Belgian Fourth Division

Belgian Fourth Division

Country	Belgium
Founded	1952
Divisions	Belgian Fourth Division A Belgian Fourth Division B Belgian Fourth Division C Belgian Fourth Division D
Number of teams	64 (until 2015–16) 48 (from 2016–17)
Level on pyramid	4
Promotion to	Belgian Third Division
Relegation to	Belgian Provincial leagues (until 2015–16) Belgian Fifth Division (from 2016–17)
Domestic cup(s)	Belgian Cup
International cup(s)	UEFA Europa League[1]
Current champions	R. Sprimont Comblain Sport (2014-15)

The Belgian Fourth Division is the lowest nationwide division in Belgian football. Since 1905, Fourth Division has been the name of the lowest nationwide level but it is the fourth one since 1952. There were already 4 leagues at the time (A, B, C and D). The champion of the Fourth Division is declared to be the winner of a league with the most points. If several league winners have the same amount of points, the one with the most wins is champion, then the one with the best goal average is champion. Finally, if two teams are still equal, a single match is played on a neutral ground to determine the team to be added in the palmares. From 2016–17 the league will play in three divisions,

The competition

The competition comprises the regular season of 30 matchdays and the promotion playoff of 3 matchdays.

The regular season

The four champions qualify directly for the third division. Each league is split into three periods (of 10 matchdays each) who determine the twelve qualifiers for the promotion playoff. If a team must be replaced, it is by the best-placed team at the end of the regular season which is not yet qualified for the playoff. A winner of a period can be replaced because:

• it has won more than one period;
• the champion has won at least one period;
• it finished in 13th place;
• it is relegated to the level below.

The bottom three teams in each league are relegated to the provincial leagues while the 13th-placed teams enter the interprovincial playoff (until 2014–15). For 2015–16, four bottom teams relegate to the provincial leagues, while a certain number of teams also relegate to the new fifth (and national) division called Amateur Third Division.

As a part of changes in the Belgian league system to be implemented in 2016, the fourth division will be rebranded as Amateur Second Division). For the 2016–17 season onwards, the Amateur Second Division, in three groups of 16 teams each, will be made up of 28 teams relegated from the 2015–16 Third Division, the 2015–16 champion and two runners-up of the four Fourth Division groups (12 teams), and 8 teams selected according to linguistic affiliation.^[2]

Fourth Division playoff

The Fourth Division playoff is played in three rounds. The first round consist in six matches of one leg opposing the twelve qualifiers from the Fourth Division. Two teams from the third division (the two 14th-placed teams) enter the playoff in the second round that consists of two groups of two matches. The third division teams are placed in different groups (with three teams from the first round in each group). The two winners of each group play the group final that qualifies two teams for the third division. The groups are composed to ensure that the two teams from the third division do not play each other in the playoff. The matches are played in one leg at the venue of the first drawn team. When a match ends in a draw, extra time of two periods of 15 minutes is played followed by a penalty shootout if the score remains tied.

Past winners

See also

• Belgian Fourth Division A
• Belgian Fourth Division B
• Belgian Fourth Division C
• Belgian Fourth Division D

References

External links

• (French) Belgian FA official website - Organisation of the Fourth Division
• (French) Sport.be website - Fixtures, results, standings and stats