50-729: The Belgian National Division 1 , commonly referred to as simply Eerste Nationale in Dutch or Nationale 1 in French, is a semi-professional 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. Until
100-511: A free transfer for an undisclosed fee, as his contract with Brugge was due to expire at the end of June; his new manager, Roberto Martínez , stated that the player was in "the best form of his career" at that point. He scored his first goal for the club against Sunderland on 11 September 2010, netting in the 86th minute for a 1–1 home draw. Alcaraz caused widespread controversy on 6 November 2011, when replays showed him spitting at Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Richard Stearman during
150-600: A season , he became a defensive mainstay at the Aveiro side. In 2005–06 he helped them return to the Primeira Liga , playing 31 matches. Alcaraz joined Club Brugge KV in Belgium on 30 April 2007, with the deal being effective as of July. After a slow first season he also eventually became first choice, helping his team to two third-places and one second. On 14 May 2010, Alcaraz signed with Wigan Athletic on
200-457: A 2–1 home win over Southampton . On 26 April 2014, Alcaraz scored an own goal in the first minute of a 0–2 loss to Southampton. On 1 January of the following year, he received his first sending off as an Everton player, being shown two yellow cards in a 0–2 away defeat against Hull City which was the team's fourth successive of the festive period . On 10 June 2015, Alcaraz was released. On 2 August 2015, aged nearly 33, Alcaraz signed
250-593: A 3–1 defeat at Molineux Stadium . He was handed a three-game suspension due to his actions, but later issued an apology. On 7 May 2012, Alcaraz scored the game's only goal at Blackburn Rovers to retain the Latics' top-division safety, whilst relegating their opponent to the Football League Championship . He won the 2013 FA Cup , featuring the full 90 minutes in the 1–0 upset of Manchester City . However, only three days later, with him on
300-798: A Brabant "provincial" league for Francophone clubs (including all Francophone clubs from Brussels, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant). The majority of the clubs from the Brussels capital region are Francophone, de facto resulting in two provincial leagues roughly corresponding to Flemish Brabant on one hand; and Walloon Brabant and Brussels on the other hand. Reaching quarter-finals onwards: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League Inter-Cities Fairs Cup UEFA Conference League UEFA Super Cup UEFA Cup Winners' Cup UEFA Super Cup UEFA Cup Winners' Cup UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League Antol%C3%ADn Alcaraz Antolín Alcaraz Viveros (born 30 July 1982)
350-447: A club dissolves, the matricule number of this club is removed permanently and lost forever as numbers are never reused. In case of mergers, the new club must decide which matricule number to keep, it normally begins the championship at the level where the former club with the same matricule number should have begun the season. Typically, mergers result in the most famous club's matricule being kept alive. However, it has often occurred that
400-513: A club with a glorious past or even (multiple) championship titles had to merge with another less successful club in order to survive, often due to financial difficulties. In this case, the matricule number of the club, and the honours linked to it, were lost with the merger. As an examples, in the late 1990s, seven-time champion K. Beerschot VAC was struggling with financial difficulties in the third division and merged with then first division neighbour club KFC Germinal Ekeren to survive. The new club
450-482: A new Brussels-based club ( Royale Union Saint-Gilloise ), which would become a dominant force in Belgian football during the following seasons, winning seven titles between 1903 and 1913. The club originally shared a rivalry with Racing Club and later Daring Club , which would go on and win the title in 1912. Later, Anderlecht became their biggest rival for citywide bragging rights. After World War I , Belgian football
500-482: A new rule in 2016, stating that after a takeover, a club cannot move more than 30 kilometres from its original location. From 2017, the Belgian FA enforced another rule, which allows clubs to buy back their old defunct matricule, which was first done by Lyra (matricule 7776) who acquired the matricule 52 of the old defunct Lyra . In 2018, Oud-Heverlee Leuven , which is the result of a merger of three clubs around
550-532: A one-year contract with newly promoted La Liga side UD Las Palmas with the option of a second one. He scored his first goal on 23 September, helping best Sevilla FC 2–0 at home. During his spell at the Estadio Gran Canaria , Alcaraz made only seven competitive appearances due to injury. On 29 January 2016, he left by mutual consent. In February 2016, Alcaraz agreed to a deal at Club Libertad . He made his Paraguayan Primera División debut
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#1732791672103600-567: Is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a centre-back . He rarely settled with a team in his early career, before signing in 2003 with Beira-Mar and remaining with the club five seasons, after which he joined Club Brugge . He then spent five years in the Premier League , in service of Wigan Athletic and Everton; after one year in Spain with Las Palmas , he returned to his country. Alcaraz represented Paraguay at
650-665: Is currently competing in the First Amateur Division . Currently, two clubs from the province are competing in First Division A, Standard Liège and KAS Eupen . The latter is the only club from the German-speaking Community of Belgium (based on an administrative area in east of Liège Province) ever to have competed in the top flight. They first played at the top level in 2010–11 but were relegated after that season, before returning after
700-531: Is not a province but rather an region akin to Flanders and Wallonia . Two currently active clubs from Brussels play in First Division A, Anderlecht , the country's most successful club to date, and Union Saint-Gilloise , 11 time champion of Belgium, which acquired place in Division A after a 49-year absence by winning the First Division B in 2020-21 season. The first-ever Belgian League Championship
750-585: Is slowly starting to change, with Belgium producing such offensive talents as Romelu Lukaku , Eden Hazard , Mousa Dembélé , Christian Benteke , Kevin Mirallas , Marouane Fellaini , Kevin De Bruyne and Dries Mertens , among others. With football's rapid growth in popularity in the late 19th century, several football clubs came into existence in Belgium. In 1926, the Royal Belgian Football Association decided to introduce matricule numbers to tell
800-454: Is the most popular sport in Belgium , which has been played since the end of the 19th century. The national association was founded in 1895 with the intention of bringing some order and organization to the sport. The first match of the Belgium national team was played on 1 May 1904, a 3–3 draw against France . Traditionally, the clubs Anderlecht , Club Brugge and Standard Liège are
850-527: The 2010 World Cup and the 2011 Copa América , helping them to the final of the later tournament. Hailing from a humble background, Alcaraz worked throughout his teenage years as a builder's assistant in his hometown of San Roque González de Santa Cruz in the Paraguarí Department . He started his career at Club Teniente Fariña in the city of Ñemby , but he did not have the intention of one day playing professional football. Whilst Alcaraz
900-562: The Belgian FA and the courts did not award them a licence to practice professional football. As a result, the club were relegated to the First Amateur Division and were ultimately wound up in October 2017. Only one club from the province of Flemish Brabant is currently active in the top two divisions of Belgian football, Oud-Heverlee Leuven , playing in the First Division A. After the 2018-19 season , AFC Tubize were relegation to
950-832: 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,
1000-507: The First Amateur Division and as a result, no club from the province of Walloon Brabant plays in the top two divisions of Belgian football in 2019-20. Two teams from Hainaut Province are currently playing in First Division A: Excel Mouscron and Charleroi SC . Namur Province is, along with that of Luxembourg, the province with the least prestigious football history in Belgium. Currently, no clubs from
1050-448: The 2010s, matricules have been sold and traded, with clubs wanting to take over the position in a (higher) series of another club acquiring these matricules in order to quickly move up one or more divisions. Examples include BX Brussels , which acquired the matricule of Bleid-Gaume in 2013, with the intent to transform and move the club from Bleid to Brussels, over 200 kilometres away. The Royal Belgian Football Association therefore enforced
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#17327916721031100-399: The 2016–17 season. No team from the province is currently in the First Division B. Historically, RFC Liège (five titles between 1895 and 1953) and Standard Liège (ten titles between 1958 and 2009) are the province's most successful, well-known and popular clubs. Only one club from Luxembourg Province plays near the top level of Belgian football: Excelsior Virton , who won promotion to
1150-507: The 2019–20 season, it was known as the Belgian First Amateur Division , but was renamed due to the negative connotation of the word amateur . 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
1200-401: The 2022–23 season, five clubs from the province of West Flanders play in the First Division A ( Club Brugge , Cercle Brugge , KV Kortrijk , KV Oostende and SV Zulte-Waregem ), and one club plays in the First Division B ( Club NXT ). As of the 2022–23 season, only one club from the province of East Flanders play in the First Division A ( KAA Gent ), but there are three clubs who plays in
1250-451: The First Division B ( KMSK Deinze , FCV Dender EH and SK Beveren ). Antwerp Province has a long tradition of football. The first Belgian clubs were established in the city of Antwerp (Antwerp Lyon's Club, A.S. Anvers-Borgerhout, and most notably Royal Antwerp , which is the country's oldest club and which is affectionately referred to as the "Great Old" by its supporters and the media). Three clubs from this province currently play in
1300-420: The First Division B after the 2018-19 season . No club from this province has ever played in the top flight. Former Belgian international Philippe Albert ( Bouillon ) and current international Thomas Meunier ( Sainte-Ode ) were born in the province. As of the 2016–17 season, the Belgian football league pyramid has nine levels. The FA dramatically overhauled the league system after the 2015–16 season, reducing
1350-753: The basis for their names. For historical reasons, many Flemish clubs changed their names from French to Dutch between the beginning of the 20th century and the late 1960s. Additionally, many clubs have experienced frequent name changes. Reasons for these include a language change, a merger, an anniversary, etc. Because of the numerous mergers between Belgian clubs, team names sometimes combine several town names (such as K. Beringen-Heusden-Zolder or Sporting West Ingelmunster-Harelbeke ) which reflect mergers. In recent history, clubs representing immigrant communities have come into existence and sometimes use names that are in neither of Belgium's official languages (the now defunct clubs Türkgucun Ozburun and Türkiyemspor Zaventem, or
1400-464: The capital region of Brussels (which is not a province by itself and also does not belong to a province), teams from Brussels, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant are split into two similar leagues based on their language. As a result there are two "provincial" leagues corresponding to the former Province of Brabant : one Brabant "provincial" league for Flemish clubs (including all Flemish clubs from Brussels, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant) and
1450-448: The city of Leuven , changed its matricule number 6142 back to number 18 to honour the glorious past of its eldest predecessor. The first few matricule numbers are: A Belgian club's name usually includes the name of the town where the club plays as well as a prefix and/or suffix. Since Belgians speak three languages, French and Dutch being the main ones and German being the third official language, Belgian teams may use either language as
1500-578: The clubs apart and assigned a matricule to each existing club by order of registration. In this manner, Antwerp was awarded matricule number 1 as the first to register. As such, the oldest clubs in Belgium typically have the lowest matricule numbers, although there are clubs which registered many years after their origination and as a result have a much higher matricule than would be expected. Many clubs, especially those with very low numbers, consider their matricule number part of their heritage and past and prominently feature it in their logo or even name. In case
1550-546: The competition is organized by the Provinces of Belgium , with the notable exception of the three entities that were created from the 1995 breakup of the former Province of Brabant – Flemish Brabant , Walloon Brabant and the Brussels Capital Region – whose clubs are split into two former Province of Brabant wide leagues, one Flemish-speaking and one French-speaking. As of
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1600-420: The dominant team in Brussels. Its cross-city rivals at the time were, in succession, Union, Daring and Racing White, later renamed R.W.D.M. , still later named FC Brussels . The latter were liquidated in 2014 and revived a year later as RWDM47 . White Star Bruxelles , a club from the Brussels suburban region, technically won promotion to the top flight after the 2015-16 season but due to the club's debts, both
1650-491: The following month at the age of 33, in a 2–1 home victory against Cerro Porteño . On 2 January 2019, Alcaraz signed with Club Olimpia of the same league. In his debut campaign , he was part of the squad that won the national championship. In November 2008, Alcaraz received his first call-up to the Paraguay national team at the age of 26. He was picked for the squad present at the 2010 FIFA World Cup ; on 14 June, in
1700-1056: The greatest European clubs. Indeed, some of the most talented players in Europe have played in Belgian clubs, including Yaya Touré , Jean-Pierre Papin , Daniel Amokachi , Antolín Alcaraz and David Rozehnal were discovered at Club Brugge ; Sunday Oliseh and Victor Ikpeba at RFC Liège ; Jan Koller , Nii Lamptey and Aruna Dindane at Anderlecht ; and Mido at Gent . Others who began or launched their professional careers in Belgium include William Carvalho , Emmanuel Eboué , Romaric , Gervinho , Didier Zokora , Arthur Boka , Ivica Dragutinović , Mario Stanić , Morten Olsen , Dorinel Munteanu , André Cruz , Seol Ki-hyeon , Kennet Andersson , Klas Ingesson , Aaron Mokoena , Michaël Ciani , Nicolás Pareja , Oguchi Onyewu , Rabiu Afolabi , Cheick Tioté , Peter Odemwingie , Joseph Yobo , Ouwo Moussa Maazou , Milan Jovanović , Ognjen Vukojević , Ivan Perišić , Nikica Jelavić , Demba Ba , Dante , Bryan Ruiz and Rob Rensenbrink . Because of
1750-606: The group stage opener against Italy , in just his seventh cap , he headed home through a powerful header following a set piece in an eventual 1–1 draw in Cape Town , and went on to play all the matches (save one due to suspension) and minutes for the quarter-finalists. Alcaraz was again first choice for Paraguay during the 2011 Copa América , held in Argentina . On 13 July, he scored the 1–1 equaliser against Venezuela in an eventual 3–3 group stage draw. Four days later, in
1800-433: The league was expanded to 20 teams but reduce to 18 teams from 2023–24. From 2024–25 season, the league was expanded to 28 teams will divided into two groups previously single league table. The season is a regular round-robin tournament with 18 teams. The top two teams automatically direct promotion to Challenger Pro League for 2024–25 season. Regarding relegation, the bottom three teams are automatically demoted, while
1850-526: The liberalization of the football player market in Europe. In response, Belgian clubs began to buy unknown players from Eastern Europe, South America and Africa. This had two contradictory consequences. On the one hand, the national team was weakened by the reduced opportunity for native Belgium players to gain a spot on domestic teams. On the other hand, the Jupiler League reinforced its status as an entry league for players who then move on to some of
1900-450: The number of professional teams to 24 and introducing a nationwide amateur league for the first time. Nationwide leagues: Regional leagues: Provincial leagues: Each provincial subdivision of the FA runs its own 4-division league. Only teams that are geographically located in a certain province are allowed to compete in the corresponding provincial league. To include as well teams from
1950-494: The physical nature of Belgian football, it has tended to primarily produce talented defensive players. These include Jean-Marie Pfaff , Eric Gerets , Leo Clijsters , Michel Preud'homme , Georges Grün , Philippe Albert , Franky Van Der Elst , Vincent Kompany and Thomas Vermaelen . In comparison, only few attacking Belgian footballers have received international recognition: Enzo Scifo , Jan Ceulemans , Marc Degryse , Luc Nilis and Émile Mpenza . However, this latter trend
2000-402: The pitch again, Wigan were relegated from the top division following a 1–4 away loss to Arsenal . On 9 July 2013, after becoming a free agent , Alcaraz moved to Everton on a two-year deal as both he and goalkeeper Joel Robles followed coach Martínez to the club. He made his competitive debut on 29 December after an injury struck his start to the season , featuring the full 90 minutes in
2050-410: The province of Namur are playing in the top two levels of Belgian football. Furthermore, no club from this province has ever played in the top flight. Liège Province also has a long history in Belgian football. RFC Liège won the first-ever Belgian title in 1896. The club struggled financially during the early years of the 21st century and was eventually dissolved in 2011. A new club was formed, which
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2100-471: The still-existing Agrupación Oviedo-Asturiana, existing only in a league outside the Belgian FA now, from Brussels, being examples). Finally, a team which exists for at least 50 years may add the prefix "Royal" to its name (either in English or in the team's language). Before 1958, this right was given to any team that celebrated its 25th year of existence. Between 1958 and 1968, the rule was changed to grant
2150-721: The team finishing in 17th place play a relegation playoff together with three teams from the Belgian Division 2 with the playoff winner obtaining a spot in the following season's Belgian National Division 1. From 2024–25 season, National Division 1 divide into two groups VV 16 teams and ACFF 12 teams, respectively. VV group will 38 matches no play-off and ACFF group will 22 matches with play-off matches as finishing top six clubs will battle for promotion play-off and bottom six clubs will battle for relegation play-off. Football in Belgium Association football
2200-453: The three most dominant domestic teams, all of them also having played and/or won one or more UEFA competitions final(s). Both the national football team and the top Belgium division have a reputation for physical play. This came as a result of a lack of technically skilled foreign players allowed to play in Belgium due to legal restrictions. This changed after the Bosman ruling which forced
2250-415: The title to any team with at least 35 years of existence. Since 1968, the time limit has increased to 50 years. The following is a partial list of common football club name prefixes and suffixes in Belgium's three official languages. Anderlecht and KV Mechelen have won a European competition. Here is a list of the winners and runners-up by competition: Under the first four levels in the league system ,
2300-638: The top flight: Royal Antwerp , KV Mechelen and K Beerschot VA while KVC Westerlo and Lierse Kempenzonen play in the First Division B. Two clubs from Limburg Province currently play in the First Division A: KRC Genk and Sint-Truiden . Additionally, one club represents the province in First Division B: Lommel SK . Technically-speaking, greater Brussels (the City of Brussels and surrounding communities)
2350-575: Was a competition amongst seven teams, four of which were based in Brussels: Racing Club , Léopold Club Uccle , Sporting Club and Union d'Ixelles . Léopold Club was a club for the nobility and bourgeoisie in Brussels and is still active after no less than four mergers between 1982 and 2001 (they are currently playing in the Fourth Division ). The latter two clubs ceased to exist in 1897 and 1901 respectively and were replaced by
2400-563: Was dominated by clubs from the cities of Antwerp and Bruges . From the early 1930s, however, the Brussels-based clubs Union and Daring divided five titles between themselves. The rivalry between the two clubs has inspired a stage play named Bossemans et Coppenolle ("Bossemans" was the name of the Union head coach in those years, "Coppenolle" his counterpart at Daring). Shortly after World War II , Anderlecht replaced Union and Daring as
2450-497: Was named KFC Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen and started in the first division with the matricule number of KFC Germinal Ekeren, but lost the honours of K Beerschot VAC. The new club did keep playing in the Beerschot stadium and wore the purple shirt for which Beerschot was famously known. Another famous example is that of five-time champion Daring Club de Bruxelles ' merger with RR White into R White Daring Molenbeek in 1973. From
2500-637: Was working as a builder at the age of 18, he met scout and football agent Carlos Bruni who took him to Argentina's Racing Club de Avellaneda . He appeared rarely during his spell. Alcaraz was loaned to ACF Fiorentina in 2002, but the Italians soon faced bankruptcy and regrouped in the Lega Pro Seconda Divisione . He then had a trial at U.S. Città di Palermo , but nothing came of it. In January 2003, Alcaraz signed for Portuguese club S.C. Beira-Mar . After seven appearances in half
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