Soccer : Belgium : Jupiler League : Season 2008/2009
Each of the 18 competitors in the Jupiler Pro League plays each of its 17 opponents twice. The championship thus comprises 34 matchdays of 9 matches each, generally played between August and May.
The Belgian League is currently changing from an 18-team league to a 16-team league. In the 2008-09 season, the bottom two teams will relegate, while the numbers 15 and 16 play in a playoff against two teams from second division. Only one of these 4 remains in first division together with the second division champion.
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. From the 2008-09 season however, both the European cups and the Belgian league will be reformed and it is yet not completely clear how the Belgian league will distribute the European tickets, except that there will be playoffs involved in some manner.
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