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.
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,[1] 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.
^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.
Source: Belgian First Division B Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won; 7) Play-off.[20] (C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (Y) Cannot get promoted or relegated Notes:
^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.[11]
^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,[12] but on 28 September the match was postponed again and eventually it was played on 18 November 2020.[13]
^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.[14]
^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.[15]
^ abDue 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.[16]
^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.[17]
^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.[18] 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.[19]
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.
