2011–12 Belgian Pro League
The 2011–12 season of the Belgian Pro League was the 109th season of top-tier football in Belgium. It began on 29 July 2011 with the first match of the regular season and ended in May 2012 with the last matches of the playoff rounds. The defending champions were Genk, who this time ended in third position, while the competition was won by Anderlecht, who clenched the title after a 1–1 draw against Club Brugge with two games left to play in the Championship Playoff.
Teams
Team changes
During the previous season, on 23 April 2011, Charleroi were relegated as a result of a 2–2 draw at home to Eupen in the relegation playoff, making it impossible to overtake them in the standings. This ended a spell of 26 consecutive seasons of being at the top level of Belgian football, with only Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Standard Liège being present for more years. As winner of the relegation playoff, Eupen avoided direct relegation, but was still forced to play the Second Division final round together with second division teams Lommel United, Waasland-Beveren and [R.A.E.C. Mons, Belgium|Mons (1910)|Mons] for the final spot in first division. However, after losing four matches in a row, Eupen was also relegated on 19 May 2011 after just one season at the top level. In the final match between Mons and Waasland-Beveren, Mons eventually came out as winner of the final round and took the place of Eupen.On 24 April 2011, just one day after the relegation of Charleroi, Oud-Heverlee Leuven was promoted after securing the title in the Second Division and as a result, the city of Leuven now has a first division team again for the first time in 61 years.
Stadia and locations
| Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| Anderlecht | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium | 28,063 | |
| Antwerp | Olympisch Stadion | 13,132 | |
| Bruges | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,945 | |
| Bruges | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,945 | |
| Genk | Cristal Arena | 24,900 | |
| Ghent | Jules Ottenstadion | 12,919 | |
| Kortrijk | Guldensporen Stadion | 9,500 | |
| Lier | Herman Vanderpoortenstadion | 14,538 | |
| Lokeren | Daknamstadion | 10,000 | |
| Mechelen | Argosstadion Achter de Kazerne | 13,123 | |
| Mons | Stade Charles Tondreau | 12,000 | |
| Leuven | Den Dreef | 8,519 | |
| Sint-Truiden | Staaienveld | 11,250 | |
| Liège | Stade Maurice Dufrasne | 30,000 | |
| Westerlo | Het Kuipje | 7,982 | |
| Waregem | Regenboogstadion | 8,500 |
Regular season
League table
Positions by round
Note: The classification was made after the weekend of each matchday, so postponed matches were only processed at the time they were played to represent the real evolution in standings.Only one match has been postponed during the season:
- On matchday 18: Cercle Brugge vs. Gent of 16 December because of a rain-drenched pitch, was played two days later on 18 December.
Championship playoff
The points obtained during the regular season were halved before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Anderlecht 34 points, Club Brugge 31, Gent 28, Standard 26, Genk 23 and Kortrijk 23.Playoff table
Positions by round
Below the positions per round are shown. As teams did not all start with an equal number of points, the initial pre-playoffs positions are also given.Europa League playoff
Group A contains the teams finishing the regular season in positions 7, 9, 12 and 14. The teams finishing in positions 8, 10, 11 and 13 were placed in Group B.Group A
Group B
Europa League playoff final
The winners of both playoff groups competed in a two-legged match to play the fourth-placed team of the championship playoff, called [|Testmatch]. The winners of this Testmatch were granted entry to the second qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.----
''Cercle Brugge won 4–2 on aggregate.''
Testmatches Europa League
Europa League playoff final winners Cercle Brugge competed with fourth placed team Gent for the final European ticket. After a 7-2 aggregate win, Gent qualified for the second qualifying round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.----
''Gent won 7–2 on aggregate.''
Relegation playoff
The teams finishing in the last two positions Westerlo and Sint-Truiden, faced each other in the relegation playoff. Westerlo started with a three-point bonus and home advantage for finishing above Sint-Truiden during the regular season. Although the teams were scheduled to play each other 5 times, Westerlo forced the decision already after four matches making the last match obsolete. Thereby, Sint-Truiden was relegated and Westerlo was allowed to play the relegation playoffs with the teams from the Second Division.Top goalscorers
Source: and| Position | Player | Club | Goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 |  Attendances
Source: |