Club Brugge declared champions as Belgian Pro League officially ends 2019-20 season

The Belgian Pro League season is officially over after the General Assembly voted to accept finalising the league table with each club having played 29 games.

The confirmation means Club Brugge have been crowned champions and will enter the group stage of the 2020-21 Champions League.

Gent finish second and go into Champions League qualifying while Sporting Charleroi, Royal Antwerp and Standard Liege go into the Europa League.

In lieu of the division’s usual relegation play-offs, bottom side Waasland-Beveren have been relegated to the second tier.

Sporting competition has been banned in Belgium until July 31, following a Ministerial Decree last week.

Promotion from the second tier is still to be decided. The Belgian First Division B is split into two tournaments, with the winner of each playing a two-legged play-off tie in order to determine an overall champion.

OH Leuven won the opening tournament with Beerschot winning the closing tournament. Beerschot won the first leg of the play-off 1-0 but the second leg is yet to go ahead.

A statement from the Pro League said the teams must notify the league of the exact time when the second leg will be completed.

“The management of the Pro League will be charged to adjust the federal regulations regarding the players' entitlement to play on the date of this game and not on the originally scheduled date," the statement said. 

“If the promotion final is not completed before the start of the new season, the club with the highest number of points in the championship of 1B with a valid license for 1A, being KVC Westerlo, will be promoted to the Jupiler Pro League.”

It was also confirmed that the 2020-21 season will be played in an adapted format, with a regular season of 30 match days.

The regular season will then be followed by one-off shortened play-offs for European qualification.

The top four will compete for the league title in the ‘Champions Play-Offs’, while the teams finishing between fifth and eighth will also go into a play-off.

The winner of that play-off will play the fourth-placed team in the title play-off for the final European place.