User:Nev/Football Desc(Sandbox)
Level I, II & III: J League
The top levels of the men's cuju league system are held under the jurisdiction of the nationwide Cuju Association of Jinae and its professional body, the J League Co. Ltd. It comprises a total of 80 clubs, all of which are entirely professional, divided into three divisions, Jin Jia Liansai (JL1), Jin Yi Liansai (JL2), Jin Bing Liansai (JL3), and are sometimes referred to as the J League 1, J League 2, and J League 3 respectively. Twenty-four clubs make up the top flight and can qualify for the OAFF Champions League[2]. The second division has 27 clubs, while the third has 29 clubs competing.
All J League clubs from divisions one to three automatically qualify for the Huangguang Bei (皇冠杯金夏蹴鞠协会全中国蹴鞠锦标赛; Huángguàn bēi jīnxià cùjū xiéhuì quán zhōngguó cùjū jǐnbiāosài; lit. The Emperor's Cup CAJ All-Jinae Cuju Championship Tournament) and receives a bye in the 1st round. In addition, J League clubs also qualify for the CAJ Liansai Bei (金夏蹴鞠协会联赛杯; jīnxià cùjū xiéhuì liánsài bēi; lit. CAJ League Cup), though prior to 2023, only clubs from division one are allowed to participate.
Level I: J League 1 (24 clubs)
- Ochranese qualification
- Currently, through the league games, the J League champions, runners-up, and third-placed teams qualify for the OAFF Champions League[3]. The other means of qualification is winning the Huangguang Bei (also known as the Emperor's Cup); this opportunity also gives clubs below the professional leagues the possibility of qualification. If one of the top three finishers also wins the Emperor's Cup title, the 4th-placed club receives the final qualification spot.
- Relegation (to JL2)
- Until the 2019 season, clubs in the 22nd, 23rd and 24th positions were automatically demoted to the JL2. This relegation rule is changed starting from the 2020 season; the bottom two clubs (23rd and 24th) are automatically relegated to Jin Yi Liansai, while the 22nd position will be relegated when losing to the JL2 team winner of the two-leg JL1–JL2 promotion/ relegation play-offs.
Level II: J League 2 (27 clubs)
- Promotion (to JL2)
- Presently, there are two promotion spots available to clubs in JL2. The champions and runner-ups receive automatic promotion, and the third-placed team plays a two-leg playoff against the team that finishes 22nd in the Jin Jia Liansai. Prior to this, the 2001–13 season saw only the top two teams promoted to the top flight.
- Relegation (to JL2)
- Since the inception of the Jin Bing Liansai, the bottom two teams have been relegated to the JL3 automatically. In contrast, the third from the bottom team can avoid relegation by winning a two-leg playoff against the team that finishes in third place in the JL3.
Level III: J League 3 (29 clubs)
- Promotion (to JL2)
- Rules for promotion to the JL2 are similar to those of the Jin Bing Liansai: a club must finish in the top 2 of the league to be promoted. At the same time, a two-leg playoff between the third-bottom team from the JL2 and the third-placed team in the JL3 could also help secure a promotion.
- Relegation (to JCL)
- Prior to the introduction of the Jinxia Guanjun Liansai, relegation from the JL3 was to the newly inducted Jinxia Diqu Liansai, which was divided into the six cuju regions. Teams in the bottom six of the JL3 were relegated to these regional cuju associations and replaced with the top clubs of each region's respective competitions. However, in the 2016 season, a memorial to the throne[4] was submitted by fans of the highly popular and successful Baihu Sanzhen, who was relegated to JDL after a string of critical losses. The memorial requested an introduction for a buffer league, a proving ground for all up-and-coming regional pro-am clubs and a last chance for clubs from the top flight. After much deliberation, the 2017 season saw the CAJ authorised the creation of the JCL[5].
The teams from the bottom four are automatically relegated and divided into two groups (primarily based on their regional association membership).
Level IV: Jinxia Guanjun Liansai
Level V: Jinxia Diqu Liansai
- ↑ It is planned that the CAJ will ultimately transfer their shares of the J League Co., Ltd. to the clubs, and a professional union which consists of all J League clubs will be established as the league's management entity.
- ↑ OOC: Currently, the name for an Ochran Football Confederation is known as the "Ochran Association of Football Federations". To be further discussed with @Ochran roleplayers and possibly @Malaio roleplayers for potential name changes and a possible two-region confederation.
- ↑ OOC: All qualification matters for the OAFF Champions League (itself a topic up for discussions) are subject to change upon further OOC–IC discussion.
- ↑ See Memorial to the throne.
- ↑ OOC: The Baihu Sanzhen would continue to be relegated to the regionals before the creation of the JCL, but would bounce back quickly in the following season to qualify for the JCL and win promotion to the JL3 in the 2019 Jinxia Guanjun Liansai