The Botswana Division One, also known as the Second Division, is Botswana's third tier of professional football. Although it is the poorest in terms of organisation and remuneration, it consists of more teams than the Premier League and First Division.
Division One is split into 17 regional leagues consisting of 6 to 17 teams to ease fixture congestion and reduce financial strain on economically struggling clubs, . [1] A localised football association runs each of these regional leagues under the overall management of the BFA and follows the Botswana football calendar from August to May. At the end of each campaign, the 17 regional champions qualify for and contest the Botswana Division One playoffs. The winners of each block are then promoted to either the First Division North or South depending on their geographical location (the north and east blocks feed the First Division North, whereas the south and west blocks feed the First Division South). [2] Prior to this, the four block winners had to compete in a secondary playoff, which saw the number of promoted teams reduced to just two. However, that format was abandoned in 2015 after mass complaints by teams. [3]
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament.
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The Botswana Division One playoffs are a series of annual association football matches played to determine the teams which get promoted to the Botswana First Division North and South. It involves the seventeen regional champions. These teams meet in a series of playoffs and block winners are promoted to either the First Division North or South depending on their geographical location. The playoffs were introduced in 1966 and have been played at the end of every season since. Eleven Angels, Palapye All-Stars, Blue Stars and Jwaneng Fighters are the current champions.