The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
The Belgian Pro League, officially the Jupiler Pro League for sponsor Jupiler, is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023–24 season onwards, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Challenger Pro League.
The Belgian Second Division play-offs were a series of playoff matches to decide promotion to the Belgian Pro League, organised between 1974 and 2015. Following a large reform of the Belgian football league system at the end of the 2015–16 season, the play-offs were no longer held. In the earlier years these play-offs were contested by teams of the Belgian Second Division but since 2009 also a team from the Belgian Pro League took part. Four teams normally played these play-offs, with the winner being promoted to the Belgian Pro League.
The Belgian Third Division was the third highest level in Belgian football. It had two leagues of 18 teams each at the same level. This competition, originally known as the Belgian Promotion was first played in the 1926-27 season with three leagues, then with four leagues between 1931 and 1952. From 1952 on, only two leagues remained and the competition was named the Third Division. Originally set to 16 clubs, the number of clubs in each division was increased in 2009 to 18 clubs. At the end of the regular season, both league winners promoted to the second division and a play-off was played to determine a possible third club to promote. The champion of the third division was determined after a two-legged match between the winners of the two leagues. If those matches ended in a draw, a third match was played on a neutral ground. However, in recent years this final game was not organised anymore due to lack of interest. In 2016, the Belgian Third Division was replaced by the Belgian Second Amateur Division.
The Belgian Fourth Division was the lowest nationwide division in Belgian football. The division was split into four separate leagues, A, B, C and D. The team with the most points in the four leagues together was declared the overall winner. If several league winners had the same number of points, the one with the most wins was declared champion, or if that was still tied, then the one with the best goal average was declared champion. Finally, if two teams were still equal, a single match was played on a neutral ground to determine the team to be added to the palmares. For 2016–17 the Belgian Fourth Division was replaced by the Belgian Third Amateur Division.
The Belgian Provincial leagues are the lower leagues for Belgian football. Until 2016, these were at levels 5-8 in the Belgian football league system however as part of the reform an extra level was created causing the provincial leagues to drop to levels 6-9. The provincial leagues are divided into 9 regional league systems. Each league system is itself divided into 4 levels. The number of leagues at each level depends on the province, but every province must have only one league at the top level. The best teams from the 9 first divisions can promote to the Belgian Division 3, the fifth and lowest level in the national leagues.
The Belgian Fourth Division D was one of the four leagues at the fourth level of the Belgian football league system, the other ones being the Belgian Fourth Division A, B and C. This division existed from the 1952–53 to 2015–16 seasons and was played every year with 16 clubs in each league. The league was replaced by the Belgian Second Amateur Division.
The Primera FEB, formerly known as LEB or LEB Oro, is the second basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system after the Liga ACB. It is run by the FEB. The FEB leagues are divided into three categories. The league was founded in 1996 and is played under FIBA rules.
The 2010–11 football season in Belgium, which is the 108th season of competitive football in the country and runs from August 2010 until July 2011.
The Challenger Pro League, previously known as 1B Pro League is the second-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 2016, replacing the Belgian Second Division. From the season 2016–17 until 2019–20, the competition was named Proximus League, after the main sponsor Proximus.
The Belgian Division 2, commonly referred to as simply Tweede Afdeling or Division 2 is the fourth-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian National Division 1. It was created by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 2016, replacing the Belgian Third Division and named Belgian Second Amateur Division until the 2019–20 before it was renamed due to the negative connotation of the word amateur. The division consists of three separate leagues with 16 teams each, two of these leagues consist of teams playing with a license from the Voetbalfederatie Vlaanderen and one with teams with a license from the Association des Clubs Francophones de Football.
The 2016–17 Belgian Second Amateur Division is the inaugural season of the division in its current format, as it replaces the former Belgian Third Division and is now placed at the fourth-tier of football in Belgium.
The 2017–18 Belgian Third Amateur Division is the second season of the division in its current format, replacing the former Belgian Fourth Division.
The 2017–18 Belgian Second Amateur Division is the second season of the division in its current format, placed at the fourth-tier of football in Belgium.
The 2018–19 Belgian Second Amateur Division is the third season of the division in its current format, placed at the fourth-tier of football in Belgium.
The 2018–19 Belgian Third Amateur Division is the third season of the division in its current format, replacing the former Belgian Fourth Division.
The 2020–21 Belgian First Division A was the 118th season of top-tier football in Belgium. As part of a proposal by the Jupiler Pro League's board of directors accepted by the General Assembly on 15 May 2020, the 2020–21 season would involve shortened playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the top four teams would play for the title, while teams five through eight would play for the remaining ticket into Europe. The league fixtures were announced on 8 July 2020. Club Brugge successfully defended their title from the previous season, finishing level on points in the title play-offs with Racing Genk, as regular season runners-up Royal Antwerp's challenge faded.
The 2022–23 UEFA Nations League was the third season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The competition was held from June to September 2022, June 2023, and March 2024.
The 2021–22 Belgian Division 2 is the sixth season of the division in its current format, placed at the fourth-tier of football in Belgium. As the previous season was cancelled in January 2021 due to governmental measures against COVID-19 prohibiting amateur football, the division features nearly exactly teams.
The 2021–22 Belgian Division 3 was the sixth season of the division in its current format, placed at the fifth-tier of football in Belgium. As the previous season was cancelled in January 2021 due to governmental measures against COVID-19 prohibiting amateur football, the division features nearly exactly the same teams.
