2019–20 Belgian Second Amateur Division

Belgian Second Amateur Division
Season2019–20
ChampionsKnokke (A), Tienen (B) & Francs Borains (C)
PromotedKnokke, Tienen & Francs Borains
RelegatedHamme & Sint-Niklaas (A)
Duffel, Geel & Vosselaar (B)
Namur FLV, Onhaye & Tilleur (C)

The 2019–20 Belgian Second Amateur Division was the fourth season of the division in its current format, placed at the fourth-tier of football in Belgium. Mid-March all matches were temporarily postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium, only to be canceled permanently two weeks later, with the standing as of March 12 counting as final. As a result, Knokke, Tienen and Francs Borains were crowned champions in their respective league and were each promoted to the 2020–21 Belgian First Amateur Division.

The division consists of three separate leagues, each containing 16 teams. Leagues A and B consist of teams with a license from the Voetbalfederatie Vlaanderen (VFV, the Flemish/Dutch speaking wing of the Belgian FA), while league C contains teams with a license from the Association des Clubs Francophones de Football (ACFF, the French-speaking wing of the RBFA). The champions from each of the three leagues will promote to the 2020–21 Belgian First Amateur Division. The fixtures were announced in early July 2019.

Team changes

In

Out

Belgian Second Amateur Division A

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Locations of the 2019–20 Belgian Second Amateur Division A teams

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Knokke (C, P) 24 20 3 1 57 15 +42 63 Promotion to the 2020–21 Belgian First Amateur Division
2 Mandel United (P) 24 14 3 7 51 31 +20 45
3 Ronse 24 14 3 7 42 26 +16 45
4 Oudenaarde 24 13 3 8 54 46 +8 42
5 Gent-Zeehaven 24 12 5 7 36 29 +7 41
6 Petegem 24 11 6 7 51 39 +12 39
7 Gullegem 24 11 6 7 36 32 +4 39
8 Zwevezele 24 11 5 8 41 28 +13 38
9 Harelbeke 24 10 5 9 30 35 −5 35
10 Dikkelvenne 24 9 4 11 35 37 −2 31
11 Westhoek 24 9 1 14 29 48 −19 28
12 Temse[a] 24 6 6 12 22 38 −16 24
13 Menen 24 5 5 14 28 47 −19 20
14 Merelbeke 24 4 7 13 25 41 −16 19
15 Sint-Niklaas (R) 24 4 4 16 22 49 −27 16 Relegation to the 2020–21 Belgian Third Amateur Division
16 Hamme (R) 24 3 6 15 34 52 −18 15
Source: vbal4
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Goal difference in away matches; 7) Away goals scored.[2]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Following a merge with Lokeren a new club was created, Lokeren-Temse, to be continued to play at the fourth level (Belgian Second Amateur Division).[1]

Belgian Second Amateur Division B

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Locations of the 2019–20 Belgian Second Amateur Division B teams

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Tienen (C, P) 23 14 2 7 40 28 +12 44 Promotion to the 2020–21 Belgian First Amateur Division
2 Bocholt 23 12 6 5 38 24 +14 42
3 Aalst 22 12 4 6 38 23 +15 41.82[a]
4 Cappellen 22 10 5 7 34 26 +8 36.59[a]
5 Hades 22 9 6 7 32 29 +3 34.5[a]
6 Hasselt 22 8 9 5 29 30 −1 34.5[a]
7 Vosselaar[b] (R) 22 10 2 10 34 31 +3 33.45[a] Relegation to the Belgian Provincial Leagues
8 Diegem 22 9 4 9 26 26 0 32.41[a]
9 Berchem 23 7 7 9 31 35 −4 28
10 Geel[c] (R) 22 7 5 10 25 30 −5 27.18[a] Relegation to the Belgian Provincial Leagues
11 Londerzeel 23 7 6 10 30 37 −7 27
12 Wijgmaal 23 7 5 11 37 38 −1 26
13 Pepingen-Halle 23 6 7 10 24 31 −7 25
14 Hoogstraten 22 6 5 11 27 31 −4 24.05[a]
15 Spouwen-Mopertingen 22 6 3 13 21 47 −26 21.95[a]
16 Duffel[d] (R) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to the Belgian Provincial Leagues
Source: vbal4
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Goal difference in away matches; 7) Away goals scored.[5]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Aalst, Cappellen, Diegem, Geel, Hades, Hasselt, Hoogstraten, Spouwen-Mopertingen and Vosselaar had played one match less at the time the competition was stopped, therefore their points were scaled up by a factor 23/22.
  2. ^ On 18 January 2020, Vosselaar announced it would not be applying for a license to play in the national amateur leagues during the 2020–21 season due to the excessive financial costs. As a result, the team will be relegated to Belgian Provincial Leagues (but won't suffer any starting penalty as they will finish the season).[3]
  3. ^ On 22 January 2020, due to financial difficulties, Geel announced that during the 2019–20 transfer window all players and technical staff have been released without any transfer fee, to avoid bankrupting the club. Youth players will play the remaining matches and management will devise a plan for the coming seasons.[3] Eventually, Geel did not receive a license for both the Second and Third Amateur divisions and should normally be relegating to the Belgian Provincial Leagues as well. Geel is, however, appealing the decision to not being awarded a license. If the appeal is successful, they will remain in the Belgian Second Amateur Division.
  4. ^ On 28 January 2020, Duffel announced it would not be competing for the remainder of the season. As per the rules of the Belgian FA, all the results of Duffel were annulled and Duffel will be ranked last and penalized with a further relegation, starting the 2020–21 season at the first level of the Belgian Provincial Leagues (sixth level overall) with a nine-point penalty.[4][3]

Belgian Second Amateur Division C

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Locations of the 2019–20 Belgian Second Amateur Division C teams

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Francs Borains (C, P) 24 15 7 2 50 17 +33 52 Promotion to the 2020–21 Belgian First Amateur Division
2 Meux 24 13 9 2 46 26 +20 48
3 La Louvière 23 13 7 3 38 18 +20 48[a]
4 Rebecq 24 12 8 4 41 24 +17 44
5 Hamoir 24 13 4 7 48 34 +14 43
6 Stockay 22 10 4 8 43 37 +6 37.09[b]
7 Durbuy 24 8 11 5 44 39 +5 35
8 Givry 24 10 3 11 33 38 −5 33
9 Acren-Lessines 24 8 4 12 45 49 −4 28
10 Tilleur[c] (R) 23 7 5 11 28 40 −12 27.13[a] Relegation to the Belgian Provincial Leagues
11 Verlaine 22 7 3 12 33 47 −14 26.18[b]
12 Couvin-Mariembourg 23 7 4 12 35 38 −3 26.09[a]
13 Waremme 24 6 4 14 30 52 −22 22
14 Solières 23 6 3 14 26 45 −19 21.91[a]
15 Namur FLV (R) 24 7 0 17 29 53 −24 21 Relegation to the 2020–21 Belgian Third Amateur Division
16 Onhaye (R) 24 5 6 13 27 39 −12 21
Source: vbal4
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Goal difference in away matches; 7) Away goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b c d Couvin-Mariembourg, La Louvière, Solières and Tilleur had played one match less at the time the competition was stopped, therefore their points were scaled up by a factor 24/23.
  2. ^ a b Stockay and Verlaine had played two matches less at the time the competition was stopped, therefore their points were scaled up by a factor 24/22.
  3. ^ Tilleur did not apply for a license and was therefore relegated to the Belgian Provincial Leagues.

References

  1. ^ Sporting Lokeren wordt na fusie met Temse KSC Lokeren-Temse sporza.be, 22 april 2020, reference in Dutch
  2. ^ "Belgian Second Amateur Division A 2018/2019".
  3. ^ a b c "Clubs vallen als vliegen door financiële malaise: Geel, Vosselaar, Duffel,..." [Clubs dropping like flies due to financial troubles: Geel, Vosselaar, Duffel,...] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-01-18.
  4. ^ "Nog meer onheil in lagere klassen: Duffel doet het seizoen niet uit" [More trouble in lower leagues: Duffel won't finish the season] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2020-01-28.
  5. ^ "Belgian Second Amateur Division B 2018/2019".