The Week In Belgian Football
Pro League and Challenger Pro League
The week in Belgian football…mobiles are pinging away loudly at the sound of Sporting Directors in conversations with agents and clubs as the summer recruitment drive continues. Most Belgian clubs will be looking to maximise fees for outgoing players while we should expect only modest fees (for the most part) to be spent across the Pro League in terms of reinvestment…for many this is about smart recruitment, but how many will actually achieve that? We’ll find out over the coming weeks…
Pro League:
ANDERLECHT: We have seen 5 arrivals so far. It is worth bearing in mind that this window is the first opportunity that Sporting Director Olivier Renard has had to really reshape the squad, since his arrival in October of 2024. Early indications are that he will be pivoting the club’s policy again more towards focussing on identifying young talent that has the potential to grow and acrue value…Anderlecht’s player trading in terms of incoming transfer fees has been poor in recent years and needs to be addressed longterm for the club to build for the future.
RAAL: The past week has seen the newly promoted Walloon side have the first test event at their new stadium, which now has a name - The Easi Arena. It will be the first newly built stadium in Belgium since KAA Gent’s, Planet Group Arena in 2013! The Wolves have also been highly active in the market, bringing in nine players so far to enhance the quality and depth at their disposal.
Image copyright: RAAL La Louviere
If you would like more information abour RAAL and what to expect from them in the coming season, then why not check out the latest special episode of ‘The Belgian Football Podcast’, which sees the team welcome RAAL’s Sporting Director David Verwilghen for an extensive chat about the club’s rise and operations:
It’s pretty clear the club are not coming along to make up the numbers and will be having a right good go next season!
STANDARD LIEGE: This week the Liege based side announced further cost cutting measures, including reducing the size of the communications team. Les Rouches also announced that they would be dispensing with making Flemish translations available and concentrating only on French. Considering that around 30% of the fanbase are Flemish, this is a bit of a faux pas!
Challenger Pro League:
DARING BRUSSELS: Amid the turmoil surrounding the club’s recent rebrand, the community based fan campaign against it has gathered pace and the local municipal council in the Brussels district of Molenbeek are now behind the campaign…in the last few days it seems as if RWDM fans could be on the verge of a stunning victory, as the club have requested for permission to change the name back from Daring Brussels to RWDM (Racing White Daring Molenbeek).
I mentioned last week how the threat of legal action against the inclusion of 4 development sides in the Challenger Pro League was likely to return and and it now seems that Francs Borains, Lokeren, Seraing and 2 as yet unanmed amateur clubs are ready to proceed to challenge the competition format with the Belgian Competition Authority. It also seems very possible that Pro League champions Union Saint-Gilloise will also be bringing their own case on separate grounds.
A reminder for those not fully in the loop - these clubs all find it unacceptable that there will be a quota for U23 sides in the CPL from next season - this means that 4 must always play in the CPL and they cannot be relegated or promoted.
Club Nxt - Club Brugge
Anderlecht Futures
*Jong KAA Gent
*Jong KRC Genk
(The basis of the legal challgenge is a distortion of sporting integrity.)
Trust me. This one will run and run, but we now face the very real possibility of a delayed start to the CPL season and if upheld the recently agreed Pro league and CPL restructure collapses and chaos and uncertainty reigns down again. Buckle up for the ride.
Until next week…
Image Copyright: RAAL La Louviere