Latest news with #promotionRelegation
Al Arabiya
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Women's Super League in England to Expand From 12 to 14 Teams
The top women's soccer league in England is set to expand from 12 to 14 teams for the 2026–27 season. Women's Super League clubs voted Monday for the change that still requires approval from the Football Association board. At the end of the 2025–26 season, the top two teams from the second-tier WSL 2 will be automatically promoted, while the third-placed team will enter a playoff with the last-placed finisher in the top league. In future seasons, there will be one automatic relegation spot from the Women's Super League and one automatic promotion spot. There will also be a playoff between the teams in second-to-last place in the Super League and the runner-up in WSL 2. 'The introduction of a promotion/relegation playoff creates distinction for the women's game and introduces a high-profile, high-stakes match,' said Nikki Doucet, chief executive of WSL Football.
Associated Press
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Women's Super League in England to expand from 12 to 14 teams
LONDON (AP) — The top women's soccer league in England is set to expand from 12 to 14 teams for the 2026-27 season. Women's Super League clubs voted Monday for the change that still requires approval from the Football Association board. At the end of the 2025-26 season, the top two teams from the second tier, WSL 2, will be automatically promoted while the third-placed team will enter a playoff with the last-placed finisher in the top league. In future seasons, there will be one automatic relegation spot from the Women's Super League and one automatic promotion spot. There will also be a playoff between the teams in second-to-last place in the Super League and the runner-up in WSL 2. 'The introduction of a promotion/relegation playoff creates distinction for the women's game and introduces a high-profile, high stakes match,' said Nikki Doucet, chief executive of WSL Football. ___ AP soccer:
CNA
15-05-2025
- Sport
- CNA
English second tier becomes 'Champ Rugby' with promise of easier promotion
LONDON :The second tier of English club rugby is to be relaunched as 'Champ Rugby' with a new promotion and relegation structure and promises of an easier pathway into the Premiership for ambitious clubs previously stymied by exacting demands on ground capacity. Revealed by the RFU on Thursday, the 14-team league for next season will include the 12 current clubs, a re-formed Worcester, who went bust and dropped out of the Premiership 2022, and Richmond, champions of the third tier National League this season. All teams will play each other in home and away fixtures over 26 rounds, leading to playoffs and a final. The champions will then face the Premiership's bottom club in a two-legged playoff, with promotion subject to the Champ club meeting the minimum standards criteria that have caused so much disquiet in recent years. There will also be relegation and playoffs at the bottom end of the table. Ealing Trailfinders and others have routinely been kept out of the top tier by strict rules that demand a phased ground capacity of 10,001, or evidence of plans to be able to introduce such a development, as well as other financial commitments. The clubs have argued that it is unreasonable and unrealistic to expect them to spend huge amounts on plans, let alone development, to reach a capacity they might never need. Simon Gillham, Tier 2 Board Chair, told a media briefing that the way things happened this season (with only one club, Doncaster, ruled suitable for promotion) was "not satisfactory". "It strikes one as a closed shop and protectionism and those are things that we really don't want to see in sport," he said. "We have an oral commitment that we will be revising those minimum standards. There needs to be a runway and a three-year plan and then if you don't meet that plan you have committed to after a year, then you are out.' This new-found appreciation of a pathway to the top – with Exeter's climb through the ranks to be crowned champions always held up as the ultimate example - remains at odds with the thoughts of many Premiership clubs and RFU CEO Bill Sweeney, who said last month that he thought the Premiership should be a closed shop, with new clubs joining only as part of a franchise model. The issue of funding that might enable a promoted club to be competitive also remains far from clear. The RFU's funding of Championship clubs has plummeted from 600,000 pounds ($797,280) per club to 160,000 in recent years. "It is absolutely right that the current gap in funding makes it difficult for someone who goes up to stay up," Gillham said. There will be a "centralised resource dedicated to the championship", while discussions are ongoing with potential sponsors. Conor O'Shea, the RFU's director of performance rugby, said there were "grown up conversations" taking place about funding but said he saw the relaunch as part of a potentially glorious period for English rugby with the Champ playing a hugely important part in the development of young players. 'Our focus is the step change we want to make in the Champ. It's already a great competition, but we want all the standards across the board to grow," he said. New rules will mean 18 players in a matchday squad must be English-qualified, with an allowance of six players per matchday squad dual-registered with a Premiership club. The launch promotion highlighted how several of the new British and Irish Lions squad cut their teeth in the second tier, with Northampton's breakthrough star Henry Pollock playing for Bedford last season. "Henry is the first cab off the rank of three to four generational players," O'Shea said. "Our job is to create the structure for the players to fulfil their talent. This is going to be a very special time if we get it right." ($1 = 0.7526 pounds)
Reuters
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
English second tier becomes 'Champ Rugby' with promise of easier promotion
LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - The second tier of English club rugby is to be relaunched as 'Champ Rugby' with a new promotion and relegation structure and promises of an easier pathway into the Premiership for ambitious clubs previously stymied by exacting demands on ground capacity. Revealed by the RFU on Thursday, the 14-team league for next season will include the 12 current clubs, a re-formed Worcester, who went bust and dropped out of the Premiership 2022, and Richmond, champions of the third tier National League this season. All teams will play each other in home and away fixtures over 26 rounds, leading to playoffs and a final. The champions will then face the Premiership's bottom club in a two-legged playoff, with promotion subject to the Champ club meeting the minimum standards criteria that have caused so much disquiet in recent years. There will also be relegation and playoffs at the bottom end of the table. Ealing Trailfinders and others have routinely been kept out of the top tier by strict rules that demand a phased ground capacity of 10,001, or evidence of plans to be able to introduce such a development, as well as other financial commitments. The clubs have argued that it is unreasonable and unrealistic to expect them to spend huge amounts on plans, let alone development, to reach a capacity they might never need. Simon Gillham, Tier 2 Board Chair, told a media briefing that the way things happened this season (with only one club, Doncaster, ruled suitable for promotion) was "not satisfactory". "It strikes one as a closed shop and protectionism and those are things that we really don't want to see in sport," he said. "We have an oral commitment that we will be revising those minimum standards. There needs to be a runway and a three-year plan and then if you don't meet that plan you have committed to after a year, then you are out.' This new-found appreciation of a pathway to the top – with Exeter's climb through the ranks to be crowned champions always held up as the ultimate example - remains at odds with the thoughts of many Premiership clubs and RFU CEO Bill Sweeney, who said last month that he thought the Premiership should be a closed shop, with new clubs joining only as part of a franchise model. The issue of funding that might enable a promoted club to be competitive also remains far from clear. The RFU's funding of Championship clubs has plummeted from 600,000 pounds ($797,280) per club to 160,000 in recent years. "It is absolutely right that the current gap in funding makes it difficult for someone who goes up to stay up," Gillham said. There will be a "centralised resource dedicated to the championship", while discussions are ongoing with potential sponsors. Conor O'Shea, the RFU's director of performance rugby, said there were "grown up conversations" taking place about funding but said he saw the relaunch as part of a potentially glorious period for English rugby with the Champ playing a hugely important part in the development of young players. 'Our focus is the step change we want to make in the Champ. It's already a great competition, but we want all the standards across the board to grow," he said. New rules will mean 18 players in a matchday squad must be English-qualified, with an allowance of six players per matchday squad dual-registered with a Premiership club. The launch promotion highlighted how several of the new British and Irish Lions squad cut their teeth in the second tier, with Northampton's breakthrough star Henry Pollock playing for Bedford last season. "Henry is the first cab off the rank of three to four generational players," O'Shea said. "Our job is to create the structure for the players to fulfil their talent. This is going to be a very special time if we get it right." ($1 = 0.7526 pounds)
Forbes
08-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Report Showing High Value Of MLS Clubs Hurts The Pro/Rel Cause
Those who want to bring an open league structure to professional soccer in the United States – one that includes promotion and relegation like most other league systems – were dealt a considerable blow on Thursday. According to a new report released from Sports Business publication Sportico, 19 of the 50 most valuable pro soccer' clubs on Earth play in MLS, the most of any league. Granted, with 30 teams, MLS has more total teams than the other leagues involved. And the total value of MLS teams combined still lags considerably behind the English Premier League. (Forbes has yet to release its rankings for 2025; you can click the links to find the 2024 Forbes 10 most valuable soccer teams worldwide and the most valuable MLS teams.) Even so, it's an eye-popping assessment considering the league is still only considered – at best – on the fringe of the top 10 worldwide in terms of on-field quality of play. But value has several components that aren't directly related to competitive quality. And four of them work decidedly in MLS clubs' favor: Of those factors, MLS has most control over No. 1 and No. 3. And there's an argument that avoiding a promotion and relegation format has contributed positively to both. Commissioner Don Garber has continued to insist that any promotion and relegation involving MLS sides is at least a generation away. And part of his justification for keeping the league's current format is the amount of stadium and infrastructure investments owners have made to get the league off the ground in its first 30 years. Now that there appears to be very real playoff for that investment, it gives Garber more leverage to suggest providing safety from relegation for MLS clubs has been the savvy business maneuver. And those valuations of MLS clubs could grow considerably more as a result of the coming 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 FIFA World Cup to be hosted in the United States (as well as Canada and Mexico for the latter). Meanwhile, the report comes months after United Soccer Leagues – which currently operates second-, third- and fourth-tier pro soccer competitions – announced its intention to launch a rival Division One league to compete directly against MLS as a top tier of the pro men's game in the U.S. And its owners also voted to adopt promotion and relegtion across its top three tiers once Division One is launched in 2027 or 2028. But the USL is going to need some new investment to make sure enough clubs meet the USSF's Division I sanctioning standards. And it appears MLS is also willing to consider re-opening expansion possibilities, meaning the USL may need to compete with MLS for those investors to a greater degree than may have been expected when the Division One concept was first announced. If those investors are weighing both options, the current valuation MLS clubs have attained will be quite alluring, even if the cost of entry to MLS is a lot higher. So even if the USL does get its Division One project off the ground that receives the necessary sanctioning from the United States Soccer Federation, it may be left with only those investors with lesser resources who get turned down by MLS. Ultimately, that may lead to a Division One USL project that still appears clearly inferior to MLS, regardless of sanctioning status. And from its adventageous position, it's hard to envision MLS suddenly opting to open its league system when the closed version has been so bountiful for its members. Both those outcomes would be a major setback for those who want to see promotion and relegation at the top level of the American game.
