Football Club Promotion/Relegation

[Zzzptm]

OK, so how does this work? In the USA, it's the players that change leagues, not the teams. How does this work when the entire team is moved between leagues, exactly?

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

In England (and I'm guessing the rest of Europe) with football it is the club that moves between leagues taking the players with them. Obviously any good players will probably get a move to a new team!

In the Premiership (top tier of English football) The top 4 go into the Champions League, 1, 2 or3 teams go into the Europa league depending on who won what cups. 3 teams get relegated at the end of the season and they are the teams which got fewest points who go.

In the Championship (2nd tier) 2 teams are promoted and then the next four play-off the remaining slot. Again 3 teams are relegated

In the Championship 1 (3rd tier) 2 teams are promoted and a 3rd is decided by a play-off for the next four teams. However 4 teams are relegated.

In the Championship 2 (4th tier) 3 teams are promoted with a fourth decided through the playoff. 2 teams are relegated in non-league football.

National League (5th Tier) 1 team promoted with a second decided through a play-off.

... and so on.

[Zzzptm]

So this happens every year, then? Doesn't that make for a lot of churn?

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Yes, 3/4 teams promoted and 3/4 teams relegated means nearly a 1/3rd of the league have something to fight for. It gives teams a chance to start out small in the lower leagues and fight their way up to the bigger leagues. Wimbledon did just that in the 70s/80s, they were non-league and in the space of a few years were playing in the top league and winning the FA Cup... they've slumped since but still play in the 3rd tier. But if you keep all the teams each year then teams and their fans don't have anything play for.

[Zzzptm]

I'm thinking where that would be a good thing for the NBA in the USA... many teams will deliberately tank a season in order to get good draft picks, which they then trade off...

[Jack the Stripper]

I'm thinking where that would be a good thing for the NBA in the USA... many teams will deliberately tank a season in order to get good draft picks, which they then trade off...

Dont they have a lottery though? You saying they tank to get more balls in the lottery?

[Zzzptm]

I'm thinking where that would be a good thing for the NBA in the USA... many teams will deliberately tank a season in order to get good draft picks, which they then trade off...

Dont they have a lottery though? You saying they tank to get more balls in the lottery?

Pretty much. It makes the season pretty much useless to watch until after the first few playoff rounds, since the playoffs reach way down at the start.