2020–21 Belgian First Division B
The 2020–21 season of the Belgian First Division B began in August 2020 and ended in April 2021.
Union SG became champions on 13 March 2021, returning to the highest level of Belgian football for the first time since the 1972–73 season.
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Union SG |
| Promoted | Union SG Seraing |
| Relegated | none |
← 2019–20 2021–22 → | |
Team changes
In
- Deinze were promoted from the 2019–20 Belgian First Amateur Division as champions.
- Seraing and RWD Molenbeek filled in the open spots left by the extra relegations of Roeselare and Virton, as highest finishing teams which had obtained a professional footballing licence.
- As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium, no team was relegated from the 2019–20 Belgian First Division A and two teams were promoted from the 2019–20 Belgian First Division B, meaning two extra teams needed to be added to the league. From the 2019–20 Belgian First Amateur Division only Lierse Kempenzonen remained as team which had obtained the necessary Belgian professional football licence (despite nearly relegating in that division), hence they were promoted and finally as no other team was eligible from that division, the youth squad of Club Brugge was added to again end up with 8 teams. This team will play under the name Club NXT.
Out
- Due to the Belgian First Division A expanding from 16 to 18 teams, both finalists Beerschot and OH Leuven were promoted to Belgian First Division A for the next season.
- Lokeren went bankrupt and folded. Temse moved to Lokeren and renamed themselves K.S.C. Lokeren-Temse playing in the Belgian Second Amateur Division.
- Both Roeselare and Virton were denied a professional licence and forced to relegate, Roeselare to the Belgian First Amateur Division, Virton to the Belgian Second Amateur Division as they were also refused a remunerated licence.
Format changes
Only in the 2020–21 season, the league will no longer consist of two separate competitions but will be one single league in which all teams play each other four times. There will be no more playoffs, no teams will qualify for the Europa League playoffs and the bottom team will be relegated directly.
Team information
Stadiums and locations
Locations of the 2020–21 Belgian First Division B teams
| Matricule | Club | City | First season of current spell at second level | Coming from | 2019-20 result | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Club NXT | Brugge | 2020–21 | – | – | Daknamstadion | 12,136 |
| 818 | K.M.S.K. Deinze | Deinze | 2020–21 | Belgian First Amateur Division | 1st (D1Am) | Burgemeester Van de Wiele Stadion | 7,515 |
| 3970 | Lierse Kempenzonen | Lier | 2020–21 | Belgian First Amateur Division | 13th (D1Am) | Herman Vanderpoortenstadion | 14,538 |
| 2554 | Lommel SK | Lommel | 2018–19 | Belgian First Amateur Division | 6th (D1B) | Soevereinstadion | 8,000 |
| 5479 | RWD Molenbeek | Molenbeek | 2020–21 | Belgian First Amateur Division | 6th (D1Am) | Edmond Machtens Stadium | 12,266 |
| 167 | Seraing | Seraing | 2020–21 | Belgian First Amateur Division | 4th (D1Am) | Stade du Pairay | 14,234 |
| 10 | Union SG | Saint-Gilles, Brussels | 2015–16 | Belgian Third Division | 4th (D1B) | Stade Joseph Marien | 5,500 |
| 2024 | K.V.C. Westerlo | Westerlo | 2017–18 | Belgian First Division A | 1st (D1B) | Het Kuipje | 8,035 |
Personnel and kits
| Club | Manager | Kit Manufacturer | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Club NXT |  Rik De Mil | Macron | Alheembouw |
| Deinze | Cédric Vlaeminck | Legea | Dakota Vastgoed & Declercq Stortbeton |
| Lierse Kempenzonen | Tom Van Imschoot | Jako | Keukens Van Lommel |
| Lommel |  Liam Manning | Masita | United Telecom |
| RWD Molenbeek | Vincent Euvrard | Joma | Symbio |
| RFC Seraing | Emilio Ferrera | Kappa | VOO, Willy Naessens & Startpeople |
| Union SG | Felice Mazzù | Le Coq Sportif | Culture et Formation |
| Westerlo | Bob Peeters | Saller | Soudal |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union SG |  Thomas Christiansen | Contract not prolonged | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | Felice Mazzù | 24 May 2020 |
| Lommel | Peter Maes | Contract not prolonged | Liam Manning | 10 July 2020 | ||
| RWD Molenbeek | Frédéric Stilmant (caretaker) | Caretaker replaced | Laurent Demol | 11 June 2020 | ||
| RWD Molenbeek | Laurent Demol | Sacked | 2 December 2020 | 6th | Frédéric Stilmant (caretaker) | 2 December 2020 |
| RWD Molenbeek | Frédéric Stilmant (caretaker) | Caretaker replaced | 7 December 2020 | 6th | Vincent Euvrard | 7 December 2020 |
| Deinze | David Gevaert | Sacked | 4 March 2021 | 6th | Cédric Vlaeminck (caretaker) | 4 March 2021 |
