Sporting leagues are organized in various ways. How they are developed and their structure may have something in common from which region a sport has its roots. The most popular structure developed in Europe uses promotion and relegation to create a hierarchy of a league or specific division. The model that is most popular in North America is favouring so called "franchises" and closed leagues. These systems are most popular in their origins, but are also known worldwide.
1.
To make it easier to understand how a league is being played we will start with the sport of football, and in particular the English Premier League. The Premier League is made up of 20 teams all playing each other, twice (home and away) over a 10-month period: usually Premier League starts in August and ends in May. Each win gives the team three points and each draw one. The goal is for each team is to collect the most points in its 38 matches. In case of the same amount of points there are other criteria such as the best goal difference (goal scored by a team - a goal conceded) or the best attack (which of the 2 or more teams scored most goals). In addition to the first place in the championship standings, places 2-7 give a European ticket to either the Champions League (places 2-4) or the Europa League (places 5-7).
The last place league standings are also of interest in a sports league. In the Premier League, for example, the three teams that will score the fewest points in the course of 38 games are relegated to the next category, the Championship, and the three teams that finished in the top 3 of the Championship take their place. The same pattern continues to apply in all categories and under the Championship. Imagine it as a pyramid, where the top is the Premier League and the base is the English League 2 (4th category of England).
All of these criteria of course vary from country to country and from league to league. For example, in another league, fewer than 3 teams (or more) may be relegated, there can be less spots leading to the Champions League or the Europa League and the eligibility criteria may be quite different (e.g. the total score scored by two teams when they played against each other).
2. Other Leagues
Of course not all the leagues of all leagues have the same way in all sports. There are leagues such as the NBA or Euroleague where teams involved are not at risk of relegation. In the NBA, for example, there are two conferences (East - West) each comprised of at least 15 teams. The first 8 teams in each conference will advance to the post season competition called play offs. Of course in neither of the two conferences will the team finishing in the bottom position be relegated. As mentioned above this system is widely used in America (as in MLS, NFL, NHL etc.). Of course this particular way of conducting applies to other continents as in Europe and in particular to the Euroleague basketball championship.
Sports Leagues
Sporting leagues are organized in various ways. How they are developed and their structure may have something in common from which region a sport has its roots. The most popular structure developed in Europe uses promotion and relegation to create a hierarchy of a league or specific division. The model that is most popular in North America is favouring so called "franchises" and closed leagues. These systems are most popular in their origins, but are also known worldwide.
Contents
1. Football Leagues
To make it easier to understand how a league is being played we will start with the sport of football, and in particular the English Premier League. The Premier League is made up of 20 teams all playing each other, twice (home and away) over a 10-month period: usually Premier League starts in August and ends in May. Each win gives the team three points and each draw one. The goal is for each team is to collect the most points in its 38 matches. In case of the same amount of points there are other criteria such as the best goal difference (goal scored by a team - a goal conceded) or the best attack (which of the 2 or more teams scored most goals). In addition to the first place in the championship standings, places 2-7 give a European ticket to either the Champions League (places 2-4) or the Europa League (places 5-7).
The last place league standings are also of interest in a sports league. In the Premier League, for example, the three teams that will score the fewest points in the course of 38 games are relegated to the next category, the Championship, and the three teams that finished in the top 3 of the Championship take their place. The same pattern continues to apply in all categories and under the Championship. Imagine it as a pyramid, where the top is the Premier League and the base is the English League 2 (4th category of England).
All of these criteria of course vary from country to country and from league to league. For example, in another league, fewer than 3 teams (or more) may be relegated, there can be less spots leading to the Champions League or the Europa League and the eligibility criteria may be quite different (e.g. the total score scored by two teams when they played against each other).
2. Other Leagues
Of course not all the leagues of all leagues have the same way in all sports. There are leagues such as the NBA or Euroleague where teams involved are not at risk of relegation. In the NBA, for example, there are two conferences (East - West) each comprised of at least 15 teams. The first 8 teams in each conference will advance to the post season competition called play offs. Of course in neither of the two conferences will the team finishing in the bottom position be relegated. As mentioned above this system is widely used in America (as in MLS, NFL, NHL etc.). Of course this particular way of conducting applies to other continents as in Europe and in particular to the Euroleague basketball championship.