Lisander Football League System
The Lisander football league system, also known as the Lisander football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in Lisander. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the theoretical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system. As of 2022.1 Premiership Season, there are 140 clubs competing in the five tiers of the Lisanderian league pyramid.
About the system
The system consists of a pyramid of leagues, bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. A certain number of the most successful clubs in each league can rise to a higher league, whilst those that finish the season at the bottom of their league can find themselves sinking down a level. In addition to sporting performance, promotion for the Liga Nacional is usually contingent on meeting some criteria concerning appropriate facilities and finances:
In theory, it is possible for a lowly local amateur club to achieve annual promotions and within a few years rise to the pinnacle of the system and become champions of the Premiership. While this may be unlikely in practice (at the very least, in the short run, due to clear difference between the best clubs in Premiership and the remaining clubs in the ladder), there certainly is significant movement within the pyramid, especially in lower levels
The top four levels contain one division each and are nationwide in scope. The fourth is semi-professional and organized by the Lisander Football Federation, as well as the fifth division immediately below, which consists of four regional championships, where teams are divided geographically. The fourth and fifth divisions are the only tiers organized by the FLF. Leagues not organized by FLF do exist but are not recognised, and clubs from these leagues may, if they feel they meet the appropriate standard of play and have suitable facilities, apply to join the Regional Championships and by extension, the main league system.
Structure
At the top is the Premiership (Level 1, which is often referred to as the "top-flight"), containing 20 clubs in the 2022.1 season. Below the Premiership are the Liga Nacional 1 (Level 2) and Liga Nacional 2 (Level 3), with 16 and 18 teams respectively. Ideally, the three levels should contain 18 teams each, and year by year, the number of clubs is being redistributed among the leagues. These three leagues are fully professional and organized by Premiership SRL.
The top tier of full-professional football is Divisão de Honra, a single national division of 18 clubs (Level 4), and is the lowest level with a single nationwide league. This division is contested by 18 teams, including up to 4 relegated teams from Liga Nacional 2 and 4 promoted teams from Regional Championships. As such, it is a semi-professional competition, although clubs relegated from Liga Nacional 2 may retain professional status. Level 5 is made up of the regional championships, four leagues catering to semi-professional and amateur clubs from each state.
Promotion and relegation rules
- Premiership (level 1, 18 teams): The bottom three teams are relegated.
- Liga Nacional 1 (level 2, 18 teams): Top three are automatically promoted. The bottom three teams are relegated. (2022.1: Only the champion will be promoted)
- Liga Nacional 2 (level 3, 18 teams): Top three are automatically promoted. The bottom four teams can be relegated.
- Divisão de Honra (level 4, 16 teams): Top four teams can be promoted.
- Campeonato Nacional, Regional Divisions (level 5, variable size): The champions of each league are automatically promoted.
Entering the professional system
The Process of moving from Divisão de Honra to Liga Nacional 2 follows a certain order. Relegation and Promotion are not defined only by sporting merit. Other factors, like financial fair-play and team management, are considered.
Initially, Premiership SRL reviews cases of possible license withdrawals for non-sporting criteria. If any team is not fit to continue in the competition, regardless of their performance on the pitch, they are moved to the bottom position in the table through a points deduction. After all pending cases are reviewed, the four worst-performing teams wait for four promoted teams from the Honours Division to take their licences.
In the second instance, Premiership SRL and FLF offer the four licenses to the top four teams in the Divisão de Honra, who may or may not accept or be accepted. The following criteria are required for a team to be accepted into National League 2:
- Host the games in a stadium with a capacity of at least 700 people.
- Have at least one coach and 15 players receiving wages for their play in Lisanderian Lis. Players are allowed to work in other jobs, including for the same team they are contracted with but are not allowed to play in the League without a proper athlete contract. Also, they can't receive payment in goods or services, nor in foreign currency.
- Have a coach accredited by the FLF and a doctor on its permanent staff.
If a team among the top four does not or can not accept, the offer passes to the fifth-placed team and so on until the last-placed team. The final number of promoted teams may vary. If only three teams accept and are accepted, only the bottom three of Liga Nacional 2 are relegated, and so on. If no team accepts or is accepted, there is no relegation. In this specific case, any team whose license is withdrawn by non-sporting criteria is relegated and Premiership SRL can invite a team from any other league, provided they can fulfil the above criteria.
The pyramid
| Level | Division | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Leagues | |||||||
| 1 | The Premiership 18 teams ↓ 3 relegation spots | ||||||
| 2 | Liga Nacional 1 18 teams ↑ 3 promotion spots ↓ 3 relegation spots | ||||||
| 3 | Liga Nacional 2 18 teams ↑ 3 promotion spots ↓ up to 4 relegation spots | ||||||
| Non-Professional Leagues | |||||||
| 4 | Divisão de Honra 18 teams ↑ up to 4 promotion spots ↓ 4 relegation spots | ||||||
| 5 | Campeonato Nacional - Região Norte 20 teams ↑ 1 promotion spot |
Campeonato Nacional - Região Leste 20 teams ↑ 1 promotion spot |
Campeonato Nacional - Região Oeste 16 teams ↑ 1 promotion spot |
Campeonato Nacional - Região Sul 12 teams ↑ 1 promotion spot | |||