The Football League

The Football League (often referred to as the Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons) is a league competition for English football (soccer) clubs (though a few Welsh clubs also take part) containing three divisions (the Football League Championship, Football League One and Football League Two) that occupy the second, third and fourth levels of the English football league system (below the FA Premier League, but above the Football Conference). In addition to the main competition, the League also organises two knockout cup competitions, the Football League Cup and the Football League Trophy.

League competition

The Football League's 72 member clubs are grouped into three divisions: the Football League Championship, Football League One, and Football League Two. Each division has 24 clubs, and in any given season a club plays each of the others in the same division twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents. This makes for a total of 46 games played each season.

Related Topics:
Football League Championship - Football League One - Football League Two

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Clubs gain three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. At the end of the season, clubs at the top of their division may win promotion to the next higher division, while those at the bottom may be relegated to the next lower one. At the top end of the competition, three Championship clubs win promotion from The Football League to the FA Premier League, with the bottom three Premier League clubs taking their places. At the lower end, two League Two clubs lose their Football League status with relegation to the Conference National division of the Football Conference, while two teams from Conference National join League Two of The Football League in their stead.

Related Topics:
Conference National - Football Conference

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Division

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Promoted

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Relegated

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?Directly Up?

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Via Playoff

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The Championship

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Top 2 clubs

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One from 3rd-6thplace finishers

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Bottom 3 clubs

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League One

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Top 2 clubs

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One from 3rd-6thplace finishers

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Bottom 4 clubs

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League Two

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Top 3 clubs

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One from 4th-7thplace finishers

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Bottom 2 clubs

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Promotion and relegation are determined by final league position, but to sustain interest for more clubs over the length of the season one promotion place from each division is decided according to a playoff between four clubs, which takes place at the end of the season. It is therefore possible for a team finishing sixth in the Championship or League One, or seventh in League Two, to be promoted rather than the clubs finishing immediately above them in the standings.

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Three professional football clubs from Wales, Cardiff City, Wrexham, and Swansea City, play in The Football League. This disqualifies them from participation in the League of Wales and the Welsh Cup, and so also deprives them of the chance to qualify for UEFA competitions by this route. One English club, Berwick Rangers, plays in the Scottish football league system.

Related Topics:
Cardiff City - Wrexham - Swansea City - League of Wales - Welsh Cup - UEFA - Berwick Rangers - Scottish football league system

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Reserve teams of Football League clubs usually play in the Pontin's Holidays League (for the Midlands and North) or the Pontin's Holidays Combination (for the South), though some play in the national FA Premier Reserve League.

Related Topics:
Pontin's Holidays League - Pontin's Holidays Combination - FA Premier Reserve League

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