2025 Belgian Division One: Braine Black Rickers Forfeits, Automatically Demoted

In what would have been a best-of-three promotion/relegation series between the Braine Black Rickers and the Brussels Kangaroos ended in a big deception as the team from Braine-Le-Chateau forfeited.

As you could read last week, the Brussels Kangaroos dominated the playoffs and the regular season in Division Two. With an 8-0 record in the playoffs, the Kangaroos qualified for the promotion/relegation series against the Braine Black Rickers, who had a tough season after it earned a promotion in 2024.

Winning only three games in the whole season, the team finished in the cellar of Division One and was destined to play against relegation. The series were scheduled for today (doubleheader) and next Satuday, September thirteen.

But with the Black Rickers forfeiting, the club will be demoted automatically. It remains to be seen if the Brussels Kangaroos want to be promoted as the club stepped down from Division One after the 2022 sesaon.

The fact that the Braine Black Rickers forfeited is a sad state of affairs.

[MORE TO FOLLOW]

According to the manager of the team, the main reason is the state of the field. For the 2025 season, the club got permission to play even though the field did not meet the standards of Division One. The club opted for a voluntary demotion to Division Two rather than a forced demotion to Division four next year because of their field.

Another source told the Dutch Baseball Hangout several other reasons: Financially, it was much more expensive to play in Division One than expected. Also the season was much tougher than expected. In fact the team wasn’t quite ready for the level of Division One.

With the Braine Black Rickers accepting the demotion to Division Two, the Brussels Kangaroos have accepted the promotion to Division One. So, barring any further dropouts, the 2026 Division One will look as follows:

Borgerhout Squirrels
Brasschaat Braves
Brussels Kangaroos
Deurne Spartans
Hoboken Pioneers
Merchtem Cats
Mont-Saint-Guibert Phoenix
Namur Angels

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