| Season | 2016–17 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 29 July 2016 – 31 May 2017 |
| Champions | Anderlecht |
| Relegated | Westerlo |
| Champions League | Anderlecht Club Brugge |
| Europa League | Zulte Waregem Gent Oostende |
| Matches | 191 |
| Goals | 525 (2.75 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Łukasz Teodorczyk (22 goals) |
2017–18 → All statistics correct as of 29 January 2017. | |
The 2016–17 season of theBelgian First Division A was the 114th season of top-tier football inBelgium and the first following the structural changes in the Belgian football pyramid, reducing the number of professional teams to 24.[citation needed] It began on 29 July 2016 and finished on 31 May 2017. The fixtures were announced on 8 June 2016.[1]Club Brugge were the defending champions but had to settle for second place withAnderlecht taking their 34th title.
| Matricule | Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Anderlecht | Anderlecht | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium | 21,000 |
| 22 | Charleroi | Charleroi | Stade du Pays de Charleroi | 14,000 |
| 3 | Club Brugge | Bruges | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,042 |
| 4276 | Eupen | Eupen | Kehrweg Stadion | 8,363 |
| 322 | Genk | Genk | Cristal Arena | 24,956 |
| 7 | Gent | Ghent | Ghelamco Arena | 19,999 |
| 19 | Kortrijk | Kortrijk | Guldensporen Stadion | 9,399 |
| 282 | Lokeren | Lokeren | Daknamstadion | 9,560 |
| 25 | Mechelen | Mechelen | AFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne | 13,213 |
| 216 | Excel Mouscron | Mouscron | Stade Le Canonnier | 10,571 |
| 31 | Oostende | Ostend | Versluys Arena | 8,432 |
| 373 | Sint-Truiden | Sint-Truiden | Stayen | 14,600 |
| 16 | Standard Liège | Liège | Stade Maurice Dufrasne | 28,278 |
| 4068 | Waasland-Beveren | Beveren | Freethiel Stadion | 8,190 |
| 2024 | Westerlo | Westerlo | Het Kuipje | 8,035 |
| 5381 | Zulte Waregem | Waregem | Regenboogstadion | 9,540 |
| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit Manufacturer | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht | Adidas | BNP Paribas Fortis | ||
| Charleroi | Hungaria | Proximus | ||
| Club Brugge | Nike | Daikin | ||
| Eupen | BURRDA | Aspire Academy | ||
| Excel Mouscron | Patrick | Star Casino | ||
| Genk | Nike | Beobank | ||
| Gent | Jartazi | VDK Spaarbank | ||
| Kortrijk | Jako | AGO Jobs & HR | ||
| Lokeren | Jartazi | QTeam | ||
| Mechelen | Kappa | Telenet | ||
| Oostende | Joma | Willems Veranda's | ||
| Sint-Truiden | Kappa | Golden Palace | ||
| Standard Liège | Kappa | BASE | ||
| Waasland-Beveren | Kappa | Circus | ||
| Westerlo | Saller | Soudal | ||
| Zulte-Waregem | Patrick | Record Bank |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sint-Truiden | Sacked | End of 2015–16 season[2] | Pre-season | 14 April 2016[3] | ||
| Anderlecht | Mutual consent | End of 2015–16 season[4] | 21 June 2016 | |||
| Kortrijk | Mutual consent | End of 2015–16 season[5] | 1 July 2016[5] | |||
| Kortrijk | Did not possess Pro-licence diploma | 29 August 2016[6] | 8th | 29 August 2016[6] | ||
| Standard Liège | Sacked | 6 September 2016[7] | 10th | 6 September 2016[7] | ||
| Mechelen | Signed by Standard Liège | 6 September 2016[7] | 7th | 12 September 2016[8] | ||
| Westerlo | Sacked | 13 September 2016[9] | 16th | 14 September 2016[10] | ||
| Lokeren | Sacked | 26 October 2016[11] | 12th | 28 October 2016[12] | ||
| Waasland-Beveren | Sacked | 28 October 2016[13] | 14th | 7 November 2016[14] | ||
| Excel Mouscron | Sacked | 5 December 2016[15] | 15th | 6 December 2016[16] | ||
| Genk | Sacked | 26 December 2016[17] | 9th | 27 December 2016 | ||
| Kortrijk | Belhocine obtained Pro-licence diploma | 8 March 2017[18] | 10th | 8 March 2017[18] | ||
| Standard Liège | Sacked | 17 April 2017[19] | Regular season: 9th Europa League POs: 5th | 17 April 2017 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anderlecht | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 67 | 30 | +37 | 61 | Qualification for thechampionship play-offs |
| 2 | Club Brugge | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 56 | 24 | +32 | 59 | |
| 3 | Zulte Waregem | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 49 | 38 | +11 | 54 | |
| 4 | Gent | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 45 | 29 | +16 | 50 | |
| 5 | Oostende | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 50 | |
| 6 | Charleroi | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 34 | 29 | +5 | 49[a] | |
| 7 | Mechelen | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 41 | 36 | +5 | 48 | Qualification for theEuropa League play-offs |
| 8 | Genk | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 40 | 35 | +5 | 48 | |
| 9 | Standard Liège | 30 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 47 | 38 | +9 | 39[a] | |
| 10 | Kortrijk | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 38 | 55 | −17 | 31 | |
| 11 | Lokeren | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 24 | 34 | −10 | 31 | |
| 12 | Sint-Truiden | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 35 | 48 | −13 | 30 | |
| 13 | Eupen | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 40 | 64 | −24 | 30 | |
| 14 | Waasland-Beveren | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 28 | 43 | −15 | 30 | |
| 15 | Excel Mouscron | 30 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 29 | 53 | −24 | 24 | |
| 16 | Westerlo(R) | 30 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 33 | 65 | −32 | 23 | Relegation toFirst Division B |
| Home \ Away | AND | BRU | CHA | EUP | GNK | GNT | KVK | LOK | KVM | EXM | KVO | STA | STV | WBE | WES | ZWA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht | — | 0–0 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 7–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 |
| Club Brugge | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 5–0 |
| Charleroi | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–3[a] | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Eupen | 2–2 | 1–4 | 2–2 | — | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 1–3 |
| Genk | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Gent | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 3–0 |
| Kortrijk | 1–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 2–3 |
| Lokeren | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Mechelen | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | — | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| Mouscron | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–4 | — | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–5 |
| Oostende | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 6–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 |
| Standard Liège | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 |
| Sint-Truiden | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | — | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 |
| Waasland-Beveren | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Westerlo | 2–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 |
| Zulte Waregem | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — |
The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Anderlecht 31 points, Club Brugge 30, Zulte Waregem 27, Gent 25, Oostende 25 and Charleroi 25. The points of Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Charleroi were rounded up, therefore in case of any ties on points at the end of the playoffs, the half point would have been deducted for these teams.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AND | CLU | GNT | OOS | CHA | ZWA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anderlecht(C) | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 52 | Qualification for theChampions League group stage | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Club Brugge | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 45 | Qualification for theChampions League third qualifying round | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 3 | Gent | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 41 | Qualification for theEuropa League third qualifying round | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–2 | |
| 4 | Oostende(O) | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 17 | −3 | 37 | Qualification for theEuropa League play-off final | 0–1 | 2–1 | 4–3 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| 5 | Charleroi | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 35 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | ||
| 6 | Zulte Waregem | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 21 | −9 | 33 | Qualification for theEuropa League group stage[a] | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | — |
Group A of the play-offs consisted of the teams finishing in positions 7, 9, 12 and 14 during theregular season and the first and third placed team in the qualifying positions in the2016–17 Belgian First Division B. The teams finishing in positions 8, 10, 11, 13 and 15 joined the second placed qualifier from the 2016–17 Belgian First Division B to form group B.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | STV | KVM | W-B | STA | USG | LIE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sint-Truiden(Q) | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 7 | +16 | 22 | Qualification for theEuropa League play-off semi-finals | — | 7–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | |
| 2 | Mechelen | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 16 | −9 | 16 | 1–0 | — | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Waasland-Beveren | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 19 | −2 | 15 | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 1–3 | 1–4 | 3–2 | ||
| 4 | Standard Liège | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 14 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 5 | Union SG | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 10 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | — | 1–3 | ||
| 6 | Lierse | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 16 | −4 | 10 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | GNK | LOK | EUP | KVK | EXM | ROE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genk(Q) | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 4 | +22 | 26 | Qualification for theEuropa League play-off semi-finals | — | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 6–0 | 3–1 | |
| 2 | Lokeren | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 21 | 20 | +1 | 15 | 1–1 | — | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 | Eupen | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 13 | 1–1 | 3–3 | — | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | ||
| 4 | Kortrijk | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 22 | −7 | 12 | 0–3 | 4–4 | 3–3 | — | 2–1 | 0–3 | ||
| 5 | Excel Mouscron | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 22 | −11 | 8 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 6 | Roeselare | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 22 | −5 | 7 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 3–5 | — |
The winners of both play-off groups competed in one match to play the fourth-placed or fifth-placed team of the championship play-offs for a spot in the final. This match was played on the field of the highest ranked team in the regular competition. The winner of the semi-final advanced to the final to play for a spot in thethird qualifying round of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League.
| Genk | 3–0 | Sint-Truiden |
|---|---|---|
| Buffel Boëtius Samatta | Pro League Soccerway |
The winner of the Europa League play-off semi-final and the fourth-placed team played one match to determine the Europa League play-off winner. KV Oostende qualified for thethird qualifying round of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, where they were eliminated by Olympique Marseille.
| Oostende | 3–1 | Genk |
|---|---|---|
| Akpala Rozehnal Jali | Sporza | Schrijvers |
Top scorers[edit]
| Top assists[edit]
|
| Number of teams | Province or region | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Club Brugge,Kortrijk,Oostende andZulte Waregem | |
| 3 | Gent,Lokeren andWaasland-Beveren | |
| 2 | Mechelen andWesterlo | |
| Charleroi andMouscron | ||
| Eupen andStandard Liège | ||
| Genk andSint-Truiden | ||
| 1 | Anderlecht | |
| 0 | / |
The football clubs listed by average home league attendance:[31]
| Football club | Home average |
|---|---|
| Club Brugge | 26,691 |
| Standard de Liège | 21,802 |
| KAA Gent | 19,807 |
| RSC Anderlecht | 18,333 |
| KRC Genk | 16,104 |
| KV Mechelen | 11,991 |
| Zulte Waregem | 9,578 |
| Sporting Charleroi | 9,547 |
| KV Oostende | 7,344 |
| Sporting Lokeren | 7,117 |
| STVV | 6,874 |
| KV Kortrijk | 6,248 |
| KVC Westerlo | 5,773 |
| Waasland-Beveren | 4,537 |
| KAS Eupen | 3,423 |
| Royal Excel Mouscron | 3,337 |