BeNeLiga

Honestly, the chance of a BeNeLiga happening in the coming years is not very big. It’s not really popular in both countries, the fans don’t want it to happen and the clubs only benefit from it financially. So what are the chances of it really happening? Both the Dutch Eredivisie and the Belgium Jupiler Pro league has called in the help from an international consultant bureau; the Twenty First Group. They’ve advised both countries to NOT implement the BeNeLiga. Their honest opinion is that it is not beneficial for both countries to try to fix the BeNeLiga. The consultant bureau thinks that it is more beneficial for the Belgium league to try and organize a league with 12 teams. They think that this will bring more entertainment for the audience than a league between Belgium and the Netherlands. In the case of the new Belgium league this means  that the first eight clubs will play a separate league to compete for the title. The bottom 4 clubs will compete for relegation/ promotio...

There have been talks about the BeNeLiga for decades, but they are still from an agreement. There have been so much talks, but there is no breakthrough in sight. However, it turns out that these plans are an inspiration for other countries. In the beginning of 2021 there have been talks between the leagues of Scotland, Ireland and a few Scandinavian top clubs.  The UEFA is busy with transforming the European football leagues. The past year there was the re-introduction of a third European football league; the Conference League. But not only that, the UEFA itself was threatened by the big clubs by the introduction of the Super League. Fortunately this has been cancelled really quick by the immense pressure of the fans of these clubs. However, there is still a plan for a new Champions League in 2024, which would make the gap between the clubs even bigger than it now already is. The clubs from the smaller countries and leagues who don’t steadily play in the Champions League are loosin...

The question of whether UEFA approves the new competition format has not yet been definitively answered. Currently, the countries jointly have 10 European tickets to distribute, and it is hoped that the BeNeLiga will eventually receive 10 tickets. European tickets will be distributed per country until 2024 as follows: Number 1: 1 ticket for the group stage of the Champions League Number 2: 1 ticket for the qualifying round of the Champions League (2nd round for the Netherlands and 3rd round for Belgium) Number 3: 1 ticket to the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa Conference League Number 4: 1 ticket to the 2nd qualifying round of the Europa Conference League Cup winner: 1 ticket to the Europa League play-offs As a result, as many clubs will flow to the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League. Both Belgium and the Netherlands will be allowed to send 5 teams to the (preliminary rounds of the) European tournaments in the new setup and competition format of the BeNeLig...

  If the BeNeliga is a possible joint competition, why would it not be an option for Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland, which are already know as the United Kingdom?  “The United Kingdom's status not only as the inventor of football, but also as a pioneer of the international game” ~ (Allen, 2021)  In the beginning of Football, the English Football Association (FA), The Scottish Football Association (SFA), the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and the Irish Football Association (IFA) were founded in that order. They started facing each other on a yearly basis, after which the idea came to form the International Association Board (IFAB), which to this day still consists of the four separate bodies. When FIFA was created in 1904, they felt these national associations were too powerful to be combined, but it was crucial they were involved in FIFA. This is why they were added separately. It still remains odd since none of them are internationally-recognised inde...

Most of you probably know very little of the Eredivisie and the Jupiler Pro League, the highest football leagues of respectively the Netherlands and Belgium. The Netherlands and Belgium are both small countries and there football leagues aren’t very big either, but football is really popular in both countries. Maybe you know some of the bigger clubs from the European tournaments, but beside some very rare achievements in the Champions League or Europa League, you probably can’t name a lot of clubs from either country. However, there is a lot of potential in football of the Netherlands and Belgium. There leagues attract many viewers from their respective country and football is really popular. The biggest problem is that the countries just aren’t that big, the Netherlands have 17 million residents and Belgium almost 12 million. This is nothing compared to the top 5 biggest football leagues: Germany (83 million) United Kingdom (67 million, France (67 million), Italy (59 million) and Spai...

All the 24 professional clubs In Belgium are unanimous about having the ambition of starting the BeNeLiga. They think it can have a positive impact on both a sportive level as economically. Furthermore, a study from Deloitte consultancy showed the teams that would remain in the national competition, would benefit from this as well.  Belgian fans on the other hand, are not exactly that keen on having the BeNeLiga. Belgian Supporters, the umbrella body of Belgian football fans, still have a lot of questions, are doubting about the travel distances and the difference in safety measures, and fear it could harm the Belgian football culture. Do you think this competition would be better for Belgium?  

Every competition has its advantages and disadvantages, as well as the BeNeLiga. In 2019 all organizations came together, including both national football associations to start an investigation into the feasibility of the BeNeLiga. The conclusions are positive and provided a basis for further research. The second study also showed that the competition between the Netherlands and Belgium offers significantly greater financial and sporting growth opportunities. 3-5 times more top matches, for example AFC Ajax vs Anderlecht  Playing a bigger role in Europe, Only the Eredivisie has 1 place for champions league.  More international attention and dedication from fans Equal opponents in the BeNeLiga and in the two national competitions A more attractive and simpler format is created for every professional class Smaller clubs can win prizes and promote in the national competition, Europa league All clubs are improving financially Extended travel distances for players and supporters No...

Belgian knew a lot of different competition formats in its history, of which a lot are quite different from other European countries. Let’s take a look at the current situation and the one before that. The current format was introduced in 2016 consist of 18 clubs in the first division, which is called 1A, and 8 in the second division, 1B. Those two divisions are the professional ones, implicating a major difference in earnings. The first four play in the Champions’ play-offs, numbers 5 to 8 play in the Europe play-offs. The first 3 have a guaranteed European ticket and the 4 th  team plays the first of the Europe play-offs to get the last ticket. The last team of the 1A would relegate and the first 1B would be promoted. The second to last from the first division would then play the second placed team of 1B for another place in 1A. The other teams do not even participate anymore.  Before this, there were only 16 teams in the first division, from which the first 6 teams at the e...