# 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.

## 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

| 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 |
* 1 2 Club Brugge NXT is not playing its home matches at the same venue as the A-squad of Club Brugge (the Jan Breydel Stadium) but rather they will move to Lokeren, thus moving from West Flanders to East Flanders.

### 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 | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | Liam Manning | 10 July 2020 |
| RWD Molenbeek | Frédéric Stilmant (caretaker) | Caretaker replaced | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | 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 |
* ↑ Wim De Decker was appointed the new manager of Deinze, but would only be observing and analysing the players for the remainder of the season. Assistant-manager Cédric Vlaeminck will take up the role of manager until the end of the season, leading the training sessions and being on the sideline during matches.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | USG | SER | LOM | WES | DEI | RWD | LIE | NXT | USG | SER | LOM | WES | DEI | RWD | LIE | NXT |
| 1 | Union SG (C, P) | 28 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 69 | 24 | +45 | 70 | Promotion to the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A | — | 3–2 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 6–0 | — | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| 2 | Seraing (O, P) | 28 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 54 | 37 | +17 | 52 | Qualification to Promotion play-off | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 6–1 | 0–2 | — | 5–0 FF | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Lommel | 28 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 49 | 47 | +2 | 43 | | 0–1 | 3–5 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | — | 1–0 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| 4 | Westerlo | 28 | 10 | 13 | 5 | 41 | 30 | +11 | 43 | | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 1–1 | — | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| 5 | Deinze | 28 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 45 | 46 | −1 | 39 | | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | 4–4 | 3–0 | 4–0 |
| 6 | RWDM47 | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 44 | 48 | −4 | 35 | | 3–1 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| 7 | Lierse Kempenzonen | 28 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 25 | 54 | −29 | 16 | | 0–2 | 2–5 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–4 | 4–2 | — | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 3–1 |
| 8 | Club NXT (Y) | 28 | 2 | 7 | 19 | 23 | 64 | −41 | 13 | Not eligible for promotion or relegation and left the league due to Virton's readmission. | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | — | 0–4 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 2–0 | — |
* ↑ Lommel forfeited the match against Seraing, thereby automatically losing the match 5–0. On the day of the match, Lommel had five players test positive for COVID-19, with twenty others (players and staff) required to go into quarantine as a result. The match can only be postponed in case 7 or more A-squad players test positive, however, the club chose to forfeit the match to prevent taking excessive risks and allowing the virus to spread further.
* ↑ The match between Westerlo and Deinze was postponed due to the home team suffering from an excessive number of A-squad players being placed in quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test, initially from 20 September 2020 to 30 September 2020, but on 28 September the match was postponed again and eventually it was played on 18 November 2020.
* ↑ The match between Westerlo and RWDM47 was postponed from 1 October 2020 to 9 November 2020, due to the home team suffering from an excessive number of A-squad players being placed in quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test.
* ↑ The match between Deinze and Seraing was postponed from 1 November 2020 to 15 November 2020 due to the home team suffering from an excessive number of A-squad players being placed in quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test.
* 1 2 Due to expected severe weather conditions involving excessive snow, the matches Club NXT-Westerlo and Deinze-RWDM of 7 February 2021 were postponed the day before. Club NXT-Westerlo was eventually played on 3 March 2021, while Deinze-RWDM was played on 18 March 2021.
* ↑ The match between RWDM47 and Lierse Kempenzonen of 24 October 2020 was postponed to 14 November 2020 due to the home team suffering from an excessive number of A-squad players being placed in quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test.
* ↑ Due to excessive snow and cold, the pitch of RWDM was deemed unsuitable for football on 12 February 2021, resulting in postponement of the match against Seraing which was originally scheduled to be played two days later. The match was eventually played on 3 March 2021.
* ↑ Normally, the team finishing in last place (except Club NXT which is ineligible for promotion/relegation) would have been relegated. However, the general meeting of the Pro League decided on 16 March that no team would be relegated, as the 2020–21 Belgian National Division 1 had been cancelled due to measures taken by the Belgian government against the spread of COVID-19 prohibiting amateur football, causing no team to be promoted from that league to fill the gap.
* ↑ The match between Club NXT and Westerlo was postponed from 25 September 2020 to 14 November 2020 due to the away team suffering from an excessive number of A-squad players being placed in quarantine following a positive COVID-19 test.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Georges Mikautadze | Seraing | 19 |
| 1 | Dante Vanzeir | Union SG | 19 |
| 3 | Deniz Undav | Union SG | 17 |
| 4 | Atabey Çiçek | Westerlo | 12 |
| 5 | Lennart Mertens | Deinze | 10 |
| 5 | Manfred Ugalde | Lommel | 10 |
| 7 | Youssef Challouk | Deinze | 8 |
| 7 | Kévin Mata | RWDM47 | 8 |
| 7 | Igor Vetokele | Westerlo | 8 |
| 10 | Dylan De Belder | Deinze | 7 |
| 10 | Leandro Rocha | RWDM47 | 7 |
| 10 | Nicolas Rommens | RWDM47 | 7 |
| 10 | Alessio Staelens | Deinze | 7 |
| 10 | Lukas Van Eenoo | Westerlo | 7 |
| 10 | Anass Zaroury | Lommel | 7 |
* Thibo Baeten (Club NXT)
* Euloge Placca Fessou (Lierse Kempenzonen)
* Glenn Claes (RWDM47)
* Abdelhafid Al Badaoui (Seraing)
* Brighton Labeau (Union SG)
* Maxim De Cuyper (Club NXT)
* Ayyoub Allach (Lierse Kempenzonen)
* Kevin Kis (Lommel)
* Marlos Moreno (Lommel)
* Antoine Bernier (Seraing)
* Ablie Jallow (Seraing)
* Teddy Teuma (Union SG)
* Mehdi Tarfi (Deinze)
* Sava Petrov (Lierse Kempenzonen)
* Glenn Neven (Lommel)
* Ivan Yagan (RWDM47)
* Amadou Dia N'Diaye (Seraing)
* Casper Nielsen (Union SG)
* Jo Gilis (Lierse Kempenzonen)
* Emile Samyn (Lierse Kempenzonen)
* Jordan Kadiri (Lommel)
* Arno Verschueren (Lommel)
* Aron Sigurðarson (Union SG)
* Christian Brüls (Westerlo)
* Mathis Servais (Club NXT)
* Thomas Van Den Keybus (Club NXT)
* Ignace Van der Brempt (Club NXT)
* Bafodé Dansoko (Deinze)
* Raphaël Lecomte (Deinze)
* Sebastiaan Brebels (Lommel)
* Bautista Cejas (Lommel)
* Jonathan Hendrickx (Lommel)
* Kolbeinn Þórðarson (Lommel)
* Corenthyn Lavie (RWDM47)
* Benjamin Boulenger (Seraing)
* Moussa Gueye (Seraing)
* Gerald Kilota (Seraing)
* Théo Pierrot (Seraing)
* Jonas Bager (Union SG)
* Christian Burgess (Union SG)
* Mathias Fixelles (Union SG)
* Loïc Lapoussin (Union SG)
* Siebe Van der Heyden (Union SG)
* Kurt Abrahams (Westerlo)
* Kader Keïta (Westerlo)
* Kyan Vaesen (Westerlo)
* Noah Aelterman (Club NXT)
* Youssouph Mamadou Badji (Club NXT)
* Arne Engels (Club NXT)
* Daniel Pérez (Club NXT)
* Cisse Sandra (Club NXT)
* Romeo Vermant (Club NXT)
* Siebe Blondelle (Deinze)
* Michiel De Looze (Deinze)
* Seth De Witte (Deinze)
* Flavien Le Postollec (Deinze)
* Scott Bitsindou (Lierse Kempenzonen)
* Bob Straetman (Lierse Kempenzonen)
* Yentl Van Genechten (Lierse Kempenzonen)
* Jellert van Landschoot (Lierse Kempenzonen)
* Robin Henkens (Lommel)
* Laurent Lemoine (Lommel)
* Stijn Wuytens (Lommel)
* Abdoul Karim Danté (RWDM47)
* Joeri Dequevy (RWDM47)
* Maxime Electeur (RWDM47)
* Thomas Ephestion (RWDM47)
* Florian Le Joncour (RWDM47)
* Jarno Libert (RWDM47)
* Tracy Mpati (RWDM47)
* Lenny Nangis (RWDM47)
* Mehdi Terki (RWDM47)
* Marcos Maydana (Seraing)
* Mohamed Moulhi (Seraing)
* Sami Lahssaini (Seraing)
* Ibrahima Bah (Union SG)
* Guillaume François (Union SG)
* Senne Lynen (Union SG)
* Barış Alıcı (Westerlo)
* Maxime Biset (Westerlo)
* Tuur Dierckx (Westerlo)
* Pietro Perdichizzi (Westerlo)
* Ange-Freddy Plumain (Westerlo)
* Noël Soumah (Westerlo)
* Ibe Hautekiet (Club NXT, scored for RWDM47)
* Nick Shinton (Club NXT, scored for Union SG)
* Florian Le Joncour (RWDM47, scored for Lommel)
* Yahya Nadrani (Seraing, scored for Union SG)

### Top assists

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Youssef Challouk | Deinze | 10 |
| 2 | Christian Brüls | Westerlo | 7 |
| 2 | Kevin Kis | Lommel | 7 |
| 2 | Casper Nielsen | Union SG | 7 |
| 2 | Alessio Staelens | Deinze | 7 |
| 2 | Dante Vanzeir | Union SG | 7 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Anthony Moris | Union SG | 10 |
| 2 | Guillaume Dietsch | Seraing | 9 |
| 3 | Berke Özer | Westerlo | 8 |
| 4 | Anthony Sadin | RWDM47 | 5 |
| 5 | William Dutoit | Deinze | 4 |

### Team of the season

Upon completion of the regular season a team of the season award was compiled, based upon the results of the team of the week results throughout the season, constructed based on nominations from managers, assistant-managers, journalists and analysts. The results were announced from 4 May 2021, with one player revealed each day.
| Pos PlayerClubRef GKAnthony SadinRWDM47 RBIebe SwersSeraing CBNoël SoumahWesterlo CBChristian BurgessUnion SG LBGerald KilotaSeraing RWMarlos MorenoLommel MFCasper NielsenUnion SG MFTeddy TeumaUnion SG LWYoussef ChalloukDeinze FWDante VanzeirUnion SG FWGeorges MikautadzeSeraing | Sadin Swers Soumah Burgess Kilota Moreno Nielsen Teuma Challouk Vanzeir Mikautadze |

## Number of teams by provinces

While Club NXT is a team from West Flanders, they are playing their home matches in Lokeren, which is located in East Flanders.
| Number of teams | Province or region | Team(s) |
| 2 | Antwerp | Lierse Kempenzonen and Westerlo |
| 2 | Brussels | RWD Molenbeek and Union SG |
| 1 | East Flanders | Deinze |
| 1 | Liège | Seraing |
| 1 | Limburg | Lommel |
| 1 | West Flanders | Club NXT |