 48 Relegation to the 2016–17 Belgian First Amateur Division
11 Seraing (R) 32 13 5 14 45 50 −5 44
12 Virton (R) 32 8 10 14 40 55 −15 34
12 ASV Geel (R) 32 6 13 13 40 56 −16 31
14 Deinze (R) 32 6 11 15 36 58 −22 29
15 Patro Eisden Maasmechelen (R) 32 5 9 18 33 63 −30 24
16 Heist (R) 32 4 7 21 39 82 −43 19
17 Coxyde (R) 32 2 10 20 29 67 −38 16

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Notes
  1. ^ WS Brussels was refused a Belgian professional football license and is thus not allowed to play in the 2016-17 Belgian First Division A or Division B and is instead relegated to the 2016–17 Belgian First Amateur Division. As a result, runner-up Eupen was promoted instead and ninth placed Roeselare avoided relegation.

Belgian Third Division

Due to a reform in the Belgian football league, the Belgian Third Division ceases to exist and is replaced by the Belgian Second Amateur Division from the 2016–17 season, now at the fourth level of Belgian football. A newly created league, the Belgian First Amateur Division is formed at the third level, effectively pushing the teams in this division one level down the pyramid. Only the top two teams in each division and the two promotion playoff winners are "promoted" to the new league, meaning they will remain at the third level, while most of the teams effectively drop to the fourth level. The two teams finishing in last position in each group are relegated to the Belgian Third Amateur Division, which in fact means a drop from level 3 to level 5 of the pyramid.

Group A

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Hamme (C) (P) 34 21 5 8 66 31 +35 68 Qualification to the 2016–17 Belgian First Amateur Division
2 Sint-Eloois-Winkel [2] 34 16 13 5 56 43 +13 61 Relegation to the 2016–17 Belgian Second Amateur Division
3 Oudenaarde [2][3] (P) 34 17 9 8 70 45 +25 60 Qualification to the 2016–17 Belgian First Amateur Division
4 FCV Dender EH (P) 34 16 11 7 69 43 +26 59 Qualification to the Promotion play-offs
5 Londerzeel 34 17 8 9 58 37 +21 59
6 Sparta Petegem [3] 34 16 8 10 66 54 +12 56 Relegation to the 2016–17 Belgian Second Amateur Division
7 Eendracht Aalst [3] 34 15 9 10 66 55 +11 54 Qualification to the Promotion play-offs
8 Temse [3] 34 15 8 11 60 48 +12 53 Relegation to the 2016–17 Belgian Second Amateur Division
9 La Louvière Centre [3] 34 14 8 12 54 44 +10 50 Qualification to the Promotion play-offs
10 Olsa Brakel 34 11 13 10 56 46 +10 46 Relegation to the 2016–17 Belgian Second Amateur Division
11 Gullegem 34 10 15 9 50 45 +5 45
12 Gent-Zeehaven 34 11 10 13 50 56 −6 43
13 Sint-Niklaas 34 11 9 14 51 57 −6 42
12 Bornem 34 9 11 14 54 56 −2 38
15 Izegem 34 7 7 20 51 73 −22 28
16 Torhout 34 8 4 22 29 75 −46 28
17 Acrenoise 34 5 9 20 37 86 −49 24
18 Racing Mechelen 34 5 7 22 33 82 −49 22 Relegation to the 2016–17 Belgian Third Amateur Division

Updated to games played on 24 February 2016.
Source: Group A
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

  1. ^ Sint-Eloois-Winkel did not apply for a Belgian remunerated football license and is thus not allowed to play in the 2016-17 Belgian First Amateur Division. As a result, third placed Oudenaarde was promoted instead.
  2. ^ Normally, the teams finishing in positions 3 to 6 were set to participate in the promotion playoffs (together with the teams finishing in the same positions in Group B) for the three remaining places in the 2016-17 Belgian First Amateur Division. Due to the fact that Sint-Eloois-Winkel, Sparta Petegem and Temse did not apply for a license and Oudenaarde was promoted, the playoff was contested by the four teams finishing highest in the league that did receive a licence, allowing Eendracht Aalst and La Louvière Centre to take part as well.

Group B

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Beerschot Wilrijk (C) (P) 36 21 8 7 64 39 +25 71 Qualification to the 2016–17 Belgian First Amateur Division
2 Oosterzonen Oosterwijk (P) 36 19 14 3 68 38 +30 71
3 Bocholter 36 19 7 10 52 41 +11 64 Qualification to the Promotion play-offs
4 Hasselt (P) 36 18 6 12 63 41 +22 60
5 Wallonne Ciney [3] 36 17 6 13 57 42 +15 57 Relegation to the 2016–17 Belgian Second Amateur Division
6 Sprimont-Comblain (P) 36 16 8 12 56 43 +13 56 Qualification to the Promotion Play-offs
7 Liège [3] 36 15 8 13 58 56 +2 53
8 Hamoir 36 15 7 14 70 74 −4 52 Relegation to the 2016–17 Belgian Second Amateur Division
9 Rupel Boom 36 15 6 15 65 55 +10 51
10 Berchem Sport 36 14 8 14 51 55 −4 50
11 Cappellen 36 14 7 15 51 56 −5 49
12 Hoogstraten 36 13 9 14 60 60 0 48
13 Walhain 36 12 11 13 48 57 −9 47
14 Tempo Overijse 36 12 9 15 47 56 −9 45
15 Union La Calamine 36 12 4 20 44 59 −15 40
16 Tienen-Hageland 36 10 10 16 52 56 −4 40
17 Grimbergen 36 9 7 20 38 55 −17 34
18 Woluwe-Zaventem 36 9 6 21 34 61 −27 33
19 Diegem Sport 36 8 7 21 33 67 −34 31 Relegation to the 2016–17 Belgian Third Amateur Division

Updated to games played on 24 February 2016.
Source: Group B
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

  1. ^ Ciney did not apply for a Belgian remunerated football license and is thus not allowed to play in the 2016-17 Belgian First Amateur Division. As a result, seventh placed Liège was allowed to participate in the promotion playoffs for the three remaining places in the 2016-17 Belgian First Amateur Division.

Promotion play-offs

The eight teams taking part in the promotion play-offs are playing to win one of the three remaining places in the 2016-17 Belgian First Amateur Division. The final match between the winners of Round 2, Sprimont-Comblain and FCV Dender EH, was not played as both teams already achieved promotion by winning Round 2. Hasselt beat La Louvière Centre in the third place match and took the final promotion spot. The five losing teams will play in the 2016-17 Belgian Second Amateur Division, effectively one level lower than in the 2015-16 season.

  Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
                                   
 Bocholter 1 1 2  
 Sprimont-Comblain 2 3 4  
   Sprimont-Comblain 3 3 6  
   Hasselt 0 0 0  
 Liège 1 0 1
 Hasselt 1 0 1 (a)  
          
          
 Londerzeel 1 1 2  
 FCV Dender EH 2 0 2 (a)  
   FCV Dender EH 2 1 3 Third place
   La Louvière Centre 0 1 1  
 La Louvière Centre 1 5 6  La Louvière Centre 2 0 2
 Eendracht Aalst 3 0 3    Hasselt 3 4 7

Transfers

European Club results

Champions Gent qualified directly for the group stage of the Champions League, while runners-up Club Brugge started in the qualifying rounds. As third-place finisher, Anderlecht qualified directly for the group stage of the Europa League, while Standard Liège and Charleroi started in the qualifying rounds.

Date Team Competition Round Leg Opponent Location Score Belgian Team Goalscorers
16 July 2015 Charleroi Europa League Qual. Round 2 Leg 1, Home Israel Beitar Jerusalem Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi 5-1 Pollet (2), Kebano (2), Stevance
23 July 2015 Charleroi Europa League Qual. Round 2 Leg 2, Away Israel Beitar Jerusalem Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem 1-4 Kebano, Sağlık, Ndongala, Stevance
28 July 2015 Club Brugge Champions League Qual. Round 3 Leg 1, Away Greece Panathinaikos Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens 2-1 Bolingoli-Mbombo
30 July 2015 Charleroi Europa League Qual. Round 3 Leg 1, Home Ukraine Zorya Luhansk Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi 0-2
30 July 2015 Standard Liège Europa League Qual. Round 3 Leg 1, Home Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège 2-1 Kosorić (o.g.), Knockaert
5 August 2015 Club Brugge Champions League Qual. Round 3 Leg 2, Home Greece Panathinaikos Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges 3-0 Cools, Vázquez, Oularé
6 August 2015 Charleroi Europa League Qual. Round 3 Leg 2, Away Ukraine Zorya Luhansk Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium, Kiev[A] 3-0
6 August 2015 Standard Liège Europa League Qual. Round 3 Leg 2, Away Bosnia and Herzegovina Željezničar Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium, Sarajevo[B] 0-1 Van Damme
18 August 2015 Club Brugge Champions League Play-off round Leg 1, Away England Manchester United Old Trafford, Manchester 3-1 Carrick (o.g.)
20 August 2015 Standard Liège Europa League Play-off round Leg 1, Away Norway Molde Aker Stadion, Molde 2-0
26 August 2015 Club Brugge Champions League Play-off round Leg 2, Home England Manchester United Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges 0-4
27 August 2015 Standard Liège Europa League Play-off round Leg 2, Home Norway Molde Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège 3-1 Knockaert, Santini, Trebel
16 September 2015 Gent Champions League Group Stage Matchday 1, Home France Lyon Ghelamco Arena, Ghent 1-1 Milićević
17 September 2015 Anderlecht Europa League Group Stage Matchday 1, Home France Monaco Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht 1-1 Gillet
17 September 2015 Club Brugge Europa League Group Stage Matchday 1, Away Italy Napoli Stadio San Paolo, Naples 5-0
29 September 2015 Gent Champions League Group Stage Matchday 2, Away Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg Petrovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg 2-1 Matton
1 October 2015 Anderlecht Europa League Group Stage Matchday 2, Away Azerbaijan Qarabağ Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku 1-0
1 October 2015 Club Brugge Europa League Group Stage Matchday 2, Home Denmark Midtjylland Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges 1-3 Meunier
20 October 2015 Gent Champions League Group Stage Matchday 3, Away Spain Valencia Mestalla Stadium, Valencia 2-1 Foket
22 October 2015 Anderlecht Europa League Group Stage Matchday 3, Home England Tottenham Hotspur Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht 2-1 Gillet, Okaka
22 October 2015 Club Brugge Europa League Group Stage Matchday 3, Away Poland Legia Warsaw Polish Army Stadium, Warsaw 1-1 De fauw
4 November 2015 Gent Champions League Group Stage Matchday 4, Home Spain Valencia Ghelamco Arena, Ghent 1-0 Kums (p)
5 November 2015 Anderlecht Europa League Group Stage Matchday 4, Away England Tottenham Hotspur White Hart Lane, Tottenham 2-1 Ezekiel
5 November 2015 Club Brugge Europa League Group Stage Matchday 4, Home Poland Legia Warsaw Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges 1-0 Meunier
24 November 2015 Gent Champions League Group Stage Matchday 5, Away France Lyon Stade de Gerland, Lyon 1-2 Milićević, Coulibaly
26 November 2015 Anderlecht Europa League Group Stage Matchday 5, Away France Monaco Stade Louis II, Monaco 0-2 Gillet, Acheampong
26 November 2015 Club Brugge Europa League Group Stage Matchday 5, Home Italy Napoli Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges 0-1
9 December 2015 Gent Champions League Group Stage Matchday 6, Home Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg Ghelamco Arena, Ghent 2-1 Depoitre, Milićević
10 December 2015 Anderlecht Europa League Group Stage Matchday 6, Home Azerbaijan Qarabağ Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht 2-1 Najar, Okaka
10 December 2015 Club Brugge Europa League Group Stage Matchday 6, Away Denmark Midtjylland MCH Arena, Herning 1-1 Vossen
17 February 2016 Gent Champions League Round of 16 Leg 1, Home Germany Wolfsburg Ghelamco Arena, Ghent 2-3 Kums, Coulibaly
18 February 2016 Anderlecht Europa League Round of 32 Leg 1, Home Greece Olympiacos Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht 1-0 Mbodji
25 February 2016 Anderlecht Europa League Round of 32 Leg 2, Away Greece Olympiacos Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus 1-2 Acheampong (2)
8 March 2016 Gent Champions League Round of 16 Leg 2, Away Germany Wolfsburg Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg 1-0
10 March 2016 Anderlecht Europa League Round of 16 Leg 1, Away Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk Arena Lviv, Lviv[C] 3-1 Acheampong
17 March 2016 Anderlecht Europa League Round of 16 Leg 2, Home Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Anderlecht 0-1
  1. ^ Zorya Luhansk played their home match at Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium, Kiev, instead of their regular stadium Avanhard Stadium, Luhansk, due to the war conditions in Eastern Ukraine.
  2. ^ Željezničar played their home matches at Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium, Sarajevo, instead of their regular stadium Stadion Grbavica, Sarajevo.
  3. ^ Shakhtar Donetsk played their home match at Arena Lviv, Lviv instead of their regular stadium, Donbass Arena, Donetsk, due to the war conditions in Eastern Ukraine.

Other honours

Competition Winner
Cup Standard Liège
Supercup Gent
Third division A Hamme
Third division B Beerschot Wilrijk
Promotion A Knokke
Promotion B Olympic Charleroi
Promotion C Hades
Promotion D Meux

European qualification for 2016–17 summary

Competition Qualifiers Reason for Qualification
UEFA Champions League Group Stage Club Brugge 1st in Jupiler Pro League
UEFA Champions League Third Qualifying Round for Non-Champions Anderlecht 2nd in Jupiler Pro League
UEFA Europa League Group Stage Standard Liège Cup winner
UEFA Europa League Third Qualifying Round Gent 3rd in Jupiler Pro League
UEFA Europa League Second Qualifying Round Genk Europa League Playoff winner

See also

References

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