by Matthew Adams

Created on: February 05, 2009   Last Updated: December 01, 2009

League structures vary from league to league. As such, there is not necessarily identical promotion and relegation rules but they can be similar. Most top leagues of Europe are similar in size and have a few going down and up. English football is a good example to look at.

Overall, there are 4 professional leagues in English soccer. 92 teams in total compete in these, with the Premier-league being the top division and then the Championship, leagues one and two . However, European football can be considered the highest tier, with the Champions League and to a lesser extent Europa League.

The best club sides in Europe gain qualification to European soccer, either via the top few slots in their league or via cups. With the Premiership, the top 4 finishing teams qualify for the 32 team Champions League, while 4 others make the Europa League. There is no relegation as such from Europe, as they are not really leagues.

The Premiership itself is a 20 team league, which is actually quite large. As stated, European qualification can be considered the closest to promotion from all Europe's top leagues, while in the Premiership there is a three team relegation zone. The bottom 3 finishing teams, with the least points, are automatically relegated to division one.

The Championship is actually a larger 24 team league. While it only has 3 promotion slots available, there is a chance of promotion for six teams. The top two finishers go up automatically, while a 4 team play-off decides the 3rd team. There are two semi-finals and then a final play-off game to decide. This makes promotion a little more open. The league has a 3 team relegation zone, which is also automatic.

There are two other 24 team leagues. The first has the same structure as the Championship while the second is also similar but for the 2 team relegation zone. English professional soccer ends here.

What more can be said of promotion and relegation rules of English soccer? Well, it is worth noting that the fourth place finisher in the Premier League have to play-off for a Champions League spot. Aside from this, if the points are level for promotion or relegation, then goal difference comes into play which takes goals conceded from goal scored. The team with the best goal difference is placed ahead of the team with the lower goal difference.

It should be noted that some non-English leagues also have relegation play-offs. Here, these can either be between the lower placed teams in the division, or alternatively be between a high place finishing team of a lower league against a low placed team in the league above.

Overall, that is the promotion and relegation structure in English professional soccer. Each season, the leagues are contested with teams playing to win the league, or promotion, or at least to steer clear of the league's relegation zone.

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