The Belgian Third Division ( Dutch : Derde klasse , French : Division III ) was the third highest level in Belgian football . It had two leagues of 18 teams each ( A and B ) at the same level. This competition, originally known as the Belgian Promotion ( Dutch : Bevordering ) 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 .
23-399: The competition consisted of the regular season (two leagues of 18 teams, 34 matchdays each) followed by the third division play-off (7 teams, 3 matchdays). Each team played 34 matches during the regular season (from August till May). The regular season was divided in 3 periods with the first period consisting of the first 10 match days, the second period consisting of the next 12 match days and
46-472: A part of changes in the Belgian league system that were implemented in 2016, when the third division was rebranded as Second Amateur Division , the 2015–16 season had 37 teams (one division has 19 and the other, 18) and the division contracted to 16 teams. The three-period rankings and promotion playoff between third and fourth tier teams were scrapped. The 7th to 17th (or 18th) placers in each group remained in
69-455: A qualifying playoff contested by 3rd to 6th ranked teams. These teams must meet technical and administrative criteria. The final games of the third division play-off are listed here: Belgian Fourth 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
92-704: The Belgian Fourth Division was replaced by the Belgian Third Amateur Division . The Fourth Division playoff was played in three rounds. The first round consisted of six matches of one leg opposing the twelve qualifiers from the Fourth Division. Two teams from the third division (the two 14th-placed teams) entered the playoff in the second round that consisted of two groups of two matches. The third division teams were placed in different groups (with three teams from
115-455: The Division 3 teams play a match in a different group. The two winners of each group play a group final in the third matchday to decide the last two teams to promote. The number of leagues at the second provincial division level differs from province to province, most have three but some only have two. Each league is played between 16 teams. The system of promotion and relegation is set up by
138-459: The Promotion play-off with teams from Promotion (see Fourth Division playoff ). The three period winners in each league qualified for the third division play-off along with the 16th-placed team in the second division. If the league winner also won one or more periods or that a period winner won more than one period, finished in the last three places or had not received a second division license,
161-417: The annual provincial assembly. At the third provincial level, the amount of leagues differs even more, ranging from three to six. Also from this level on the leagues sometimes have fewer teams than the standard 16. Again, the system of promotion and relegation is set up by the annual provincial assembly. In most provinces the fourth provincial level is the lowest level of football, except for Luxembourg where
184-425: The best-placed teams in the league overall ranking qualified for the play-off so that 3 teams in each league qualified. The playoff was played in three rounds. In the first round, the 6 qualifiers from the third division ware drawn in three matches played in two legs. The winners of the first round and the 16th-placed team from the second division entered the second round (2 matches played in two legs). The final round
207-551: The division, which is called Belgian Second Amateur Division and now lies at the fourth level of the Belgian football pyramid, while the last placers relegated to the new fifth level called Belgian Third Amateur Division . From the 2016–17 season onwards, the Belgian First Amateur Division is made up of nine teams relegated from the 2015–16 Belgian Second Division , the 2015–16 champion and runner-up of each Third Division group, and three winners of
230-594: The first level of the provincial leagues, namely the leagues of the provinces of Antwerp , East Flanders , Hainaut , Liège , Limburg , Luxembourg , Namur , West Flanders and finally the Brabant division containing teams from the Brussels Capital Region, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant. Since 2006, each division is composed of 16 clubs. The regular season is thus composed of 30 matchdays, generally played on Sunday. The nine league winners of
253-410: The first round in each group). The two winners of each group played the group final that qualified two teams for the third division. The groups were constructed to ensure that the two teams from the third division were not able to meet each other in the playoff. The matches were played in one leg at the venue of the first drawn team. When a match ended in a draw, extra time of two periods of 15 minutes
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#1732794085111276-610: The football teams from the Brussels Capital Region ). Each league system is itself divided into 4 levels (except for Luxembourg where there are only 3). 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 (either directly, or after playoff matches). Each of
299-454: The four thirteenth placed teams of each league in Division 3. The host team is the first to be drawn. The two losing teams enter the second matchday whereas the two winners remain in Division 3. Four matches are played in the second matchday, between the six second placed teams of the provincial first divisions that did not qualify directly and the two Division 3 teams that lost in the previous round. The four matches are grouped by two, and each of
322-399: 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
345-475: The palmares. For 2016–17 the Belgian Fourth Division was replaced by the Belgian Third Amateur Division . The competition consisted of the regular season of 30 matchdays and the promotion playoff of three matchdays. The four champions qualified directly for the Belgian Third Division . Each league was split into three periods (of 10 matchdays each) which determined the twelve qualifiers for
368-469: The promotion playoff on the second matchday. As each team relegated from the Belgian Division 3 must play the next season in a specific provincial league based on its location, the number of newcomers in each provincial league may be different. Therefore, there may then be more relegated teams than usual from some first provincial divisions to the respective second provincial divisions, to allow
391-454: The promotion playoff. If a team needed to be replaced, the best-placed team at the end of the regular season which had not yet qualified for the playoff took the free spot. A winner of a period could be replaced because: The bottom three teams in each league were relegated to the provincial leagues while the 13th-placed teams entered the interprovincial playoff. As a part of changes in the Belgian league system that were implemented in 2016,
414-646: The provinces in Belgium has their own league structure within the provincial leagues, with the exception of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant which are still playing together in the Brabant division. The Province of Brabant was split into Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and the Brussels Capital Region from 1 January 1995 as part of the 1993 state reform , however the provincial football league of Brabant still exists as such and contains these two provinces and teams from Brussels . As such, there are nine leagues at
437-595: The regular season qualify for the Belgian Division 3 (until 2020 the Third Amateur Division and until 2015 the Belgian Fourth Division ), as well as the second placed teams of the three most active provinces of the previous season, i.e. the provinces that count the most active teams in the national and provincial leagues. Those twelve clubs replace the last three teams of each league of Division 3. The six other second placed teams enter
460-441: The third period consisting of the final 12 match days. For each period in each league, a ranking was computed in the same way as the overall league rankings (three points for a win, one point for a draw and no point for a loss). In each league, the winner of the regular season promoted to the second division and the two worst-placed teams (17th and 18th) were relegated to the Belgian Fourth Division . The 16th placed teams had to play
483-399: The total number of teams in each division to remain constant. Each provincial general assembly can decide to organise its own relegation playoff including teams from the first and the second divisions but there must be at least two teams directly relegated to the second provincial division. The promotion playoff is played over three matchdays. The first one is composed of two matches played by
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#1732794085111506-402: Was also played in two legs. The winner qualified for the second division. In each round, the away goals rule was used to declare the winner in case of aggregate tie score. If each team had scored the same number of away goals, the teams played extra time of two 15-minutes periods. If there was still a tie, the away goals rule was applied once again. Finally, the matches went to penalties. As
529-538: Was played followed by a penalty shootout if the score remained tied. Belgian Provincial leagues 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 (one for each province, but Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant are merged and contain also
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