2016–17 Belgian First Division B
| Season | 2016–17 |
|---|---|
|
← 2015–16
2017–18 →
|
|
The 2016–17 season of the Belgian First Division B is scheduled to begin in August 2016 and will end in April 2017. It will be the inaugural season of the First Division B following a change in league format from the old Belgian Second Division.
Contents
Structural changes
This season is the first under the name First Division B as a result of reforms in the Belgian football league system. The format of the league has been completely overhauled, with the season now consisting of two separate tournaments. The first tournament will be held from August to December, the second from January until April. Both tournament winners will play a two legged playoff to determine who will promote to the 2016–17 Belgian First Division A. The top three teams in the aggregate table besides the promoted team will take part in the Europa League playoffs together with the teams in the 2017–18 Belgian First Division A finishing in positions 7 through 15. The remaining four teams will play a relegation playoff to determine the one team that will drop into the 2017–18 Belgian Amateur First Division.
Team changes
Due to the reformation, only 7 teams of the previous season remained in the league, with 1 other being replaced. As a result the league moved from 17 to 8 teams.
Out
- Due to the fact that 2015–16 Belgian Second Division champions WS Brussels were refused a Belgian professional football license, Eupen was promoted as runner-up instead, while WS Brussels was relegated to the 2016–17 Belgian First Amateur Division.
- All teams finishing below 9th place were also relegated into the 2016–17 Belgian First Amateur Division, which (starting from 10th place) included Dessel Sport, Seraing United, Virton, ASV Geel, Deinze, Patro Eisden Maasmechelen, Heist and Coxyde.
In
- OH Leuven were relegated from the Belgian Pro League after finishing in last place.
Team information
Stadiums and locations
| Club | City | First season of current spell at second level |
Coming from | 2015-16 result | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Antwerp F.C. | Antwerp | 2004–05 | Belgian Pro League | 3rd (D2) | Bosuilstadion | 16,649 |
| Cercle Brugge K.S.V. | Brugge | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 5th (D2) | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,945 |
| Oud-Heverlee Leuven | Leuven | 2016–17 | Belgian Pro League | 16th (D1) | Den Dreef | 10,000 |
| Lierse S.K. | Lier | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 7th (D2) | Herman Vanderpoortenstadion | 14,538 |
| Lommel United | Lommel | 2005–06 | Belgian Third Division | 8th (D2) | Soevereinstadion | 12,500 |
| K.S.V. Roeselare | Roeselare | 2010–11 | Belgian Pro League | 9th (D2) | Schiervelde Stadion | 9,075 |
| A.F.C. Tubize | Tubize | 2009–10 | Belgian Pro League | 4th (D2) | Stade Leburton | 9,000 |
| R. Union Saint-Gilloise | Saint-Gilles, Brussels | 2015–16 | Belgian Third Division | 6th (D2) | Stade Joseph Marien | 6,000 |
Personnel and kits
| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp |  Frederik Vanderbiest |
Kappa | ONE Antwerp | |
| Cercle Brugge | Vincent Euvrard |
Masita | ADMB | |
| OH Leuven | Emilio Ferrera |
Vermarc | Just Eat | |
| Lierse | Eric Van Meir |
Jako | Wadi Degla | |
| Lommel United | Karel Fraeye |
Legea | Belien Auto Derdaele+ |
|
| Roeselare |  Arnauld Mercier |
Joma | Euro Shop | |
| Tubize | Colbert Marlot |
Kappa | No sponsor | |
| Union SG | Marc Grosjean |
Patrick | Culture et Formation |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | David Gevaert |
Sacked | End of 2015–16 season[1] | Pre-season | Frederik Vanderbiest |
19 May 2016[2] |
| Cercle Brugge | Frederik Vanderbiest |
Mutual Consent | 18 May 2016[3] | Vincent Euvrard |
25 May 2016[4] | |
| Roeselare | Franky Van der Elst |
Mutual Consent | 18 May 2016[5] | Arnauld Mercier |
25 May 2016[4] |
League table
Opening tournament
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Closing tournament
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Aggregate Table
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- Notes
- ^ The team that promotes to the 2017–18 Belgian First Division A, either by winning the Promotion playoff or by winning both the opening and the closing tournament, will not take part in the Europa League play-offs. The next team in the league will take its spot.
- ^ In case the team that wins the Promotion playoff finishes in the bottom four, the 4th placed team will play the relegation playoff instead.
Promotion play-offs
The winners of the opening tournament and the closing tournament meet in a two-legged match to determine the division champion, who will promote to the 2017–18 Belgian First Division A. The team finishing highest in the aggregate table will play the second leg at home. In case one team wins both the opening and the closing tournament, these matches will not be played and the team is promoted automatically.
Relegation play-offs
The four bottom teams in the aggregate table will take part in the relegation play-offs in which they keep half of their points during the overall regular season (rounded up). The team finishing in last position will relegate to the 2017–18 Belgian First Amateur Division.
References
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
