Belgian Third Division
| Country |
 Belgium |
|---|---|
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Folded | 2016 |
| Divisions |
Belgian Third Division A Belgian Third Division B |
| Number of teams | 36 |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | Belgian Second Division |
| Relegation to | Belgian Fourth Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | Belgian Cup |
| Last champions |
Beerschot Wilrijk and Hamme (2015–16) |
The Belgian Third Division (Dutch: Derde klasse, French: Division III) was the third highest level in Belgian football. It had two leagues of 18 teams each (A and B) at the same level. This competition, originally known as the Belgian Promotion (Dutch: Bevordering) was first played in the 1926-27 season with three leagues, then with four leagues between 1931 and 1952. From 1952 on, only two leagues remained and the competition was named the Third Division. Originally set to 16 clubs, the number of clubs in each division was increased in 2009 to 18 clubs. At the end of the regular season, both league winners promoted to the second division and a play-off was played to determine a possible third club to promote. The champion of the third division was determined after a two-legged match between the winners of the two leagues. If those matches ended in a draw, a third match was played on a neutral ground. However, in recent years this final game was not organised anymore due to lack of interest. In 2016, the Belgian Third Division was replaced by the Belgian Second Amateur Division.
The competition consisted of the regular season (two leagues of 18 teams, 34 matchdays each) followed by the third division play-off (7 teams, 3 matchdays). Each team played 34 matches during the regular season (from August till May). The regular season was divided in 3 periods with the first period consisting of the first 10 match days, the second period consisting of the next 12 match days and the third period consisting of the final 12 match days. For each period in each league, a ranking was computed in the same way as the overall league rankings (three points for a win, one point for a draw and no point for a loss). In each league, the winner of the regular season promoted to the second division and the two worst-placed teams (17th and 18th) were relegated to the Belgian Fourth Division. The 16th placed teams had to play the Promotion play-off with teams from Promotion (see Fourth Division playoff).
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