2026–27 Challenger Pro League
.svg.png) | |
| Season | 2026–27 |
|---|---|
← 2025–26 2027–28 → | |
The 2026–27 season of the Challenger Pro League is scheduled to begin in August 2026 and end in May 2027. It is the fifth season under its new name after being renamed from First Division B.
Team changes
This season, only one team will be automatically promoted to Belgian Pro League, with a second team to be promoted as winner of the promotion play-offs. The bottom two teams will be relegated and since this season, U23-teams can again be relegated (but not promoted).
Incoming
- Virton and Hasselt were promoted from the 2025–26 Belgian Division 1, respectively as FFA (Francophone) and VV (Flemish) champions. Virton return to the second tier after 4 years absence, while Hasselt make their debut at this level, although predecessor Hasselt last played at the second level in 1989.
- Dender EH was relegated from the 2025–26 Belgian Pro League, returning after playing two seasons at the top level.
Outgoing
- Beveren, Kortrijk and Lommel were promoted to the 2026–27 Belgian Pro League, respectively as champions, runners-up, and promotion play-off winners.
- Olympic Charleroi was relegated to the 2026–27 Belgian Division 1 after finishing last.
- RWDM Brussels was also relegated to the 2026–27 Belgian Division 1 after being refused a professional football licence, thus allowing Club NXT who would otherwise have been relegated, to be spared.
Controversy about U23-participation and status
Originally, as per the vote of February 2025, the members of the Pro League had voted that the U23-teams playing in this division could not be relegated. This meant that in case one or two U23-teams ended in the relegation spots, the next highest non-U23-team would be relegated instead, unless a U23-team of the same wing (FFA: Francophone, VV: Flemish) ended in a promotion spot in the 2026–27 Belgian Division 1. In March 2026, the Belgian Competition Authority (BMA) ruled that this was an illegal and unfair measure compared to the non-U23 teams and that the Pro League was forced to pay a yearly fine of 12 million Euros until the rule was abolished, and in May the BMA even directly overruled the Pro League citing urgency, affecting the ongoing 2025–26 Challenger Pro League season. Ultimately, due to the fact that RWDM Brussels was not awarded a professional licence, Club NXT was spared and this did not affect the relegation. The Pro League ultimately voted to abolish the rule from the 2026–27 season, initially replacing it with a rule that, in case one or two U23 teams are relegated, replacement U23-team(s) should be promoted from the respective wing(s), to always keep the number of U23-teams in the division at a minimum of four. This would have meant that as a result newly promoted U23-teams could be promoted instead of the (non-U23) amateur champions in their wing, despite ending much lower in the standings. The amateur organisations from both the Flemish and Francophone wings rejected this decision and ultimately the Pro League had no other choice than to abolish the rule permanently in the end, but also lowering the participation fee from 1 Mio EUR to 750k EUR per team in the process.[1] There are legal proceedings ongoing related to this decision, as most notably Gent is now claiming that the entire league reform of February 2025 (top-tier expanding to 18 teams without playoffs) needs to be reverted as the "U23-rule" was part of a package deal.[2]
Team information
Stadiums and locations
Regular season
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virton | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 | Promoted to Pro League |
| 2 | Lokeren | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 6 | Qualification for promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Hasselt | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | |
| 4 | Eupen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 3 | |
| 5 | Beerschot | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 | |
| 6 | Club NXTU23[a] | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | |
| 7 | Dender EH | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 | |
| 8 | RFC Liège | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | |
| 9 | Patro Eisden Maasmechelen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 10 | Francs Borains | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 11 | Jong GenkU23[a] | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 3 | |
| 12 | Jong KAA GentU23[a] | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
| 13 | Lierse | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
| 14 | RSCA FuturesU23[a] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 | Relegated to National Division 1 |
| 15 | Seraing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals made.[3]
Notes:
Positions by round
The table lists the positions of teams after each round, with postponed matches and points deductions included only when they occur. Teams with fewer matches played are shown with their position underlined, with each line representing one fewer match.
Colored cells indicate promotion (green), participation in promotion play-offs (yellow), or relegation play-offs (red). Note that U23 teams are ineligible for promotion and playoffs, and the coloring is adjusted accordingly.
Promotion play-offs
Promotion/relegation play-offs
The promotion/relegation play-offs will be contested by the four highest-eligible finishers who are not already promoted directly. Normally, this will be the teams in positions 2 to 5, unless one of the U23-teams would end up in the top five positions, in which case the next eligible team will take their spot. These four teams are to meet in a knockout tournament with both semi-finals and final over two legs, and the highest season finisher always has home advantage in the return leg. Only the winner of the final will be promoted to the 2027–28 Belgian Pro League.
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | |||||||||||||
| 5/4/3 | |||||||||||||
| 4/3/2 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | |||||||||||||
Number of teams by provinces
| Number of teams | Province or region | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 |  East Flanders | Dender EH, Jong KAA Gent and Lokeren |
 Liège | Eupen, RFC Liège and Seraing | |
.svg.png){kind=small} Limburg | Hasselt, Jong Genk [n 1] and Patro Eisden Maasmechelen | |
| 2 |  Antwerp | Beerschot and Lierse |
| 1 |  Brussels | RSCA Futures [n 2] |
 Hainaut | Francs Borains | |
.svg.png){kind=small} Luxembourg | Virton | |
 West Flanders | Club NXT |
Notes
See also
References
- ↑ "Challenger Pro League vernieuwt format: Geen U23-quota meer en gelijke degradatieregels vanaf 2026-2027 | Pro League | Official Website". proleague.be. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
- ↑ "Dan toch geen boete van 12 miljoen: Pro League schrapt veelbesproken U23-quotum, tweede klasse start met 15 teams". sporza. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
- ↑ "General terms Belgian competition" (PDF). kbvb.be. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2017.