Capital: Brussels Population: 10.2 million Currency: Euro Official Language: Flemish (North and West of country), Frence (South and East) Borders: Netherlands (North/East), Germany (East), Luxembourg (South/East), France (South and West) GNP per Capita: $26,730 (10th in world) Main Airport: Zaventem International - Brussels
Located between Germany, France and the Netherlands, Belgium has a small coastline on the North Sea. The south of the country is heavily wooded and suffured extensive damage in the two World Wars. The climate is mild, although fog does often creep in from the North Sea in the summer.
For more details on the locations of the teams in the top leagues in Belgium, go to Footiemap.com to see their excellent Belgium football club page.
The Jupiler League 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. Left: Liege's Dufrasne Stadium
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. Sint Truden's Staainveld Stadium
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. Left - Genk's new Fenix Stadium
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. Right - Mechelen's Kazerne Stadium
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. Left: Mouscon's Stadium
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.
For this season, the 18 participating clubs are the following:
R.S.C. Anderlecht - Brussels (Click here for section on Brussels) Cercle Brugge K.S.V. - Bruges (Click here for section on Bruges) R. Charleroi S.C. - Charleroi Club Brugge K.V. - Bruges (Click here for section on Bruges) Dender EH - Denderleeuw K.R.C. Genk - Genk K.A.A. Gent - Gent K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot - Antwerp K V Kortrijk - Kortrijk - Last seasons champions in the 2nd division K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen - Lokeren Y.R. K.V. Mechelen - Mechelen R.A.E.C. Mons - Mons R.E. Mouscron - Mouscron K.S.V. Roeselare - Roeselare R. Standard de Liège - Liège A.F.C Tubize - Tubize - Last season's runners up in Division 2 K.V.C. Westerlo - Westerlo S.V. Zulte-Waregem - Waregem
Standard Liege won the title again after finishing level on points with Anderlecht and invoking the need for a Play Off for the first time since 1986. Standard came out on top 2-1 on aggregate. Genk won the cup by beating Mechelen and join Club Brugge and Gent in the Europa League.
As the division is being reduced in number to 16 from 2009/10 Mons and Tubize were relegated.
The Jupiler League
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.
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. 