Belgian Pro League

Lore & Background

The competition was created in 1895 by the Royal Belgian Football Association and was first won by FC Liégeois. Of the 78 clubs to have competed in the first division since its creation, 16 have been crowned champions of Belgium. Anderlecht is the most successful league club with 34 titles, followed by Club Brugge (20), Union Saint-Gilloise (12) and Standard Liège (10). It is currently ranked 8th in the UEFA rankings of leagues based on performances in European competitions over the last five years. The competition was ranked 3rd when the UEFA first published their ranking in 1979 and also the next year in 1980, which is the best ranking the Belgian First Division has ever achieved.

In Their Own Story

The rain has been falling on Jan Breydel Stadium since the warm-up, and the floodlights cut through it in pale columns. You've been managing Club Brugge for three seasons in Career Mode, and this is the final match of the championship round. Anderlecht sits one point ahead. The crowd in the stands is a murmur of blue and black, the kind of low, sustained hum the game's audio engine produces when attendance is high and the stakes are real. You step into the dugout, the camera pulling back to show the pitch glistening, the ball already placed at the centre spot. The referee's whistle cuts through the rain. Ninety minutes. One league. One city that has waited a long time for this.

Reader's Guide

Until 2025–26 season, seasons run from late July to late March, with teams playing 30 matches each in the regular season, and then entering Play-offs I (also known as the Championship Playoff, title playoffs or Champions' play-offs), Play-offs II (also known as the Europa League playoff or Europe play-offs) or Play-offs III (also known as the Relegation play-offs) according to their position in the regular season. Play-offs I are contested by the top-six clubs in the regular season, with each club playing each other twice. The teams finishing in 15th and 16th place are relegated directly, however, the 14th place team plays a promotion-relegation play-off against the 3rd place team of the Challenger Pro League.

Did You Know?

• FC Liégeois became the first champion of Belgium in 1895–96.
• Union Saint-Gilloise had a record 60-game unbeaten run spanning three seasons from 1932 to 1935.
• Anderlecht won five consecutive titles between 1963–64 and 1967–68.
• The 1974–75 season was the only one with as many as 20 clubs in the league's history.