2020–21 Belgian First Division A
The 2020–21 Belgian First Division A was the 118th season of top-tier football in Belgium. As part of a proposal by the Jupiler Pro League's board of directors accepted by the General Assembly on 15 May 2020, the 2020–21 season would involve shortened playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the top four teams would play for the title, while teams five through eight would play for the remaining ticket into Europe. The league fixtures were announced on 8 July 2020. Club Brugge successfully defended their title from the previous season, finishing level on points in the title play-offs with Racing Genk, as regular season runners-up Royal Antwerp's challenge faded.
Team changes
Waasland-Beveren were originally relegated to the Belgian First Division B, as they were the bottom-placed team when the 2019–20 Belgian First Division A stopped prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, following legal proceedings, they remained in the top-flight, and instead, the league was expanded to 18 teams, with both OH Leuven and [K K Beerschot VA|Beerschot VA|Beerschot] being promoted. Technically, under its current form and owners, Beerschot will make its debut in the top tier of Belgian football, although in reality two teams with the same identity have played at the top level: Beerschot VAC and Beerschot AC. OH Leuven returned to the top tier after an absence of four seasons, when they dropped to the last place on the ultimate matchday of the 2015–16 season.Format change
With now 18 instead of 16 teams, the format has changed somewhat. While the season still starts with an initial round-robin phase in which all teams play each other twice, the end of season play-offs have been shortened temporarily and for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons only. The title playoffs will now only be played by the top four teams and the Europa play-offs will now be played by the teams finishing fifth through eight. As a result, for all teams finishing below 8th, the season will be over upon completion of the round-robin phase, with the team in last position being relegated. One exception is the team finishing in 17th position, as this team will play a promotion-relegation play off against the 2nd-place finisher in the 2020–21 Belgian First Division B, with the winner playing in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A.Teams
Stadiums and locations
| Matricule | Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| 35 | Anderlecht | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium | 21,500 | |
| 1 | Antwerp | Bosuilstadion | 12,975 | |
| 13 | Beerschot | Antwerp | Olympic Stadium | 12,771 |
| 12 | Bruges | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,042 | |
| 22 | Charleroi | Stade du Pays de Charleroi | 14,000 | |
| 3 | Bruges | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,042 | |
| 4276 | Eupen | Kehrwegstadion | 8,363 | |
| 322 | Genk | Luminus Arena | 24,956 | |
| 7 | Ghent | Ghelamco Arena | 20,000 | |
| 19 | Kortrijk | Guldensporen Stadion | 9,399 | |
| 25 | Mechelen | AFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne | 16,700 | |
| 216 | Mouscron | Stade Le Canonnier | 10,571 | |
| 31 | Ostend | Versluys Arena | 8,432 | |
| 18 | Leuven | Den Dreef | 10,000 | |
| 373 | Sint-Truiden | Stayen | 14,600 | |
| 16 | Liège | Stade Maurice Dufrasne | 30,023 | |
| 4068 | Beveren | Freethiel Stadion | 8,190 | |
| 5381 | Waregem | Regenboogstadion | 12,500 |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position | Replaced by | Date of appointment | |
| Cercle Brugge |  Play-offsPlay-Off IThe 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: Club Brugge 38, Antwerp 30, Anderlecht 29 and Genk 28.Play-Off IIThe 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: Oostende 27, Standard 25, Gent 25 and Mechelen 24. The points of Oostende and Gent were rounded up, therefore in case of any ties on points at the end of the playoffs, the half point will be deducted for these teams.European competition play-offsOriginally, the fourth-placed team of the play-offs I and the first-placed team of the play-offs II would play two home-and-away matches to determine the Europa Conference League play-off winner, which would qualify for the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League. However, since Genk, winners of the 2020–21 Belgian Cup, finished in the regular season top four and qualified for play-offs I, this guaranteed that all four teams of play-offs I would qualify for European competitions. As a result, the play-off final was not played, and the first-placed team of the play-offs II, KAA Gent, qualified for the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League.Promotion-Relegation play-offThe team finishing in 17th place competes in a two-legged match with the runner-up of the 2020–21 Belgian First Division B, with the aggregate winner to play in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A, while the losing team will take part in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B.On 11 April 2021, [R.F.C. R.F.C. Seraing (1922)|Seraing (1922)|Seraing] from the Belgian First Division B qualified for the promotion-relegation playoff as a loss by Lommel against Union SG meant Seraing could no longer be overtaken for second place. On 8 May 2021, Seraing was promoted to the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A after a 6–3 aggregate win in the two-legged series and Waasland-Beveren was relegated to the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B. Seraing won 6–3 on aggregate. Season statisticsTop scorers - regular season only
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