The 2011–12 season of the

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

(also known as ''Jupiler Pro League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 109th season of top-tier football in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. 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 Genk () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It ...

, who this time ended in third position, while the competition was won by

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

, 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 Charleroi (, , ; ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the largest city in both Hainaut and Wallonia. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not ...

were relegated as a result of a 2–2 draw at home to

Eupen Eupen (, , ; ; ; former ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Liège Province, province of Liège, from the Germany, German border (Aachen ...

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

, Club Brugge and

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

being present for more years. As winner of the relegation playoff,

avoided direct relegation, but was still forced to play the Second Division final round together with second division teams Lommel United, Waasland-Beveren and

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

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 Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

now has a first division team again for the first time in 61 years.

Stadia and locations

Personnel and sponsoring

Managerial changes

Regular season

League table

Positions by round

Note: The classification was made after the weekend (or midweek) 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.

Results

Championship playoff

The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) 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.

Results

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
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* Jesper Jørgensen ( Gent) * Bernd Thijs ( Gent) * Dalibor Veselinović (

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

) * Reza Ghoochannejhad (

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. With more than 41,500 inhabitants, it is on ...

) * Mohammed Tchité (

) * Chuka ( OH Leuven) * Milan Jovanović (

) * Ibrahima Sidibe ( Beerschot (6)/

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...

(3)) * Elyaniv Barda (

) * Ernest Nfor (

) * Igor Vetokele ( Cercle Brugge) * Thomas Buffel (

) * Kevin De Bruyne (

) * Zlatan Ljubijankič ( Gent) * Steeven Joseph-Monrose (

) * Alessandro Cordaro (

Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...

) * Ibou (

) * Reynaldo (

) * Sherjill MacDonald ( Beerschot) * Lukas Van Eenoo ( Cercle Brugge) * Elimane Coulibaly ( Gent) * Daylon Claasen ( Lierse) * Grégory Dufer (

) * Roei Dayan ( Beerschot) * Amido Baldé ( Cercle Brugge) * Maxime Lestienne ( Club Brugge) * Lior Refaelov ( Club Brugge) * Víctor Vázquez ( Club Brugge) * Björn Vleminckx ( Club Brugge) * Rémi Maréval ( Gent (3)/ Zulte Waregem (3)) * Mustapha Oussalah (

) * Mohamed El-Gabbas ( Lierse) * Boubacar Diabang (

) * Rachid Bourabia (

) * Giuseppe Rossini (

(3)/ Zulte Waregem (3)) *

Michy Batshuayi Michy Batshuayi-Atunga (born 2 October 1993) is a Belgian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt and the Belgium national football team, Belgium ...

(

) * Cyriac (

) * Mbaye Leye (

(3)/ Zulte Waregem (3)) * Jens Naessens ( Zulte Waregem) * Oleg Iachtchouk ( Cercle Brugge) * Tim Smolders ( Gent) * Pablo Chavarría (

) * Miloš Marić ( Lierse) * Baye Djiby Fall ( Lokeren) * David Destorme (

) * Jaime Alfonso Ruiz (

) * Jelle Van Damme (

) * Steven De Petter (

) * Bart Goor (

) * Roland Juhász (

) * Kanu (

) * Sacha Kljestan (

) * Gary Kagelmacher ( Beerschot) * Vuza Nyoni ( Beerschot) * Nabil Dirar ( Club Brugge) *

Ryan Donk Ryan Henk Donk (born 30 March 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Born in the Netherlands, he played for the Suriname national team. Club career RKC and AZ Donk impressed in the 2005–06 season at RKC Waal ...

( Club Brugge) * Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe ( Club Brugge) * Christian Brüls ( Gent) * Yassine El Ghanassy ( Gent) * Nill De Pauw ( Lokeren) * Mijat Marić ( Lokeren) * Bjorn Ruytinx ( OH Leuven) * Yoni Buyens (

) * Luis Manuel Seijas (

) * Shlomi Arbeitman (

) * Tom De Sutter (

) * Patou Kabangu (

) * Marcin Wasilewski (

) * Guillaume François ( Beerschot) * Roni Porokara ( Beerschot) * Kristof D'haene ( Cercle Brugge) * Kevin Janssens ( Cercle Brugge) * Carlos Bacca ( Club Brugge) * Thomas Meunier ( Club Brugge) * Melli ( Gent) * Brecht Capon (

) * Péter Czvitkovics (

) * Nebojša Pavlović (

) * Ervin Zukanović (

) * Ibrahima Gueye ( Lokeren) * Benjamin Mokulu ( Lokeren) * Koen Persoons ( Lokeren) * Maël Lépicier (

) * Thomas Azevedo ( OH Leuven) * Frederik Boi ( OH Leuven) * Karel Geraerts ( OH Leuven) * Sacha Iakovenko ( OH Leuven) * Grégory Christ (

) * Evariste Ngolok (

) * Teddy Chevalier ( Zulte Waregem) * Davy De Fauw ( Zulte Waregem) * Jérémy Serwy ( Zulte Waregem) * Aleksandar Trajkovski ( Zulte Waregem) * Lucas Biglia (

) *

Romelu Lukaku Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli (; born 13 May 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club SSC Napoli, Napoli and the Belgium national football team, Belgium national team. Lukaku began h ...

(

) * Anthony Portier ( Cercle Brugge) * Carl Hoefkens ( Club Brugge) * Fabien Camus (

) * Jeroen Simaeys (

) * Dániel Tőzsér (

) * César Arzo ( Gent) * Yaya Soumahoro ( Gent) * Hannes van der Bruggen ( Gent) * Jason Adesanya ( Lierse) * Boban Grnčarov ( Lierse) * Wesley Sonck ( Lierse) * Ayanda Patosi ( Lokeren) * Katuku Tshimanga ( Lokeren) * Boris Pandža (

) * Mustapha Jarju (

) * Tim Matthys (

) * Jérémy Sapina (

) * Tom van Imschoot (

) * Radek Dejmek ( OH Leuven) * Sascha Kotysch (

) * Dolly Menga (

) * Nils Schouterden (

) * Franck Berrier (

(1)/ Zulte Waregem (1)) * Felipe (

) * Ignacio María González (

) * Kanu (

) * Geoffrey Mujangi Bia (

) * Lens Annab (

) * Dieter Dekelver (

) * William Owusu (

) * Jonathan Delaplace ( Zulte Waregem) * Habib Habibou ( Zulte Waregem) * Brian Hamalainen ( Zulte Waregem) * Thomas Matton ( Zulte Waregem) * Fernando Canesin (

) * Nathan Kabasele (

) * Arnor Angeli ( Beerschot) * Adnan Čustović ( Beerschot) * Wim De Decker ( Beerschot) * Conor Laerenbergh ( Beerschot) * Dor Malul ( Beerschot) * Tomislav Mikulić ( Beerschot) * Hans Cornelis ( Cercle Brugge) * Bernt Evens ( Cercle Brugge) * Gregory Mertens ( Cercle Brugge) * Renato Neto ( Cercle Brugge) * William Carvalho ( Cercle Brugge) * Jordi ( Club Brugge) * Mushaga Bakenga ( Club Brugge) * Niki Zimling ( Club Brugge) * David Hubert (

) * Khaleem Hyland (

) * Torben Joneleit (

) * Anthony Limbombe (

) * Nadson (

) * Anthony Vanden Borre (

) * Ibrahima Sory Conte ( Gent) * Mamoutou N'Diaye ( Gent) * Rafinha ( Gent) * Brecht Dejaeghere (

) * Gertjan De Mets (

) * Mohamed Messoudi (

) * David Vandenbroek (

) * Flávio Amado ( Lierse) * Cofie Bekoe ( Lierse) * Soufiane Bidaoui ( Lierse) * Kris De Wree ( Lierse) * Frédéric Frans ( Lierse) * Stein Huysegems ( Lierse) * Péter Kovács ( Lierse) * Barry Boubacar Copa ( Lokeren) * Laurens De Bock ( Lokeren) * Alfreð Finnbogason ( Lokeren) * Ivan Leko ( Lokeren) * Killian Overmeire ( Lokeren) * Jérémy Taravel ( Lokeren) * Maxime Biset (

) * Seth De Witte (

) * Abdul-Yakuni Iddi (

) * Sérgio Oliveira (

) * Wannes Van Tricht (

) * Chris Makiese (

) * Zola Matumona (

) * Benjamin Nicaise (

) * Nicolas Timmermans (

) * Patrick Amoah ( OH Leuven) * Loris Brogno ( OH Leuven) * Emmerik De Vriese ( OH Leuven) * Nicky Hayen ( OH Leuven) * Stefan Gislason ( OH Leuven) * Pieter Nys ( OH Leuven) * Wim Raymaekers ( OH Leuven) * Kevin Roelandts ( OH Leuven) * Ludovic Buysens (

) * Koen Daerden (

) * Vincent Euvrard (

) * Alessandro Iandoli (

) * Pierre-Yves Ngawa (

) *

Rubin Okotie Rubin Rafael Okotie (; born 6 June 1987) is an Austrian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Having moved to Austria at the age of six, Okotie began his playing career wit ...

(

) * Yannick Rymenants (

) *

Imoh Ezekiel Imoh Ezekiel (born 24 October 1993) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker. He made one appearance for the Nigeria national team in 2014. Club career Ezekiel joined Standard Liège in January 2012, making his debut on 19 ...

(

) * Serge Gakpé (

) * Réginal Goreux (

) * Aloys Nong (

) * Ellenton Liliu (

) * Felix Luz (

) * Marcão (

) * Jeroen Vanthournout (

) * Stef Wils (

) * Juande (

) * Miguel Dachelet ( Zulte Waregem) * Karel D'Haene ( Zulte Waregem) * Ólafur Ingi Skúlason ( Zulte Waregem) * Baptiste Martin (

), scored for

and

) * Tomislav Mikulić ( Beerschot, scored for

and

) * Denis Viane ( Cercle Brugge, scored twice for

) *

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

(

, scored for OH Leuven) * Nuno Reis ( Cercle Brugge, scored for

) * Tom Høgli ( Club Brugge, scored for

) * Alpha Bâ ( Gent, scored for

) * Elimane Coulibaly ( Gent, scored for

) * Alassane També (

, scored for Lokeren) * Kristof Van Hout (

, scored for Club Brugge) * Dalibor Veselinović (

), scored for Gent) * Boban Grnčarov ( Lierse), scored for Cercle Brugge) * Koen Persoons ( Lokeren, scored for

) * Wouter Biebauw (

, scored for

) * Xavier Chen (