2023–24 Belgian Pro League

The 2023–24 Belgian Pro League (officially known as the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons) will be the 121st season of top-tier football in Belgium.

Belgian Pro League
Season2023–24
Dates28 July 2023 – 26 May 2024
Biggest home winAntwerp 6–0 Kortrijk
Club Brugge 7–1 RWDM

Format change

After 3 seasons, Belgian Pro League returns to the "old" format featuring the number of teams reduced from 18 to 16 and with similar playoffs as it was pre-COVID-19. After the regular season the top six teams qualify for the Champions' Play-offs (commonly called "Play-offs I"), teams from 7th to 12th place will qualify for the Europe Play-offs (commonly called "Play-offs II"), but most importantly the number of teams relegating increases from one to either two or three, as the bottom four teams (13th through 16th) will play relegation playoffs after completion of which the two last teams will be relegated directly, with the team finishing 14th overall to play the 3rd-place finisher of the Challenger Pro League for the final spot in the 2024–25 Belgian Pro League.[1]

Teams

Due to the league format change which reduced the number of teams back from 18 to 16, the bottom three teams had been relegated to the Challenger Pro League: Oostende (after ten seasons), Seraing (after two seasons) and Zulte Waregem (after 18 seasons). They were replaced by RWD Molenbeek, the winner of the 2022–23 Challenger Pro League. Officially, this club will play their first-ever season in the top flight, but the club sees itself as the successor of the former RWD Molenbeek, one-time Belgian champion, which last played at the highest level in 2002. Another distinct successor team with similar name RWDM Brussels also played four seasons at the highest level from 2004 to 2008.

Stadiums and locations
Locations of the 2023–24 Belgian First Division A teams
Matricule Club Location Venue Capacity
35 Anderlecht Anderlecht, Brussels Constant Vanden Stock Stadium 21,500
1 Antwerp Antwerp Bosuilstadion 16,144
12 Cercle Brugge Bruges Jan Breydel Stadium 29,042
22 Charleroi Charleroi Stade du Pays de Charleroi 14,000
3 Club Brugge Bruges Jan Breydel Stadium 29,042
4276 Eupen Eupen Kehrwegstadion 08,363
322 Genk Genk Cegeka Arena 24,956
7 Gent Ghent Ghelamco Arena 20,000
19 Kortrijk Kortrijk Guldensporen Stadion 09,399
25 Mechelen Mechelen AFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne 16,700
18 OH Leuven Leuven Den Dreef 10,000
5479 RWD Molenbeek Molenbeek, Brussels Edmond Machtens Stadium 12,266
373 Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden Stayen 14,600
16 Standard Liège Liège Stade Maurice Dufrasne 30,023
10 Union SG Saint-Gilles, Brussels Stade Joseph Marien 09,400
2024 Westerlo Westerlo Het Kuipje 08,035

Number of teams by provinces
Number of teams Province or region Team(s)
3  AntwerpAntwerp, Mechelen and Westerlo
 BrusselsAnderlecht, RWD Molenbeek and Union SG
 West FlandersCercle Brugge, Club Brugge and Kortrijk
2  LimburgGenk and Sint-Truiden
 LiègeEupen and Standard Liège
1  East FlandersGent
 Flemish BrabantOud-Heverlee Leuven
 HainautCharleroi

Personnel and kits
Club Manager Kit Manufacturer Shirt sponsors (front) Shirt sponsors (back) Shirt sponsors (sleeve) Shorts sponsor
Anderlecht Denmark Brian Riemer Joma DVV Insurance (H)/Candriam (A) None Napoleon Games None
Antwerp Netherlands Mark van Bommel Jako betFIRST Heylen Vastgoed, Ghelamco None None
Cercle Brugge Bosnia and Herzegovina Miron Muslic Kappa Golden Palace Casino Sports Liantis, Callant Insurance Volvo Automobilia, Brugge Autoverhuur Meerschaert, Callant Insurance
Charleroi Belgium Felice Mazzù Kipsta Unibet, R-Aqua, Cairox QNT Sport None UMons
Club Brugge Norway Ronny Deila Macron Unibet Allianz BWT None
Eupen Germany Florian Kohfeldt Adidas Aspire Academy, Ostbelgien None Johnen Automobile None
Genk Belgium Wouter Vrancken Nike Beobank, EAZER CEO's 4 Climate, Carglass Aqua-Step HDM Cegeka, Carglass
Gent Belgium Hein Vanhaezebrouck Craft Bâloise Circus Belgium, Vdk bank Hyundai APF Autoparts, Vdk bank
Kortrijk Belgium Glen De Boeck [n 1] Erreà AGO Jobs & HR, Unibet Brustor, Earth Belgium, Caps Fuel Card NOVA Unibet, Caps Fuel Card
Mechelen Belgium Steven Defour Erreà Telenet, Groep Verelst, Play Sports, AFAS Software AFAS Software None Arco Information, Golden Palace Casino Sports
OH Leuven Belgium Eddy Vanhemel (caretaker) [n 2] Stanno Star Casino Tegel Concept Banqup None
RWD Molenbeek Brazil Caçapa Kipsta Golden Palace Casino Sports M&G Cleaning None Liften De Weghe, Tadal
Sint-Truiden Germany Thorsten Fink Macron Nishitan Clinic, DMM.com, City Creation, Maruhan Sint Truiden Asahi Kasei, Maruhan Pauli Beton, Star Casino
Standard Liège Belgium Carl Hoefkens Adidas VOO Circus Belgium Cainiao None
Union SG Germany Alexander Blessin Nike [2] Loterie Nationale/Hey! Telecom (in UEFA matches) Hey! Telecom None None
Westerlo Belgium Jonas De Roeck Nike Soudal Casino777, Arma Global Keukens Vanlommel, Voetbalshop.be Soloya

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position Replaced by Date of appointment
Club Brugge Belgium Rik De Mil Caretaker replaced[3] End of 2022–23 season[4][5][6] Pre-season Norway Ronny Deila 5 June 2023[3][n 3]
Eupen Belgium Edward Still Mutual consent Germany Florian Kohfeldt 8 June 2023[7]
Kortrijk Germany Bernd Storck Belgium Edward Still 2 July 2023[8]
Sint-Truiden Germany Bernd Hollerbach Germany Thorsten Fink 16 May 2023[9]
Standard Liège Belgium Geoffrey Valenne Caretaker replaced[3] Belgium Carl Hoefkens 16 June 2023[10]
Union SG Belgium Karel Geraerts No extension agreement found[11] 21 June 2023 Germany Alexander Blessin 3 July 2023[12]
RWD Molenbeek Belgium Vincent Euvrard Sacked 24 July 2023[13] Brazil Caçapa 25 July 2023[14]
Kortrijk Belgium Edward Still 25 September 2023[15] 16th Nigeria Joseph Akpala (caretaker) 25 September 2023
Nigeria Joseph Akpala (caretaker) Caretaker replaced 2 October 2023[16][n 4] 16th[n 5] Belgium Glen De Boeck 2 October 2023
OH Leuven Belgium Marc Brys Sacked 13 October 2023[17] 14th Belgium Eddy Vanhemel (caretaker) 13 October 2023

Regular season

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Union SG 11 8 1 2 26 13 +13 25 Europa League and Play-off I[lower-alpha 1]
2 Anderlecht 11 6 3 2 18 13 +5 21 Play-off I
3 Gent 11 5 5 1 16 11 +5 20
4 Cercle Brugge 11 6 0 5 13 11 +2 18
5 Genk 11 4 6 1 20 10 +10 18
6 Antwerp 11 4 5 2 19 8 +11 17
7 Club Brugge 11 4 4 3 23 12 +11 16 Play-off II
8 Standard Liège 11 4 4 3 13 11 +2 16
9 Sint-Truiden 12 4 4 4 13 19 −6 16
10 Charleroi 11 3 4 4 13 17 −4 13
11 RWD Molenbeek 12 3 4 5 13 23 −10 13
12 OH Leuven 11 3 3 5 18 19 −1 12
13 Mechelen 11 3 2 6 11 16 −5 11 Relegation Play-off
14 Eupen 11 3 1 7 14 26 −12 10
15 Kortrijk 11 2 2 7 9 22 −13 8
16 Westerlo 11 1 4 6 12 20 −8 7
Updated to match(es) played on 27 October 2023. Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Play-off.[18]
Notes:
  1. The regular season winner will qualify for the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League if not earning 2024–25 UEFA Champions League in the playoff.

Results
Home \ Away USG AND GNT ANT CLU CER GNK STA CHA STR RWD OHL MEC EUP KVK WES
Union SG 2–0 2–2 5 Nov 3 Dec 0–2 3–1 21 Jan 5–1 17 Dec 4–1 12 Nov
Anderlecht 1–0 1–1 27 Dec 23 Dec 10 Dec 2–1 26 Nov 28 Oct 3–1 2–1
Gent 26 Nov 12 Nov 2–1 1–1 29 Oct 2–2 9 Dec 21 Dec 19 Jan 2–1 3–2
Antwerp 17 Dec 0–0[lower-alpha 1] 1–0 4 Nov 11 Nov 21 Jan 0–0 2 Dec 4–1 6–0 23 Dec
Club Brugge 26 Dec a 17 Dec 29 Oct 12 Nov 1–1[lower-alpha 1] 3 Dec 4–2 1–1 7–1 1–1 20 Jan
Cercle Brugge 0–2 5 Nov 2–0 9 Dec a 0–1 2–0 3–2 25 Nov 20 Dec 2–1
Genk 1–1 3 Dec 26 Dec 20 Jan 0–0 3–3 12 Nov 4–0 0–1 17 Dec 3–3
Standard Liège 0–1 3–2 2–1 0–1 25 Nov 16 Dec 27 Dec 1–1 5 Nov 20 Jan 0–0
Charleroi 10 Dec 5 Nov 3–2 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 27 Dec 1–0 25 Nov
Sint-Truiden 0–4 0–1 24 Nov 0–2 1–0 23 Dec 27 Oct 8 Dec 2–0 3 Nov
RWD Molenbeek 2–3 1–1 22 Dec 2–1 0–4 3 Dec 1–0 21 Jan 4 Nov 1–1
OH Leuven 21 Jan 1–1 1–1 26 Nov 16 Dec 1–2 4–0 1–2 26 Dec 3–0 4 Nov
Mechelen 4–0 0–1 0–0 10 Dec 28 Oct 20 Dec 11 Nov 2 Dec 1–2 1–0
Eupen 23 Dec 1–3 0–5 10 Dec 1–3 28 Oct 11 Nov 3–1 2 Dec 2–2
Kortrijk 2–2 26 Dec 1–0 2–1 29 Oct 1–1 0–1 26 Nov 1–3 9 Dec
Westerlo 29 Oct 1 Dec 1–3 0–3 0–1 10 Nov 26 Dec 2–3 15 Dec 1–0
Updated to match(es) played on 22 October 2023. Source: Kalender eerste klasse A 2023-24
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. One of three matches postponed to allow clubs more time to prepare their European midweek matches. Originally planned for the weekend of 25-27 August 2023, now scheduled to be played end of September 2023.

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after the completion of each round, with postponed matches only added when completed:

  • Three matches of matchday 5 were postponed because of clubs playing European qualifying matches, namely Antwerp-Gent, RWDM-Union SG, and Club Brugge-Genk. These six clubs were behind one match from matchday 5 until matchday 9 as the matches were in the end played between matchdays 8 and 9.
Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Union SG211356941111
Anderlecht159741222322
Gent32223111233
Antwerp48457856546
Club Brugge115312433457
Cercle Brugge1371096345864
Genk16568967675
Standard Liège14161314131412131288
Charleroi101411121213141414139
Sint-Truiden53671010787910
RWD Molenbeek1610810111111991011
OH Leuven912151314121312131412
Mechelen813121195810101113
Eupen7498471011111214
Kortrijk1215161616161516151615
Westerlo611141515151615161516
Updated to match(es) played on 21 October 2023. Source: worldfootball.net

Play-offs

Relegation play-offs

Season statistics
As of 27 October 2023

Despite teams not playing the same amount of matches due to the play-offs, goals during the play-offs do count in determining the top scorer.

Top goalscorers
Rank Player Club Goals[19]
1 Togo Kévin Denkey Cercle Brugge 9
2 Belgium Aboubakary Koita Sint-Truiden 8
3 Denmark Andreas Skov Olsen Club Brugge 7
4 Denmark Kasper Dolberg Anderlecht 6
Senegal Makhtar Gueye RWDM
Sweden Gustaf Nilsson Union SG
7 Algeria Mohamed Amoura Union SG 5
Germany Dennis Eckert Union SG
Netherlands Vincent Janssen Antwerp
10 Belgium Lucas Stassin Westerlo 4
Brazil Igor Thiago Club Brugge

Notes
  1. Belgium Edward Still was the manager for matchdays 1 through 8, Nigeria Joseph Akpala was caretaker manager on matchday 9.
  2. Belgium Marc Brys was the manager for matchdays 1 through 10.
  3. While the announcement of Ronny Deila's signature at Club Brugge was already made on 25 May 2023, Rik De Mil remained in charge for the last few matches of the season and Deila thus only officially took up the position as soon as the 2022–23 season ended.
  4. While the announcement of Glen De Boeck's signature at Kortrijk was already made on 28 September 2023, it was added that he would only take over on 2 October 2023, meaning caretaker Joseph Akpala remained in charge for the match of 29 September 2023.
  5. At the time of the announcement of Glen De Boeck's signature at Kortrijk the team was in last place. When he actually took over a few days later the team moved into 15th.

References
  1. "Witte rook over nieuwe competitieformule in 1A: 16 ploegen, tot 3 dalers, halvering blijft" [White smoke on new competition format in 1A: 16 teams, up to 3 teams facing relegation, halving of points remains] (in Dutch). 17 June 2022.
  2. "Union Saint Gilloise Announce "Sustainable" Nike Kit Deal - Fewer New Kits & Lower Prices". Footy Headlines. 1 May 2023.
  3. "OFFICIEEL: Ronny Deila is de nieuwe coach van Club Brugge na zijn vertrek bij Standard" [OFFICIAL: Ronny Deila is the new manager of Club Brugge after his departure at Standard] (in Dutch). stvv.com. 2023-05-25.
  4. "Edward Still neemt na de pandoering op de slotspeeldag "in onderling overleg" afscheid van Eupen" [Edward Still bids farewell to Eupen "by mutual agreement" after 7–0 loss on final matchday] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-04-25.
  5. "Bernd Storck trekt na zondag de deur achter zich dicht bij Kortrijk" [Bernd Storck departs forgood at Kortrijk after next Sunday] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-04-21.
  6. "Coach Bernd Hollerbach verlaat STVV op het einde van het seizoen" [Manager Bernd Hollerbach to leave STVV at the end of the season] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2022-12-15.
  7. "Eupen haalt met Florian Kohfeldt ex-Bundesliga-trainer binnen" [Eupen brings in former Bundesliga manager Florian Kohfeldt] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-06-08.
  8. "EDWARD STILL NIEUWE HOOFDCOACH KV KORTRIJK" [EDWARD STILL NEW HEAD COACH KV KORTRIJK] (in Dutch). kvk.be. 2023-07-02.
  9. "Fink is een Bink" (in Dutch). stvv.com. 2023-05-16.
  10. "Carl HOEFKENS nouveau T1 des Rouches" [Carl HOEFKENS new T1 of the Reds] (in French). sporza.be. 2023-06-16.
  11. "Union en Karel Geraerts gaan uit mekaar: "Afscheid van topcoach en mooi persoon"" [Union and Karel Geraerts part ways: "Goodbye to top manager and beautiful person"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-06-21.
  12. "Union kiest voor Alexander Blessin als opvolger van Karel Geraerts" [Union chooses Alexander Blessin to succeed Karel Geraerts] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-07-03.
  13. "Donderslag bij heldere hemel: RWDM ontslaat coach Vincent Euvrard 1 week voor competitiestart" [A bolt from the blue: RWDM fires coach Vincent Euvrard 1 week before the start of the competition] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-07-24.
  14. "RWDM heeft nieuwe trainer beet: Braziliaan neemt over, De Camargo assistent" [RWDM has a new manager: Brazilian takes over, De Camargo assistant] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-07-25.
  15. "KV Kortrijk zet Edward Still aan de deur na 2 op 24, Akpala neemt voorlopig over" [KV Kortrijk sends Edward Still to the door after 2 on 24, Akpala takes over for the time being] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-09-25.
  16. "KV Kortrijk tovert Glen De Boeck tevoorschijn als nieuwe trainer" [KV Kortrijk conjures up Glen De Boeck as its new trainer] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-09-28.
  17. "OH Leuven en Marc Brys gaan uit elkaar: "Prestaties blijven onder de verwachtingen"" [OH Leuven and Marc Brys split: "Results remain below expectations"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2023-10-13.
  18. "Bondsreglement Titel 7: Competities" [Association Rules Title 7: Competitions] (PDF). Royal Belgian Football Association. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2020.
  19. "Pro Scorer". Jupiler Pro League. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
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