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2024–25 Challenger Pro League
Football league season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2024–25 season of the Challenger Pro League began on 16 August 2024 and is scheduled to end in May 2025. It is the third season under its new name after being renamed from First Division B.
Team changes
Incoming
- La Louvière and Lokeren-Temse were promoted from the 2023–24 Belgian National Division 1. Both clubs will play their first-ever season at the second level, although they both represent new versions of older successful defunct teams which even played at the highest level: R.A.A. Louviéroise and K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen. If counting those teams, they returned after 15 and 4 year absences respectively.
- Eupen and RWDM were relegated from the 2023–24 Belgian Pro League. Eupen returns after 8 years in the top flight, RWDM after just one.
Outgoing
- Beerschot and Dender EH were promoted to the 2024–25 Belgian Pro League, respectively as champions and runners-up.
- SL16 FC were relegated to the 2024–25 Belgian National Division 1 after finishing in the bottom position.
- Oostende dissolved at the end of last season.
Name change
- Lierse Kempenzonen announced on 13 June 2024 that it had received approval to change the club name to Koninklijke Lierse Sportkring, thereby taking the same name Lierse as the former now defunct club Lierse SK.[1]
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Team information
Stadiums and locations
- Club NXT did not play its home matches at the same venue as the A-squad of Club Brugge (the Jan Breydel Stadium) but rather they moved to Roeselare to play in the Schiervelde Stadion.
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Regular season
Summarize
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League table
Source: Challenger Pro League
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.[9]
(C) Champions; (D) Disqualified; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated; (Z) Could be relegated if appeal successful.
Notes:
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.[9]
(C) Champions; (D) Disqualified; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated; (Z) Could be relegated if appeal successful.
Notes:
- Initially, Lokeren-Temse had not applied for a footballing license to play at the highest level of Belgian football. After the deadline had passed, the club had decided to apply for a license after all, but on 17 April this was denied. The club was therefore initially not allowed to participate in the promotion play-offs but appealed the decision, which allowed them to participate (instead of next placed Lierse). A final verdict still needs to be given, meaning that even if Lokeren-Temse were to win the promotion play-offs, they might still be denied promotion.[2]
- The Pro League approved the new competition format for the coming seasons by the end of February. Part of the haggling between club presidents resulted in a new rule for the ongoing season which entered with immediate effect, stating that a minimum of four U23 would always need to be present in the Challenger Pro League. As only three teams are currently present, all three will be spared of relegation in case of ending in a relegation spot. At the time of the decision, there were still seven matchdays to play and Jong Genk was in a relegation spot. In case they overtake a non-U23 team, that team would however have face relegation.[3] After the penultimate matchday, with Jong Genk now mathematically certain of finishing in 15th, the Pro League announced that Jong Genk had been relegated after all. Apparently, the league reform as decided and announced at the end of February was still not officially approved.[4] On 16 June 2025, just weeks before the start of the 2025–26 Challenger Pro League, the Pro League announced that the High Council of the Belgian FA had approved the reform, meaning Jong Genk would be able to remain at the second level.[5] The One week later, on 1 July 2025, Francs Borains, Lokeren-Temse and Seraing together launched a formal appeal against the reform citing it unfair that U23 cannot be relegated whilst non-U23 teams can. Should the Belgian Competition Authority rule in their favor, the start of the 2025–26 Challenger Pro League could be postponed.[6] Meanwhile the new calendar, including Jong Genk, was already released on 3 July 2025.
Positions by round
The table lists the positions of teams after the completion of each round, with postponed matches and points deductions only included when occurring. Teams with fewer matches played are shown with their position underlined, with each line representing one fewer match.
- On 12 November, between matchdays 11 and 12, Deinze was deducted 3 points for outstanding unpaid player wages.[7]
- On 11 December, between matchdays 14 and 15, Deinze was declared bankrupt and all their results voided. The team will be classified last and only one other team will be relegated.[8]
- Due to snow, several matches of matchday 17 were postponed: Lokeren-Temse vs Eupen, Lommel vs Francs Borains, RSCA Futures vs Jong Genk and Seraing vs Lierse.[10] All four matches were rescheduled for the midweek of 28-29 January, in between matchdays 19 and 20.[11]
- On 27 February, between matchdays 23 and 24, the Pro League approved the new competition format for the coming seasons. Part of the haggling between club presidents resulted in a new rule for the ongoing season which entered with immediate effect, stating that a minimum of four U23 would always need to be present in the Challenger Pro League. As only three teams are currently present, all three will be spared of relegation in case of ending in a relegation spot.[3] When it was however mathematically certain Jong Genk would end 15th, the Pro League announced Jong Genk would get relegated, as the league reform had not received approval (yet).[4]
Colored cells refer to being promoted (green), 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. Furthermore, if one of the mother clubs of these three teams is relegated, the U23 would automatically take up one of the relegation spots as U23 teams always have to remain at least one level below their mother club, this is not accounted for in the coloring until after the season.
Source: vbal4.be
Results
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Promotion play-offs
Promotion/relegation play-offs
The promotion/relegation play-offs are contested by the four highest eligible finishers not already promoted directly. Normally this would be the teams in positions 3 to 6 in the 2024–25 Challenger Pro League, but as Club NXT (6th, U23-team) was ineligible, Lokeren-Temse (7th) took the final spot. At the time the play-offs started however, Lokeren-Temse had not been awarded a license to play at the highest level for the coming season which would have made them ineligible to compete. The club launched an appeal against this decision however which meant that the negative license decision was suspended and they could take part. Should the appeal however be rejected, the club will not be able to promote.[2] These four teams meet in a knockout tournament with both quarter-finals and semi-finals over two legs, and the highest season finisher always having home advantage in the return leg. The winner of the semi-finals will play the 14th place finisher of the 2024–25 Belgian Pro League over two legs. The Belgian Pro League team will have home advantage in the return leg; the winner of the final will qualify to play in the 2025–26 Belgian Pro League, with the loser playing in the 2025–26 Challenger Pro League.
Bracket
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Lokeren-Temse | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||||
14 | Cercle Brugge | 5 | 3 | 8 | |||||||||||||||
3 | RWD Molenbeek | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
7 | Lokeren-Temse | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | Patro Eisden Maasmechelen | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
5 | Patro Eisden Maasmechelen | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
5 | Patro Eisden Maasmechelen | 3 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||||
4 | Beveren | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
Lokeren-Temse won 4–3 on aggregate.
Patro Eisden Maasmechelen won 5–3 on aggregate.
Semi-finals
Patro Eisden Maasmechelen won 3–2 on aggregate.
Finals
Cercle Brugge won 8–2 on aggregate.
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Season statistics
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Top scorers
- As of 18 April 2025.[12]
Note that following the bankruptcy of Deinze on 11 December, all goals made in matches involving Deinze were removed as these matches were voided.[8]
6 goals (6 players)
Regan Charles-Cook (Eupen)
Glenn Claes (Lierse)
Pape Moussa Fall (Seraing)
5 goals (6 players)
4 goals (15 players)
Renaud Emond (Eupen)
Jan Gorenc (Eupen)
Yentl Van Genechten (Eupen)
Nolan Martens (Jong Genk)
Cédric Nuozzi (Jong Genk)
Jordi Liongola (La Louvière)
Maxime Pau (La Louvière)
Ousmane Sow (Lierse)
Sebastiaan Brebels (Lokeren-Temse)
Diego Rosa (Lommel)
Adnane Abid (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Bafodé Dansoko (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Mickaël Biron (RWD Molenbeek)
Saliou Faye (Seraing)
Matheus Machado (Zulte Waregem)
3 goals (25 players)
Anthony Limbombe (Beveren)
Jérôme Déom (Eupen)
Corenthyn Lavie (Francs Borains)
Thomas Claes (Jong Genk)
Ivann Botella (La Louvière)
Kenny Nagera (La Louvière)
Niklo Dailly (Lierse)
Maksim Kireev (Lierse)
Daniel Pérez (Lokeren-Temse)
Álvaro Santos (Lommel)
Lucas Schoofs (Lommel)
Jason van Duiven (Lommel)
Kjetil Borry (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Vicky Kiankaulua (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Kevin Kis (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Lukas Van Eenoo (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Mohamed Moulhi (RFC Liège)
Nathan De Cat (RSCA Futures)
Milan Robberechts (RSCA Futures)
Anas Tajaouart (RSCA Futures)
Pjotr Kestens (RWD Molenbeek)
Kwasi Poku (RWD Molenbeek)
Patrick Ouotro (Seraing)
Tobias Hedl (Zulte Waregem)
Joseph Opoku (Zulte Waregem)
2 goals (37 players)
Kurt Abrahams (Beveren)
Alexander Corryn (Beveren)
Guillaume De Schryver (Beveren)
Yutaka Michiwaki (Beveren)
Siebe Wylin (Club NXT)
Bertan Caliskan (Eupen)
Yanis Massolin (Francs Borains)
Saïdou Touré (Jong Genk)
Yumeki Yoshinaga (Jong Genk)
Adrien Bongiovanni (La Louvière)
Nolan Gillot (La Louvière)
Victor Daguin (Lierse)
Pieter De Schrijver (Lierse)
Beni Mpanzu (Lierse)
Toon Janssen (Lokeren-Temse)
Sam Van Aerschot (Lokeren-Temse)
Nicolás Siri (Lommel)
Dries Wouters (Lommel)
Vancy Mabanza (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Stef Peeters (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Jordan Bustin (RFC Liège)
Alexis Lefebvre (RFC Liège)
Nilson Angulo (RSCA Futures)
Ismaël Baouf (RSCA Futures)
Kaïs Barry (RSCA Futures)
Enzo Sternal (RSCA Futures)
Lilian Vergeylen (RSCA Futures)
Shuto Abe (RWD Molenbeek)
Aïman Maurer (RWD Molenbeek)
Marsoni Sambu (RWD Molenbeek)
Maxime Allione (Seraing)
Simon Buggea (Seraing)
Mathieu Cachbach (Seraing)
Marvin Tshibuabua (Seraing)
Youssef Challouk (Zulte Waregem)
Benoît Nyssen (Zulte Waregem)
Abdoulaye Traoré (Zulte Waregem)
1 goal (86 players)
Sander Coopman (Beveren)
Dylan Dassy (Beveren)
Jakov Filipović (Beveren)
Jay-Dee Geusens (Beveren)
Liam Kerrigan (Beveren)
Ahmed Khatir (Beveren)
Hadji Issa Moustapha (Beveren)
Dries Wuytens (Beveren)
Sem Audoor (Club NXT)
Denzel De Roeve (Club NXT)
Liam De Smet (Club NXT)
Benjamin Faraas (Club NXT)
Alejandro Granados (Club NXT)
Tobias Lund Jensen (Club NXT)
Hugo Siquet (Club NXT)
Romeo Vermant (Club NXT)
Teddy Alloh (Eupen)
Luca Dalla Costa (Eupen)
Pape Niang (Eupen)
Isaac Nuhu (Eupen)
Ade Oguns (Eupen)
Miloš Pantović (Eupen)
Dorian Dessoleil (Francs Borains)
Jordy Gillekens (Francs Borains)
Jibril Othman (Francs Borains)
Kays Ruiz-Atil (Francs Borains)
Adrian Troć (Francs Borains)
Michiel Cauwel (Jong Genk)
Wilson Da Costa (Jong Genk)
Saif Eddien Lazar (Jong Genk)
Brad Manguelle (Jong Genk)
Matthias Oyatambwe (Jong Genk)
Luca Oyen (Jong Genk)
Raphaël Eyongo (La Louvière)
Fadel Gobitaka (La Louvière)
Samuel Gueulette (La Louvière)
Joël Ito (La Louvière)
Owen Maës (La Louvière)
Maxence Maisonneuve (La Louvière)
Sekou Sidibe (La Louvière)
Wout De Buyser (Lierse)
Che Krabbendam (Lierse)
Brent Laes (Lierse)
Luc Marijnissen (Lierse)
Pietro Perdichizzi (Lierse)
Aske Sampers (Lierse)
Emmanuel Tshimbalanga (Lierse)
Indy Boonen (Lokeren-Temse)
Nicolas Fontaine (Lokeren-Temse)
Radja Nainggolan (Lokeren-Temse)
Cederick Van Daele (Lokeren-Temse)
Gil Van Moerzeke (Lokeren-Temse)
Sam De Grand (Lommel)
Ibrahima Kébé (Lommel)
Filip Stevanović (Lommel)
Tarek Loutfi (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Papa Demba Ndior (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Raphaël Sarfo (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
William Simba (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Jellert Van Landschoot (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Reno Wilmots (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen)
Alessandro Albanese (RFC Liège)
Benoît Bruggeman (RFC Liège)
Alessio Cascio (RFC Liège)
Jonathan D'Ostilio (RFC Liège)
Jérémie Lioka (RFC Liège)
Pierre-Yves Ngawa (RFC Liège)
Théo Pierrot (RFC Liège)
Tristan Degreef (RSCA Futures)
Joren Dom (RSCA Futures)
Ibrahim Kanaté (RSCA Futures)
Gassimou Sylla (RSCA Futures)
Ludovick Wola-Wetshay (RSCA Futures)
Soufiane Benjdida (RWD Molenbeek)
Islamdine Halifa (RWD Molenbeek)
Achraf Laâziri (RWD Molenbeek)
David Sousa (RWD Molenbeek)
Mohamed Camara (Seraing)
Ruben Droehnlé (Seraing)
Yannis Lawson (Seraing)
Matthieu Muland (Seraing)
Nils Schouterden (Seraing)
Atli Barkarson (Zulte Waregem)
Pape Diop (Zulte Waregem)
Nicolas Rommens (Zulte Waregem)
Anton Tanghe (Zulte Waregem)
1 own goal (10 players)
Dries Wuytens (Beveren, scored for RWD Molenbeek)
Luca Dalla Costa (Eupen, scored for Francs Borains)
Yentl Van Genechten (Eupen, scored for Lokeren-Temse)
Liam De Smet (Club NXT, scored for La Louvière)
Jordy Gillekens (Francs Borains, scored for Zulte Waregem)
Alfred Caicedo (Jong Genk, scored for Lokeren-Temse)
Henk Dijkhuizen (Patro Eisden Maasmechelen, scored for Zulte Waregem)
Nunzio Engwanda (RSCA Futures, scored for RFC Liège)
Amando Lapage (RSCA Futures, scored for La Louvière)
Marvin Tshibuabua (Seraing, scored for Lierse)
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Number of teams by provinces
Notes
References
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