Men's Belgian Hockey League

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Men's Belgian Hockey League
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2021–22 Men's Belgian Hockey League
SportField hockey
Founded1919; 102 years ago (1919)
Inaugural season1919–20
AdministratorRoyal Belgian Hockey Association
No. of teams12
CountryBelgium
ConfederationEHF (Europe)
Most recent
champion(s)		Dragons (12th title)
(2020–21)
Most titlesLéopold (28 titles)
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toNational 1
International cup(s)Euro Hockey League

The Men's Belgian Hockey League is a field hockey league organised by the Royal Belgian Hockey Association. The league was established in 1919 as the Division 1. Between the 2006–07 and the 2015–16 seasons it was known as the Honor Division. Since 2016–17 it has been sponsored by Audi and as it also known as the Audi Hockey League.

Sixteen different clubs have won the league with a 28 times record for Léopold. The current champion is Léopold, having won the 2018–19 by defeating Beerschot in the championship final.[1]

Format[]

The season starts in August or September of each year and is interrupted by the indoor hockey season from November to February. The league is played by twelve teams grouped in two pools of six (Pool A and Pool B) based on the previous season's ranking. The teams of the same pool compete 2 times and face the teams of the other pool once. The first four of each pool are qualified for the play-offs and the last two of each pool play the play-downs.

The quarter-finals of the play-offs are played in best-of-3 (two winning rounds)[2] according to the following scheme:

  • Series 1: 1A/4B
  • Series 2: 2B/3A
  • Series 3: 1B/4A
  • Series 4: 2A/3B

The semi-finals are played in a two-legged tie between the winners of series 1 and 2 and the winners of series 3 and 4. The winners qualify for the championship final where the two teams compete in a two-legged tie to decide who will be crowned Belgian champion. Concerning relegation, the last two teams of each pool during the first part form a new play-downs pool. All the teams meet twice and at the end the last two teams of this new pool are relegated in National 1.

Champions[]

By year[]

By club[]

Club Championship(s) Year(s) won
Léopold 28 1921–22, 1922–23, 1927–28, 1938–39, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1991–92, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2018–19
16 1925–26, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1930–31, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1942–43, 1944–45, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1985–86, 1989–90
13 1963–64, 1964–65, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87
Dragons 12 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2020–21
Beerschot 6 1924–25, 1926–27, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1941–42, 1943–44
Racing 5 1923–24, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1940–41
Waterloo Ducks 2005–06, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
4 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49
3 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95
2 1949–50, 1961–62
1 1919–20
1920–21
1995–96
1997–98
2006–07
Leuven 2007–08

By province[]

Province Championships Clubs
 Brussels 68 Léopold (28), (16), (13), Racing (5), (4), (1), (1)
 Antwerp 22 Dragons (12), Beerschot (6), (2), (1), (1)
 Flemish Brabant 5 (4), Leuven (1)
 Walloon Brabant Waterloo Ducks (5)
 East Flanders 1 (1)

References[]

  1. ^ "Belgian Hockey Finals 2019 : le Léo et l'Antwerp sacrés champions 2019 !". hockey.be (in French). Royal Belgian Hockey Association. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  2. ^ "ARBH et Ligues : les AG ont décidé". okey.lalibre.be (in French). La Libre Belgique. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Le palmarès des championnats de Belgique". okey.lalibre.be (in French). La Libre Belgique. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
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