Ĉampioneco
| Organising body | Nacia Futbalasocio de Belak (NFB) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1926 |
| First season | 1926 season |
| Country | Belac |
| Other club(s) from | none |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Relegation to | Dua Ligo |
| Domestic cup(s) | Nacia Pokalo |
| League cup(s) | Noĝ-Abranos-Pokalo |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League |
| Current champions | La Kunvenejo (1st title) (2020) |
| Current Noĝ-Abranos-Pokalo | Sankta Tomaso (2nd title) (2020) |
| Most championships | Apollo (28 titles) |
| Most Noĝ-Abranos-Pokalos | Internacia, Olimpika (6 titles) |
| Most appearances | Antono Reĝo (709 appearances) |
| Top goalscorer | Paŭleto (274 goals) |
| TV partners | Belosport |
| Website | www.cxamp.nacialigo.kd |
 2021 season | |
The Ĉampioneco de Belak (English: Championship of Belac), or Ĉampioneco, is the top division of Belacian football, and the upper section of Belac's Nacia Ligo. It is contested by 12 clubs, who play a total of 33 matches every season over a calendar year (playing 3 times against each of the other 11 teams, with 1 or 2 home games against each of them), with the first 11 gameweeks (the Unua Fazo or Vintrofazo) played from January to March, the second third of the season (the Dua Fazo or Printempofazo) played from April to June, and the final 11 gameweeks (the Tria Fazo or Aŭtunfazo) played from September to November.
Most matches are played on Saturdays, with some games on Fridays and Sundays, and midweek fixtures sometimes played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Ĉampioneco was founded in 1926 by the Nacia Futbalasocio de Belak (National Football Association of Belac; NFB) as a national league for Belac's best football clubs. The ten founding clubs were Apollo, Orienta, Sankta Nikolao, Sankta Paŭlo, Novurbo, Sankta Mikaelo, Kolombo, Tondro, Atleta Klubo and Aklotia Ĉefstrato.
At the end of every season, the club with the most points is crowned champion of Belac, with the bottom 2 teams relegated and the 10th-placed team entering a relegation playoff. The league champions automatically qualify for the following season's UEFA Champions League group stage, with the runners-up qualifying for the UEFA Europa League playoff round (group stage in the 2021/22 season). The third-placed team enters the Third Qualifying Round of the UEFA Europa Conference League, with fourth place entering at the Second Qualifying Round. Additionally, the winners of the Nacia Pokalo qualify for the Third Qualifying Round (League Path) of the UEFA Champions League. If they have already qualified for the Champions League by winning the Ĉampioneco (as happened in the 2020 season, with La Kunvenejo winning both competitions), their third qualifying round place is given to the league runners-up.
Teams
2021 season
For the 2021 Ĉampioneco season, the following 12 teams are participating:
| Team | Founded | Home stadium | Number of titles | Current manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo | 1915 | Stadiono de Apollo, Akloti | 28 (most successful) | Example |
| Internacia | 1934 | La Globo, Akloti | 19 | Example |
| La Junuloj | 1921 | Stadiono Zantangloso, Zantangloso | 0 | Example |
| La Kunvenejo | 2011 | Metropola Stadiono, La Kunvenejo | 1 | Example |
| La Leonoj | 1919 | La Nesto, Novurbo | 1 | Example |
| Olimpika | 1920 | Olimpika Stadiono, Ontro | 23 | Example |
| Orienta | 1912 | Stacivojo, Kvara Urbo | 11 | Example |
| Sankta Mikaelo | 1911 | Preĝejostrato, Sankta Mikaelo | 0 | Example |
| Sankta Nikolao | 1918 | Hejmo de la Sanktuloj, La Sanktuloj | 0 | Example |
| Sankta Paŭlo | 1920 | Parko Sankta Paŭlo, Sankta Paŭlo | 2 | Example |
| Sankta Tomaso | 1925 | Ruĝa-Nigra Areno, Zantangloso | 0 | Example |
| Sanktejo | 1929 | Nova Sanktejo-Stadiono | 1 | Example |
Ĉampioneco teams in Europe (2020-21)
Qualification
Qualification places for UEFA competitions in 2020-21 were allocated by the NFB by league and cup position in the 2019 Belacian season. The 2019 league champions, Apollo, entered the 2020-21 Champions League group stage, with the Nacia Pokalo winners Olimpika entering at the 3rd Qualifying Round. As Olimpika also finished second in the league, their league-earned berth in the Europa League playoffs was transferred to 3rd-placed Orienta. 4th-placed Internacia and 5th-placed La Kunvenejo qualified for the Europa League third and second qualifying rounds respectively. This was La Kunvenejo's first European campaign in their club history.
UEFA Europa League
In the second qualifying round, La Kunvenejo defeated Progrès Niederkorn of Luxembourg, 4-0, in the Belacian club's first European match ever.
In the third qualifying round, La Kunvenejo went on to beat Rangers 2-1 after extra time, while Internacia started the campaign with a 3-1 victory away to NŠ Mura.
In the playoff round, La Kunvenejo thrashed Galatasaray 3-0, Internacia beat Rosenborg 1-0, and Orienta lost 3-1 at home to VfL Wolfsburg. La Kunvenejo and Internacia qualified for the group stage, where LK were drawn into Group D with Benfica, Standard Liege and Lech Poznan; Internacia were drawn alongside Granada, PAOK and Omonia in Group E. La Kunvenejo won three, drew two and lost one of their six matches to finish second behind Benfica on eleven points in Group D, while Internacia won five and lost one to finish top of Group E on 15 points.
In the round of 32, LK were drawn against English side Arsenal, who defeated them 1-0 at the Metropola Stadiono before a tight second leg saw Arsenal win 3-2 on aggregate after a 2-2 draw at Emirates Stadium in London. Meanwhile, Internacia took on Greek team Olympiakos, who they defeated 4-1 away from home and then 1-0 at La Globo in Akloti, to win 5-1 on aggregate. In the round of 16. Inter played Arsenal, who had scraped past La Kunvenejo in the previous round. Although it was a tight match, Arsenal progressed 2-1 on aggregate, after a 2-0 win in Akloti, despite Inter's 1-0 second-leg victory.
After Apollo finished third in their Champions League group behind Atalanta and Liverpool, they were transferred to the Europa League round of 32, where they were drawn against Club Brugge of Belgium. Apollo won 3-1 and 2-1 in the two legs to win 5-2 on aggregate, before being knocked out at the round of 16 stage by Villarreal, the eventual winners of the competition, who came back from Apollo's 2-0 home win to win 3-2 on aggregate after a stunning 3-0 win in Spain.
Summary
| Team | Performance | Defeated by |
|---|---|---|
| Orienta | Playoff Round | VfL Wolfsburg (1-3) |
| La Kunvenejo | Round of 32 | Arsenal (2-3) |
| Internacia | Round of 16 | Arsenal (1-2) |
UEFA Champions League
In the third qualifying round, cup champions Olimpika entered the competition. They beat Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine by a score of 3-0, setting up a play-off tie against Belgian team KAA Gent, which finished 4-2 to Olimpika, qualifying them for the group stage.
Olimpika were drawn in Group G, alongside Juventus, Barcelona and Ferencvaros in a very difficult group. Apollo also found themselves in a hard group, drawn into Group D with Liverpool, Atalanta and FC Midtjylland.
Group D
| Home team (below) | LIV | APO | ATA | FCM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool (ENG) | N/A | 2-0 | 0-2 | 2-0 |
| Apollo (KDB) | 2-1 | N/A | 3-3 | 4-0 |
| Atalanta (ITA) | 0-5 | 2-1 | N/A | 1-1 |
| Midtjylland (DEN) | 1-1 | 0-3 | 0-4 | N/A |
| Pos. | Team | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atalanta | 12 | 10 | +2 | 11 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Liverpool | 11 | 5 | +6 | 10 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Apollo | 13 | 8 | +5 | 10 | Europa League round of 32 |
| 4 | Midtjylland | 2 | 15 | -13 | 2 |
Group G
| Home team (below) | JUV | BAR | OLI | FER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juventus (ITA) | N/A | 0-2 | 2-2 | 2-1 |
| Barcelona (ESP) | 0-3 | N/A | 2-1 | 5-1 |
| Olimpika (KDB) | 1-0 | 1-3 | N/A | 5-0 |
| Ferencvaros (HUN) | 1-4 | 0-3 | 1-2 | N/A |
| Pos. | Team | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barcelona | 15 | 6 | +9 | 15 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Olimpika | 12 | 8 | +4 | 10 | Knockout stage |
| 3 | Juventus | 11 | 7 | +4 | 10 | Europa League round of 32 |
| 4 | Ferencvaros | 4 | 21 | -17 | 0 |
Knockout stage
While Apollo dropped down to the Europa League, Olimpika marched on to the Champions League round of 16, where they took on Porto of Portugal. Olimpika won 2-1 at the Olimpika Stadiono in the first leg, after a dramatic 94th-minute winner from substitute Vilĉjo Suno. Olimpika managed to hold onto a 0-0 draw in Portugal and reach the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-final first leg, Olimpika scored three goals inside the first 15 minutes to stun Chelsea, before the visitors grew into the game and scored twice to bring the score to 3-2. In the second leg in London, Chelsea scored twice to win 2-0 and break the Olimpika fans' hearts, knocking them out at the last eight.
Ĉampioneco teams in Europe (2021-22)
Qualification
Qualification places for UEFA competitions in 2021-22 were allocated by the NFB by league and cup position in the 2020 Belacian season. The 2020 league champions, La Kunvenejo, entered the 2021-22 Champions League group stage. As LK also won the Nacia Pokalo, league runners-up Olimpika entered once again at the UCL 3rd Qualifying Round. Olimpika's league-earned berth in the Europa League playoffs was transferred to 3rd-placed Apollo. 4th-placed Orienta and 5th-placed La Leonoj qualified for the inaugural Europa Conference League, entering at the third and second qualifying rounds respectively. For La Leonoj, it was their first European campaign since 2016-17, and they aimed to reach their first group stage appearance in Europe since 2011-12.
Qualification rounds
In the Conference League, the second qualifying round saw La Leonoj defeat Kosovan outfit Drita 4-1 on aggregate. In the next round, Leonoj beat FC Luzern of Switzerland 5-0 on aggregate, while Orienta FK thrashed Dundalk 7-1. Both sides qualified for the group stage, with La Leonoj beating Elfsborg 5-3 on aggregate and Orienta scraping past Anderlecht on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
Apollo, Belac's sole representative in the 2021-22 UEL, beat Celtic 6-0 on aggregate to stroll into the group stage. Meanwhile, in the Champions League, Olimpika - quarter-finalists in 2020-21 - beat Midtjylland 6-2 on aggregate in the 3rd QR, and proceeded to dispatch of Benfica 4-2 on aggregate in the play-off round, to qualify for the group stage.
La Kunvenejo automatically qualified for the Champions League group stage, their first ever appearance in the competition.
Group stage
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