2021–22 Belgian First Division A

Belgian First Division A
Season	2021–22
Dates	23 July 2021 – 22 May 2022
Matches played	52
Goals scored	159 (3.06 per match)
Top goalscorer	Michael Frey ; (7 goals)
Biggest home win	Gent 6–1 Club Brugge ; (29 August 2021)
Biggest away win	Oostende 0–3 Charleroi ; (24 July 2021) ; Beerschot 0-3 Union SG ; (7 August 2021) ; Standard Liège 2–5 Antwerp ; (8 August 2021)
Highest scoring	Genk 3–4 Oostende ; (30 July 2021) ; Standard Liège 2–5 Antwerp ; (8 August 2021) ; Gent 6–1 Club Brugge ; (29 August 2021)
Longest winning run	3 matches ; Genk
Longest unbeaten run	6 matches ; Charleroi
Longest winless run	6 matches ; Beerschot ; OH Leuven
Longest losing run	4 matches ; Beerschot
	← 2020–21 → All statistics correct as of 29 August 2021.

The 2021–22 Belgian First Division A (officially known as Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons) is the 119th season of top-tier football in Belgium.

Team changes[]

On the final matchday, Royal Excel Mouscron was overtaken by Waasland-Beveren, pushing them into a direct relegation spot and thus causing the Mouscron team to return to the second level after six seasons. Waasland-Beveren would eventually face the same fate as a few weeks later they lost the Relegation play-off against Seraing, ending a span of nearly a decade at the top level.

The team from Seraing is a newcomer at the highest level, although a former team with the same name, R.F.C. Seraing (1904), last played at the top level 25 seasons ago and many supporters see the current Seraing as a continuation of the former. The place of Excel Mouscron was taken by 2020–21 Belgian First Division B champions and former Belgian giants Union SG, who return to the top level after 48 years and already gained 11 Belgian Championship titles, mostly in the 1900s and 1930s.

Format change[]

Originally, as decided in 2020, the clubs agreed to reduce the number of teams again to 16 following the 2021–22 season, as due to the COVID-19 pandemic exceptionally no teams were relegated from the 2019–20 Belgian First Division A, which causing the league to temporarily expand to 18. This would mean that there would be three teams relegating from the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A with only one team promoted from the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B. However, on 14 June 2021, the clubs agreed to keep playing with 18 teams at the highest level up to (and including) the 2022–23 season, meaning that the 2021–22 Belgian First Division would continue the format of the previous season, with only one team relegating and the penultimate team playing a play-off match against the runner-up up the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B to avoid relegation. The title and Europa League playoffs remain shortened, with only the top four teams playing for the title and number 5 through 8 playing the Europa League playoffs. For the teams finishing in positions 9 through 16, the season ends immediately following the regular season. The request to keep playing with 18 teams at the highest level was mainly coming from the smaller teams which were already struggling following the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bigger clubs agreed to continue the current format but demanded that U23 teams be permanently added to the lower leagues. As such, the intention is that from the 2022–23 season on, there will be 4 U23 teams playing added to each of the second, third and fourth level of Belgian football, with the final standings of the 2021–22 U23 league to determine which team will start at which level.^[1]

Teams[]

Stadiums and locations[]

Anderlecht

Antwerp

Bruges

Mechelen

Eupen

OH Leuven

Oostende

Sint-Truiden

Zulte Waregem

Union SG

Seraing

Antwerp teams

Antwerp

Beerschot
Bruges teams

Cercle Brugge

Club Brugge

Locations of the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A teams

Matricule	Club	Location	Venue	Capacity
35	Anderlecht	Anderlecht	Lotto Park	21,500
1	Antwerp	Antwerp	Bosuilstadion	12,975
13	Beerschot	Antwerp	Olympic Stadium	12,771
12	Cercle Brugge	Bruges	Jan Breydel Stadium	29,042
22	Charleroi	Charleroi	Stade du Pays de Charleroi	14,000
3	Club Brugge	Bruges	Jan Breydel Stadium	29,042
4276	Eupen	Eupen	Kehrwegstadion	08,363
322	Genk	Genk	Luminus Arena	24,956
7	Gent	Ghent	Ghelamco Arena	20,000
19	Kortrijk	Kortrijk	Guldensporen Stadion	09,399
25	Mechelen	Mechelen	AFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne	16,700
31	Oostende	Ostend	Versluys Arena	08,432
18	Oud-Heverlee Leuven	Leuven	Den Dreef	10,000
167	Seraing	Seraing		8,207
373	Sint-Truiden	Sint-Truiden	Stayen	14,600
16	Standard Liège	Liège	Stade Maurice Dufrasne	30,023
10	Union SG	Saint-Gilles	Stade Joseph Marien	8,000
5381	Zulte Waregem	Waregem	Regenboogstadion	12,500

Personnel and kits[]

Club	Manager	Kit Manufacturer	Sponsors
Anderlecht	Vincent Kompany	Joma	DVV Insurance (home) Candriam (away)
Antwerp	Brian Priske	Jako	Ghelamco
Beerschot	Marc Noë (caretaker)^{[n 1]}	XIII^{[n 2]}	Yelo
Cercle Brugge	Yves Vanderhaeghe	Kappa	Napoleon Games
Charleroi	Edward Still	Kappa	Lotto
Club Brugge	Philippe Clement	Macron	Unibet
Eupen	Stefan Krämer	Adidas	Qatar Airways
Genk	John van den Brom	Nike	Beobank
Gent	Hein Vanhaezebrouck	Craft	VDK Bank
Kortrijk	Luka Elsner	Jako	AGO Jobs & HR
Mechelen	Wouter Vrancken	Erreà	Telenet
OH Leuven	Marc Brys	Adidas	King Power
Oostende	Alexander Blessin	Kipsta	Star Casino
Seraing	Jordi Condom	Kappa	Star Casino
Sint-Truiden	Bernd Hollerbach	Macron	DMM.com
Standard Liège	Mbaye Leye	Adidas	VOO
Union SG	Felice Mazzu	Le Coq Sportif	Lotto
Zulte-Waregem	Francky Dury	Patrick	Napoleon Games

Managerial changes[]

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position	Replaced by	Date of appointment
Charleroi	Karim Belhocine	Sacked^[2]	End of 2020–21 season ^{[n 3]}	Pre-season	Edward Still	16 May 2021^[3]
Eupen	Beñat San José	Left^[4]			Stefan Krämer	9 June 2021^[5]
Beerschot	Will Still	Replaced^[6]			Peter Maes	20 May 2021^[6]
Seraing	Emilio Ferrera	Left for coaching position at Gent^[7]^[8]			Jordi Condom	28 May 2021^[9]
Sint-Truiden	Peter Maes	Left for Beerschot^[6]			Bernd Hollerbach	5 June 2021^[10]
Antwerp	Franky Vercauteren	Replaced by Priske^[11]			Brian Priske	29 May 2021^[11]
Beerschot	Peter Maes	Sacked^[12]	15 September 2021	18th	Marc Noë (caretaker)	15 September 2021^[12]

Number of teams by provinces[]

Number of teams	Province or region	Team(s)
5	West Flanders	Cercle Brugge, Club Brugge, Kortrijk, Oostende and Zulte Waregem
3	Antwerp	Antwerp, Beerschot and Mechelen
3	Liège	Eupen, Seraing and Standard Liège
2	Brussels	Anderlecht and Union SG
2	Limburg	Genk and Sint-Truiden
1	East Flanders	Gent
	Flemish Brabant	Oud-Heverlee Leuven
	Hainaut	Charleroi

Regular season[]

League table[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Club Brugge	7	4	2	1	15	11	+4	14	Qualification for the Europa Conference League and Play-offs I^[a]
2	Union SG	7	4	1	2	14	6	+8	13	Qualification for the Play-offs I
3	Standard Liège	7	4	1	2	8	11	−3	13
4	Charleroi	7	3	4	0	15	8	+7	13
5	Genk	6	3	2	1	12	7	+5	11	Qualification for the Play-offs II
6	Eupen	7	3	2	2	13	9	+4	11
7	Anderlecht	6	3	1	2	14	8	+6	10
8	Kortrijk	7	3	1	3	9	8	+1	10
9	Sint-Truiden	7	3	1	3	6	8	−2	10
10	Seraing	7	3	0	4	7	11	−4	9
11	Oostende	7	3	0	4	8	14	−6	9
12	Antwerp	6	2	2	2	11	8	+3	8
13	Cercle Brugge	7	2	2	3	9	9	0	8
14	Zulte Waregem	7	2	2	3	11	14	−3	8
15	Gent	6	2	1	3	13	9	+4	7
16	Mechelen	7	2	1	4	11	18	−7	7
17	OH Leuven	7	1	4	2	8	14	−6	7	Qualification for the Relegation play-off
18	Beerschot	7	0	1	6	6	16	−10	1	Relegation to

Updated to match(es) played on 13 September 2021. Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Play-off.^[13]
Notes:

^ The regular season winners will qualify for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League if they do not qualify for the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League in the playoffs or for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League through the 2021–22 Belgian Cup.

Positions by round[]

The table lists the positions of teams after completion of each round.

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4
Team ╲ Round
Union SG	2	7	1	1
Kortrijk	3	1	2	9
Oostende	18	10	3	2
Charleroi	1	2	4	8
Eupen	8	11	5	4
Club Brugge	7	4	6	3
Cercle Brugge	6	5	7	10
Zulte Waregem	10	16	8	14
Anderlecht	16	17	9	6
Genk	9	13	10	5
Sint-Truiden	5	6	11	13
Standard Liège	12	3	12	7
Antwerp	13	18	13	11
Mechelen	4	8	14	15
Seraing	17	9	15	16
OH Leuven	11	12	16	17
Gent	14	14	17	12
Beerschot	15	15	18	18

Updated to match(es) played on 15 August 2021. Source: worldfootball.net

Results[]

Home \ Away	CLU	USG	STA	CHA	GNK	EUP	AND	KVK	STR	SER	OOS	ANT	CER	ZWA	GNT	KVM	OHL	BEE
Club Brugge	—					2–2					3–0		1–1					3–2
Union SG	0–1	—	4–0					2–0
Standard Liège			—		1–1						1–0	2–5
Charleroi				—					0–0			1–1						5–2
Genk		1–1			—		1–0				3–4						4–0
Eupen						—	1–1		2–1	1–2		0–1
Anderlecht		1–3					—			3–0					23 Sep	7–2
Kortrijk					1–2			—		2–0						2–2
Sint-Truiden								0–2	—					1–3	2–1
Seraing			0–1							—	2–3		2–1			1–0
Oostende				0–3							—			0–2	1–0
Antwerp					22 Sep			0–1				—					2–2
Cercle Brugge							1–2		0–1				—				1–1
Zulte Waregem	0–4		1–2	2–2									2–4	—
Gent	6–1			2–3											—	2–0		2–2
Mechelen		3–1				1–3						3–2				—
OH Leuven				1–1		1–4		2–1						1–1			—
Beerschot		0–3	0–1						0–1				0–1					—

Updated to match(es) played on 13 September 2021. Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Results by round[]

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5
Team ╲ Round
Anderlecht	L	D	W	W
Antwerp	L	L	W	D
Beerschot	L	D	L	L	L
Cercle Brugge	W	D	D	L	L
Charleroi	W	D	D	D	D
Club Brugge	D	W	D	W	W
Eupen	D	D	W	W	W
Genk	D	L	W	W
Gent	L	D	L	W
Kortrijk	W	W	L	L	W
Mechelen	W	L	L	L	W
OH Leuven	D	D	D	L	L
Oostende	L	W	W	W	L
Union SG	W	L	W	W	L
Seraing	L	W	L	L	W
Sint-Truiden	W	D	L	L	L
Standard Liège	D	W	L	W	W
Zulte Waregem	D	L	W	L	D

Updated to match(es) played on 22 August 2021. Source: Soccerway

Season statistics[]

As of 11 September 2021

Top scorers & assists[]

Source: Soccerway

Top scorers ranking
Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Michael Frey	Antwerp	8
2	Jelle Vossen	Zulte Waregem	6
3	Deniz Undav	Union SG	5
3	Dante Vanzeir	Union SG	5
5	Theo Bongonda	Genk	4
	Zinho Gano	Zulte Waregem
	Youssef Maziz	Seraing
	Shamar Nicholson	Charleroi
	Faiz Selemani	Kortrijk
	Nikola Storm	Mechelen

Assists ranking
Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Noa Lang	Club Brugge	4
1	Mike Trésor	Genk	4
3	Joris Kayembe	Charleroi	3
	Stef Peeters	Eupen
	Dante Vanzeir	Union SG
6	16 players		2

Notes[]

^ Peter Maes was the manager for matchdays 1 through 7.
^ An apparel brand made by club.
^ Belhocine and Charleroi announced their separation on 20 April 2021, but Belhocine would remain in charge for the remaining training sessions. Charleroi had no more matches left as it had not qualified for any of the play-offs and hence was in no rush to appoint a new manager.

References[]

^ https://sporza.be/nl/2021/06/14/pro-league-kiest-voor-nog-minstens-2-seizoenen-1a-met-18-teams~1623672317217/
^ "Charleroi ontslaat trainer Karim Belhocine na slechte resultaten" [Charleroi sacks manager Karim Belhocine following poor results] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-04-20.
^ "Edward Still (30) debuteert als hoofdcoach in Charleroi" [Edward Still (30) to make debut as manager at Charleroi] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-05-16.
^ "Eupen ziet zijn Spaanse coach vertrekken: "Tijd voor nieuwe uitdaging"" [Eupen sees Spanish manager depart: "Time for new challenge"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-04-27.
^ "Eupen heeft nieuwe trainer beet: Duitser Stefan Krämer neemt over" [Eupen snatches new manager: German Stefan Krämer takes over] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-06-09.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Peter Maes neemt het stuur over bij Beerschot, STVV "betreurt" die beslissing" [Peter Maes takes control at Beerschot, STVV "regrets" decision] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-05-20.
^ "Emilio Ferrera Quitte Seraing" [Emilio Ferrera Quitte Seraing] (in French). Walfoot.be. 2021-05-17.
^ "Emilio Ferrera (53) ruilt promovendus Seraing voor een job bij AA Gent" [Emilio Ferrera (53) exchanges promoted Seraing for a job at AA Gent] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-05-26.
^ "Seraing trekt met Jordi Condom als coach naar 1A" [Seraing moves to 1A with Jordi Condom as manager] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-05-28.
^ "Bernd Hollerbach (ex-Moeskroen) volgt Peter Maes op als coach van STVV" [Bernd Hollerbach (ex-Mouscron) succeeds Peter Maes as manager of STVV] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-06-05.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Officieel: Brian Priske volgt Frank Vercauteren op als coach van Antwerp" [Official: Brian Priske succeeds Frank Vercauteren as manager of Antwerp] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-05-29.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Beerschot zorgt voor eerste trainersontslag: Peter Maes moet weg na 1 op 21" [Beerschot causes first managerial sacking: Peter Maes told to go after 1 out of 21] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-09-15.
^ "Bondsreglement Titel 7: Competities" [Associtation Rules Title 7: Competitions] (PDF). Royal Belgian Football Association. p. 19. Retrieved 25 August 2020.

[table_note_res_RW0.88328995736469-16] The regular season winners will qualify for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League if they do not qualify for the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League in the playoffs or for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League through the 2021–22 Belgian Cup.

[2] Peter Maes was the manager for matchdays 1 through 7.

[3] An apparel brand made by club.

[5] Belhocine and Charleroi announced their separation on 20 April 2021, but Belhocine would remain in charge for the remaining training sessions. Charleroi had no more matches left as it had not qualified for any of the play-offs and hence was in no rush to appoint a new manager.

[1] ttps://sporza.be/nl/2021/06/14/pro-league-kiest-voor-nog-minstens-2-seizoenen-1a-met-18-teams~1623672317217/

[4] "Charleroi ontslaat trainer Karim Belhocine na slechte resultaten" [Charleroi sacks manager Karim Belhocine following poor results] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-04-20.

[6] "Edward Still (30) debuteert als hoofdcoach in Charleroi" [Edward Still (30) to make debut as manager at Charleroi] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-05-16.

[7] "Eupen ziet zijn Spaanse coach vertrekken: "Tijd voor nieuwe uitdaging"" [Eupen sees Spanish manager depart: "Time for new challenge"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-04-27.

[8] "Eupen heeft nieuwe trainer beet: Duitser Stefan Krämer neemt over" [Eupen snatches new manager: German Stefan Krämer takes over] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-06-09.

[maesbeerschotIN-9] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Peter Maes neemt het stuur over bij Beerschot, STVV "betreurt" die beslissing" [Peter Maes takes control at Beerschot, STVV "regrets" decision] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-05-20.

[10] "Emilio Ferrera Quitte Seraing" [Emilio Ferrera Quitte Seraing] (in French). Walfoot.be. 2021-05-17.

[11] "Emilio Ferrera (53) ruilt promovendus Seraing voor een job bij AA Gent" [Emilio Ferrera (53) exchanges promoted Seraing for a job at AA Gent] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-05-26.

[12] "Seraing trekt met Jordi Condom als coach naar 1A" [Seraing moves to 1A with Jordi Condom as manager] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-05-28.

[13] "Bernd Hollerbach (ex-Moeskroen) volgt Peter Maes op als coach van STVV" [Bernd Hollerbach (ex-Mouscron) succeeds Peter Maes as manager of STVV] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-06-05.

[vercauterenpriske-14] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Officieel: Brian Priske volgt Frank Vercauteren op als coach van Antwerp" [Official: Brian Priske succeeds Frank Vercauteren as manager of Antwerp] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-05-29.

[maesbeerschotOUT-15] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Beerschot zorgt voor eerste trainersontslag: Peter Maes moet weg na 1 op 21" [Beerschot causes first managerial sacking: Peter Maes told to go after 1 out of 21] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2021-09-15.

[17] "Bondsreglement Titel 7: Competities" [Associtation Rules Title 7: Competitions] (PDF). Royal Belgian Football Association. p. 19. Retrieved 25 August 2020.

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show v t
« 2020–21 »
League competitions	First Division A First Division B National Division 1 Division 2
Women's League competitions
Cup competitions	Belgian Cup (Final) Super Cup
Transfers	Summer 2021
UEFA competitions	Champions League Europa League Europa Conference League
Related to national team	2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying (Group E) Roberto Martínez
Club seasons
First Division A	Anderlecht Antwerp Beerschot Cercle Brugge Charleroi Club Brugge Eupen Genk Gent Kortrijk Mechelen OH Leuven Oostende Seraing Sint-Truiden Standard Liège Union SG Zulte-Waregem
First Division B

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