League History The first league in Belgian football (called Coupe de Championnat; English: Championship Cup) was held in 1895-1896 with 7 teams. Those teams were Antwerp F.C., F.C. Brugeois, F.C. Liégeois (the first Champion) as well as 4 teams from Brussels : R.C. de Bruxelles, Léopold Club de Bruxelles, S.C. de Bruxelles and Union d'Ixelles. There was no relegation/promotion system at the time but the last two clubs of the league (namely Brugge and Union d'Ixelles) were withdrawn and a new club entered the competition (Athletic & Running Club de Bruxelles). The early championships were dominated by F.C. Liégeois
and R.C. de Bruxelles that shared the first 8 titles. From the season 1898-99 on, there were two leagues at the top level. In 1900-01, the two leagues were reunited in one of 9 clubs. However, the next year, the first division was split again, with now a playoff with 4 teams to decide the champion instead of a final game.
In the 1900s, the leading teams were Union Saint-Gilloise (that won its first 6 titles in that decade), R.C. de Bruxelles and the new Beerschot A.C. but this latter club was soon replaced by F.C. Brugeois as a top club. For the season 1904-05, the two top leagues merged and the championship was then played between 11 teams and was renamed Division I (but it was unfinished). One year later, the promotion/relegation system was created with the second division and only 10 teams played first division until 1908, when two more clubs were admitted. The number of teams grew in 1921 (14 teams), 1942 (16 teams), 1945 (19 teams), then decreased to 16 clubs two years later. Again, in 1974-75 the number of teams increased to 20 teams then decreased to 19 the next season and to 18 in 1976-77.
As World War I was coming, Daring Club de Bruxelles confirmed its status of challenger, even winning the title in 1912 and 1914. In 1926 the championship was called Division d'Honneur (Premier Division). From 1921 to 1932, the decade was dominated by the Antwerp football: the Beerschot A.C. of Raymond Braine won its first 5 titles, Antwerp F.C. its first 2 and the small club of Liersche S.K. (with Bernard Voorhoof) won its first one in 1932. The challengers at the time were C.S. Brugeois (two more titles in that period of time), Union Saint-Gilloise (one more), R.C. de Bruxelles, Daring Club de Bruxelles and afterwards Standard Club Liégeois. Starting December 25, 1932, Union Saint-Gilloise did not lose its next 60 championship games and it thus won the titles in 1933, 1934 and 1935. The record still holds and will probably never be beat. The rival of Union was then Daring Club and it managed to win the next two championships. Following the come-back of Raymond Braine to Beerschot, the club from Antwerp won the last two titles before World War II.
On May 10, 1940 the German troops were taking over the country and thus the seasons 1939-40 and 1940-41 were suspended. The competition started again in September 1941 and Liersche S.K. won its second title. The next season, the club lost three key players (two of them were bombed and the other one died to a heavy injury on the pitch) and ended at 3rd place while the neighbour team of K.V. Mechelen became the Champion. In 1947, R.S.C. Anderlechtois won its first championship with Jef Mermans as the key striker and it dominated the Belgian football over the next ten years with 7 titles. In 1952, the first division changed its name back to Division I. In the late 1950s Standard lifted the trophy for the first time and it fought with Anderlecht each year to conqueer the league until 1972 after what Club Brugge had a good decade. Between 1960 and 1972, Anderlecht ended at first place 7 times and Standard 5 times.
Rules and Regulations Each of the 18 competitors in the Jupiler League plays each of its 17 opponents twice. The championship thus comprises 34 matchdays of 9 matches each, generally played between August and May. A win earns three points since the 1995-96 season. A draw earns one point. If two teams have the same number of points, the one with the most wins is placed first. If teams have the same number of points and wins, a test-match is played in two legs to determine the final order in the standings (it is actually played only when teams are involved in relegation, title or European fight).
At the end of the season, the lowest-placed team is relegated to the second division and is replaced by the winner of that division. Since the 2005-06 season, the 17th-placed team qualifies for the second division final round along with 3 teams from second division. The winner of the final round qualifies for or stays in the first division.
Currently, the Belgian champion qualifies for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League, while the runner-up must play in the third preliminary round. The third-placed team qualifies for the last preliminary round of the UEFA Cup. If the cup winner is one of the three top championship clubs, the loser of the cup enters UEFA Cup. If the Cup finalist has already qualified, the fourth-placed team of the championship would replace it.
Matches are usually played on Saturday at 20.00 or Sunday at 15.00 depending on the venues. Some matchdays are played on Wednesday, however. Furthermore, in recent years, televised games are played either on Friday or during the weekend at different times (e.g. Saturday at 18.00 or Sunday at 13.00 or 20.00). The main reason is the new law that forbids televised matches to be played at the same time than other Jupiler League matches (to avoid stadium emptying for those matches).
Each team playing the Jupiler League (and second division) must have been granted the Belgian Football Association license guaranteeing the club has no excessive debts, has a secure stadium, etc. This was introduced in season 2001-02 to decrease the number of teams in the division. Originally, clubs that could not get the license were supposed to be replaced (and sent to the third division). However, it is still not effective as, for example, K.S.K. Beveren finished 18th in 2001-2002 but were saved as K.S.C. Eendracht Aalst (17th) and R.W.D. Molenbeek (10th) were refused their license.
Clubs R.S.C. Anderlecht
Cercle Brugge K.S.V.
R. Charleroi S.C.
Club Brugge K.V.
Dender EH
K.R.C. Genk
K.A.A. Gent
K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot
K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen
Y.R. K.V. Mechelen
F.C. Molenbeek Brussels Strombeek
R.A.E.C. Mons
R.E. Mouscron
K.S.V. Roeselare
K. Sint-Truidense V.V.
R. Standard de Liège
K.V.C. Westerlo
S.V. Zulte-Waregem
A Few Past Winners Anderlecht 29 times
Club Brugge 13 times
R. Union Saint-Gilloise 11 times
Standard de Liège 8 times
The current champions are Anderlecht
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Belgian Jupiler League 
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