The 2021–22 Belgian National Division 1 was the sixth season of the third-tier football league in Belgium. With the previous season canceled in January 2021 after just a handful of matches played, the decision was made that no teams would be promoted or relegated, meaning that the same teams are taking part this season. The only exception is Roeselare, which defaulted and ceased to exist, making this a season with only 15 teams.[1] Dender EH became champions on 25 May 2022 after winning their final match of the Promotion play-offs at home to Dessel, while their only remaining opponent RFC Liège, lost away to Knokke.
Season | 2021–22 |
---|---|
Champions | Dender EH |
Promoted | Dender EH |
Relegated | La Louvière Centre |
Matches played | 208 |
← 2020–21 2022–23 → |
Team information
editTeam changes
editOnly Roeselare disappeared with respect to the previous season as it ceased to exist.[2]
Regular season
editLeague table
edit
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | RFC Liège | 28 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 57 | 23 | +34 | 50 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
2 | Knokke | 28 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 48 | 33 | +15 | 48 | |
3 | Dessel | 28 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 47 | 35 | +12 | 48 | |
4 | Dender EH | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 46 | |
5 | Olympic Charleroi CF | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 41 | 31 | +10 | 46 | |
6 | Patro Eisden Maasmechelen | 28 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 28 | 21 | +7 | 46 | |
7 | Sint-Eloois-Winkel | 28 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 36 | +4 | 44 | |
8 | Visé | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 45 | 34 | +11 | 39 | |
9 | Heist | 28 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 39 | |
10 | Thes Sport | 28 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 39 | |
11 | Tienen | 28 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 28 | 34 | −6 | 35 | |
12 | Rupel Boom | 28 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 26 | 39 | −13 | 33 | |
13 | Francs Borains[a] | 28 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 26 | 29 | −3 | 32 | |
14 | Mandel United[a] (O) | 28 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 26 | 50 | −24 | 19 | Qualification for the Division 2 Promotion play-offs Final |
15 | La Louvière Centre (R) | 28 | 2 | 3 | 23 | 13 | 78 | −65 | 9 | Relegation to Division 2 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won.[3]
(O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ a b Due to the fact that Excel Mouscron (playing in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B) was refused a professional football license and was hence directly relegated to the 2022–23 Belgian Division 2, Francs Borains did not have to take part in the final round to avoid relegation but instead kept its spot in the National Division 1. Mandel United instead took their place, thus getting a chance to avoid relegation instead of facing direct relegation as would have been the case for the 14th place finisher.
Results
editPromotion play-offs
editThe teams finishing in the top four positions entered the promotion play-offs. The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff, as a result, RFC Liège started with 25 points, Knokke and Dessel with 24 points, and Dender EH with 23 points. As all teams had finished the regular season on an even number of points, no rounding occurred. Going into the playoffs, only Dender EH and RFC Liège had applied for a Belgian professional football license, meaning that only those two teams were eligible for promotion. With just one matchday to go and RFC Liège two points ahead of Dender EH, a ruling was made on an earlier complaint by the Belgian FA that RFC Liège had not put sufficient U21 players on the match sheet during their regular season match against Dender EH. The result of that match was changed from a 3–0 home win to a 0–5 forfeit loss, causing the starting points of RFC Liège to be lowered by one to 24 and those of Dender EH increased by two to 25. Going into the final match, Dender EH was suddenly leading by one point instead of being down two. RFC Liège appealed this decision, but then lost the final match (while Dender EH won) before a ruling was made, meaning the outcome didn't matter. The appeal in the end went in favor of RFC Liège, reinstating their original points.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | DEN | RFC | KNO | DES | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dender EH (C, P) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 38 | Promotion to the 2022–23 Belgian First Division B | — | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | |
2 | RFC Liège | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 37 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 4–0 | ||
3 | Knokke | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 15 | −5 | 29 | 0–2 | 2–1 | — | 3–3 | ||
4 | Dessel | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 26 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 3–3 | — |
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.[4]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted
Number of teams by provinces
editNumber of teams | Province or region | Team(s) |
---|---|---|
3 | Antwerp | Dessel, Heist and Rupel Boom |
Hainaut | Francs Borains, La Louvière Centre and Olympic Charleroi CF | |
West Flanders | Knokke, Mandel United and Sint-Eloois-Winkel | |
2 | Liège | RFC Liège and Visé |
Limburg | Patro Eisden Maasmechelen and Tessenderlo | |
1 | East Flanders | Dender EH |
Flemish Brabant | Tienen |
References
edit- ^ "Amateurcompetities definitief stopgezet, jeugdvoetbal tot U13 blijft mogelijk" [Amateur leagues cancelled definitively, youth matches until U13 remain possible] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ^ "Einde van stamnummer 134: KSV Roeselare moet de boeken neerleggen" [End of matricule 134: KSV Roeselare forced to file for bankruptcy] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "National Division 1 2020/2021 - Season rules" (in Dutch). vbal4. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Pro League 2018/2019 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2015.