The General Assembly of the Pro League has reached an agreement in principle on the ‘direction for the future ambition for Belgian professional football’. There is ‘unanimous support to give the possible realization of the BeNe-Liga every opportunity’, the Belgian competition organization writes on its official website. It means that a joint competition with the Netherlands will be seriously investigated in Belgium.
The management of the Pro League will take an ‘active role’ in the investigation into a BeNeLiga. “The BeNeLiga must be accompanied by the assurance of economic stability for the other professional clubs through the creation of one national top league based on sustainable licensing and competition rules. The vision also means that the promises teams of the professional clubs can compete in the National Amateur series ”, the Pro League writes in the statement.
Five clubs from Belgium – Anderlecht, Club Brugge, AA Gent, KRC Genk and Standard Liège – and six clubs from the Netherlands – Ajax, AZ, FC Utrecht, Feyenoord, PSV and Vitesse – have been sitting around the table since 2019 to discuss a possible BeNeLiga to talk. On the basis of a study by research firm Deloitte, enough leads were seen to seriously discuss the set-up of a joint competition. Thus, the total income would increase by approximately 300 million euros.
The plan for a BeNeLiga has been on the table for years, but seems to be getting more concrete recently. For example, UEFA has already inquired about the distribution of European tickets if it is decided to merge the Dutch and Belgian league. The KNVB is also conducting a so-called feasibility study. Incidentally, there is also resistance to the plan, because the umbrella Dutch and Belgian supporters organization have spoken out against a BeNeLiga.