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The Belgian Division 1 is a semi-professional division and the third-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Challenger Pro League. It was created by the Royal Belgian Football Association in 2016, coming in at the third level and pushing all divisions one level down. Initially it was known as the Belgian First Amateur Division, but due to the negative connotation of the word amateur the league was renamed to Belgian National Division 1 from the 2019–20 season onwards. Then, from the 2024–25 season, a split was made into two separate divisions, with the teams holding a Flemish license and those playing with a Francophone license now playing in separate divisions withing the league. The Flemish division consists of 18 teams and is referred to as the Eerste Afdeling VV, the Francophone division only contains 12 teams and is called Division 1 ACFF.

History

The Belgian First Amateur Division was created in 2016 following an overhaul of the Belgian football league system which saw the number of professional clubs reduced to 24. As a result, from the third level and below only amateur clubs remain. The two remaining levels above the Belgian Provincial leagues were reformed into three amateur levels, namely the Belgian First Amateur Division, the Belgian Second Amateur Division and the Belgian Third Amateur Division. As a result, the Belgian Provincial Leagues dropped to the sixth level of the league system.

In 2020 the levels were renamed to Belgian National Division 1, Belgian Division 2 and Belgian Division 3 respectively. In 2022–23, the league was temporarily expanded to 20 teams but reduced again to 18 teams from 2023–24. From the 2024–25 season, the league was expanded to 28 teams but split into two separate divisions of 18 (Flemish) and 12 (Francophone) teams.

Competition format

Originally, the season consisted of a regular round-robin tournament followed by promotion play-offs for the top four teams, with normally only one team gaining promotion to the Challenger Pro League. Regarding relegation, the bottom three teams were automatically demoted, while the team finishing one place above required to take part in the relegation playoffs together with three teams from the Belgian Division 2, with only the playoff winner obtaining a spot in the following season's Belgian National Division 1. Following the split into two divisions from the 2024–25 season, the Flemish VV division will play a round-robin tournament of 38 matches without play-offs, while the Francophone ACFF division will play 22 round-robin matches after which the league will split into two halves, with the top six clubs battling for promotion and the bottom six clubs playing to avoid relegation.

Past results overview

Footnotes

1. Champions Knokke did not apply for a professional football license, allowing runners-up Lommel to be promoted instead.
2. ^ Because both Roeselare and Virton from the 2019–20 Belgian First Division B were refused a professional football license and the bankruptcy of Lokeren, two additional teams were promoted besides champions Deinze. Similarly, two teams were spared of relegation (Sint-Eloois-Winkel Sport and La Louvière Centre) resulting in only Tubize being relegated.
3. Because Excel Mouscron from the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B was refused a professional football license, and the fact that Roeselare folded just before the start of the season, only one team was relegated.
4. Sint-Eloois-Winkel had announced to be folding as a team at the end of the season and was hence relegated. Visé was refused a professional football license and forced to drop down.

References

1. "La réforme du championnat approuvée: une grande lessive se prépare en D2 (INFOGRAPHIE)" (in French). dh.be. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
2. "Bondsreglement" (PDF) (in Dutch). Royal Belgian Football Association. 14 April 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
3. "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.

• Belgian National Division 1
• Sports leagues established in 2016
• 2016 establishments in Belgium
• Third level football leagues in Europe
• Football leagues in Belgium