The 2018–19

Belgian Third Amateur Division The Belgian Division 3, commonly referred to as simply Derde Afdeling (in Dutch) or Division 3 (in French) is the fifth-highest division in the Belgian football league system, one level below the Belgian Division 2. It was created by the Royal B ...

is the third season of the division in its current format, replacing the former

Belgian Fourth Division The Belgian Fourth Division was the lowest nationwide division in Belgian football. The division was split into four separate leagues, A, B, C and D. The team with the most points in the four leagues together was declared the overall winner ...

Team changes

In

Bornem Bornem (; old spelling: ''Bornhem'') is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises the village of Bornem proper, Hingene, and Weert, Antwerp, Weer ...

, La Calamine, Pepingen-Halle, Sint-Lenaarts, Sprimont Comblain,

Tienen Tienen (; ) is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises Tienen itself and the towns of Bost, Goetsenhoven, Hakendover, Kumtich, Oorbeek, Oplinter, Sint-Margriete-Houtem and Viss ...

Torhout Torhout (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Torhout proper, the villages of Wijnendale and Sint-Henri ...

and Zwarte Leeuw were all relegated from the

2017–18 Belgian Second Amateur Division The 2017–18 Belgian Second Amateur Division is the second season of the division in its current format, placed at the fourth-tier of football in Belgium. The division consists of three separate leagues, each containing 16 teams. Leagues A and B ...

. * Lyra-Lierse Berlaar, Helson Helchteren, Zelzate and

Zwevezele Zwevezele (Pronunciation: weːvəzeːlə) is a town in the Belgian province of West Flanders. It has been part of the Wingene municipality since 1 January 1977. Zwevezele has over 5,000 inhabitants. Between Zwevezele and Wingene there is a haml ...

were promoted as champions of the Flemish

Belgian Provincial Leagues The Belgian Provincial leagues are the lower leagues for Belgian football. Until 2016, these were at levels 5-8 in the Belgian football league system however as part of the reform an extra level was created causing the provincial leagues to drop ...

, respectively in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, Limburg,

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

and

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

. * Ostiches-Ath, Warnant, Meix-Dt-Virton and

Fosses Fosses () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. Population Heraldic Education Schools in Fosses:Belgian Provincial Leagues The Belgian Provincial leagues are the lower leagues for Belgian football. Until 2016, these were at levels 5-8 in the Belgian football league system however as part of the reform an extra level was created causing the provincial leagues to drop ...

, respectively in Hainaut,

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

. * CS Braine was promoted as champion of the French speaking teams in the region matching the old

Province of Brabant The Province of Brabant (, ; ) was a province in Belgium from 1830 to 1995. It was created in 1815 as South Brabant, part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1995, it was split into the Dutch-speaking Flemish Brabant, the French-speaki ...

and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. * Betekom was promoted as champion of the Flemish speaking teams in the region matching the old

and

. *

Racing Mechelen Koninklijke Racing Club Mechelen, simply known as Racing Mechelen or KRC Mechelen, is a football in Belgium, Belgian association football club from Mechelen in the Antwerp (province), Antwerp province. It is a long-time rival of KV Mechelen. The ...

and

Oostkamp Oostkamp (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Hertsberge, Oostkamp proper, Ruddervoorde and Waardamme. On January 1, 2019, Oostkamp had a total population o23,698 The ...

were promoted through the interprovincial play-offs on VFV side. * Condruzien,

Jette Jette (; ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Ganshoren, Koekelberg, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, as well as the Fl ...

and Symphorinois were promoted through the interprovincial play-offs on ACFF side. * As top team not yet promoted in

, Oppagne-Wéris was awarded a promotion to fill the gap left by Bertrix. * As top French speaking team not yet promoted in the old

and

, Stockel was awarded a promotion to fill the gap left by WS Brussels, who folded after being relegated from the

Out

Menen Menen (; ; or ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe (Belgium), Lau ...

was promoted after winning the 2017–18 Belgian Third Amateur Division A. * Heur-Tongeren was promoted after winning the 2017–18 Belgian Third Amateur Division B. *

La Louvière La Louvière (; ) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boussoit, Haine-Saint-Paul, Haine-Saint-Pie ...

was promoted after winning the 2017–18 Belgian Third Amateur Division C. * Tilleur was promoted after winning the 2017–18 Belgian Third Amateur Division D. *

Diegem Diegem is a town in the municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Machelen, in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium. Diegem's postal code is 1831. The official language of Diegem is Dutch language, Dutch, as in the res ...

, Dikkelvenne and Eppegem were promoted as winners of the Third Amateur Division promotion play-offs VFV. * Couvin-Mariembourg,

Francs Borains Royal Francs Borains is a football club based in Boussu, Hainaut Province, Belgium. It was founded in 1949 and its home ground is Stade Robert Urbain, which has a capacity of 6,000. The club is affiliated to the Royal Belgian Football Associati ...

and

Visé Visé (; , ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, located on the river Meuse in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Argenteau, Cheratte, Lanaye, Lixhe, Richelle, and Visé. In the ...

were promoted as winners of the Third Amateur Division promotion play-offs ACFF. * Cointe-Liège,

Diest Diest () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around ...

Grimbergen Grimbergen () is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium, north of the capital Brussels. The municipality comprises the towns of Beigem, Grimbergen, Hu ...

Habay Habay (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Luxembourg (Belgium), province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2007 the municipality, which covers 103.64 km2, had 7,903 inhabitants, giving a populati ...

Herentals Herentals () is a municipality and city in the province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and Noorderwijk. In 2022, Herentals had a total population of 28,455. The total area is . Saint ...

Hoeilaart Hoeilaart () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, Belgium. The name Hoeilaart is of Gallic-Celtic origin, coming from "Ho-Lar," meaning a high clearing in the woods. Residents are called Hoeilanders or Doenders. The municipality ...

, Mariekerke,

Ninove Ninove () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flanders, Flemish province of East Flanders in Belgium. It is on the river Dender, and is part of the Denderstreek. The municipality comprises the city o ...

, Solre, Spy,

Sterrebeek Sterrebeek is a town in the municipality (gemeente) of Zaventem, and a suburb on the east-northeast side of Brussels. Brussels American School (the United States Department of Defense Education Activity school) is located in Sterrebeek. The of ...

Vlamertinge Vlamertinge is a village in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders and a borough of the city of Ypres. The village center of Vlamertinge lies just outside the city center of Ypres, along the main road N38 to the nearby town of Poperinge. ...

and Waterloo were relegated to the Belgian Provincial Leagues. * Bertrix decided to restart at the bottom level of the Belgian football pyramid due to financial trouble.

Merger

* UR Namur would normally have been relegated from the 2017–18 Belgian Third Amateur Division but merged with newly promoted

Fosses Fosses () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. Population Heraldic Education Schools in Fosses:Union Namur Fosses-La-Ville. * Royal Sprimont Comblain Sport merged with Royal Football Club Banneux to form Royal Football Comblain Banneux Sprimont.

Name change

* Racing Jet Wavre changed its name to Wavre Sports.

Belgian Third Amateur Division A

League table

Belgian Third Amateur Division B

League table

Belgian Third Amateur Division C

League table

Belgian Third Amateur Division D

League table

Championship matches

Both the two VFV and two ACFF teams winning their leagues can arrange a title match to determine the overall VFV and ACFF champions of the Belgian Third Division. This season, the overall ACFF champion was supposed to be determined over two legs, however Namur forfeited the return match after losing the first leg. On VFV side, Merelbeke and Tienen decided not to play a championship match. There was also no match between the overall VFV and ACFF champions.

Championship match ACFF

First leg

Second leg

Namur did not show up for the return match and lost 1-9 on aggregate. Stockay was crowned overall ACFF champion in the Belgian Third Amateur Division.

Promotion play-offs

Promotion play-offs VFV

The teams finishing in second place in the Third Amateur Division A and Third Amateur Division B will take part in a promotion playoff first round together with three period winners from both divisions. These 8 teams from the VFV will play the first round of a promotion-playoff, with two teams promoting to the 2019–20 Belgian Second Amateur Division. Depending on the number of VFV teams relegating from the 2018–19 Belgian First Amateur Division and possible mergers and bankruptcies, more teams might get promoted. In Division A, Wetteren (2nd place overall) and Zwevezele (won two periods) qualified directly, while Pepingen-Halle and Wingene were awarded a place based on their league finish. In a similar fashion in Division B, Houtvenne (2nd place overall) and Lyra-Lierse (won one period) were joined by Sint-Lenaarts and Betekom.

VFV Round 1

The four winners will continue into the VFV Round 2 to play for the two extra promotion places.

VFV Round 2

Pepingen-Halle and Zwevezele are promoted to the

2019–20 Belgian Second Amateur Division The 2019–20 Belgian Second Amateur Division was the fourth season of the division in its current format, placed at the fourth-tier of football in Belgium. Mid-March all matches were temporarily postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium, ...

. Lyra-Lierse and Houtvenne moved to the third place match in case extra promotion places become available.

Third place match

By winning, Houtvenne is first in line to promote in case an extra spot opens up.

Promotion play-offs ACFF

The team finishing in second place in the Third Amateur Division C and Third Amateur Division D will take part in a promotion playoff first round together with three period winners from both divisions. These 8 teams from the ACFF will play the first round of a promotion-playoff, with two teams promoting to the 2019–20 Belgian Second Amateur Division although more places could come up which is why the third round also features a match between the losers of the second round. In Division C, CS Braine won two periods with the other being won by champion Namur Fosses. The three remaining spots were taken by third, fourth and fifth placed teams, respectively Aische,

Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...

and Léopold Uccle. In Division D, Givry and

Verlaine Verlaine (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Verlaine had a total population of 3,507. The total area is 24.21 km2 which gives a population density Population density (in ag ...

had each managed to win a period.

Richelle Richelle is a feminine given name, and also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Richelle Bear Hat, Blackfoot and Cree artist * Richelle Carey (born 1976), American broadcast journalist * Richelle Cranston (born 1989), A ...

and Onhaye also qualified as the two highest finishers.

ACFF Round 1

The four winners moved on to round 2 to contend for promotion, while the losing teams remain in the Belgian Third Amateur Division.

ACFF Round 2

The two winning teams will be promoted to the

, the losing teams will play a match to determine third and fourth place in case extra promotion places would come up. Verlaine and Onhaye won promotion to the 2019–20 Belgian Second Amateur Division. A third team will be promoted in case

, playing in the 2018–19 Belgian Second Amateur Division Promotion play-offs, wins promotion to the

2019–20 Belgian First Amateur Division The 2019–20 Belgian First Amateur Division was the fourth season of the third-tier football league in Belgium. Mid-March all matches were temporarily postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium, only to be canceled permanently two weeks la ...

. Therefore, Givry and Tournai will play a third-place match.

Third place match

By winning, Givry was first in line to promote in case an extra available spot. As Visé won promotion to the Belgian First Amateur Division, an extra ACFF team was promoted, resulting in Givry moving up.

Relegation play-offs

ACFF

Due to the results in higher leagues, prior to the match it was certain the winner of this ACFF play-off would avoid relegation. Ganshoren was eventually spared as well.

VFV

At the time of the match, it was yet uncertain whether there would be one or two extra VFV teams relegated from the 2018–19 Belgian Third Amateur Division. Ternesse faced relegation by losing the match, Oostkamp also faced relegation three weeks later as ACFF team Visé got promoted, resulting in an extra team from VFV to be relegated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 Belgian Third Amateur Division Belgian Third Amateur Division Bel 5