The J1 League, known as the Meiji Yasuda J1 League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Japan Professional Football League system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J2 League. Until the 2014 season, it was known as the J League Division 1.
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isle of Man also competing. 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, the Premier League. Below that are levels 2–4 organised by the English Football League, then the National League System from levels 5–10 administered by the FA, and thereafter feeder leagues run by relevant county FAs on an ad hoc basis.
The Italian football league system, also known as the Italian football pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for association football in Italy. It consists of nine national and regional tournaments, the first three being professional, while the remaining six are amateur, set up by the Italian Football Federation. One team from San Marino also competes. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels.
The DDR-Oberliga was the top-level association football league in East Germany.
FK Chmel Blšany was a Czech football club based in the village of Blšany. The club played in the Czech First League between 1998 and 2006 and was the first professional club of goalkeeper Petr Čech. The club disbanded in 2016 after resigning from the 2016-17 regional championship.
Sharjah Football Club is an Emirati professional football club based in Sharjah that competes in the UAE Pro League. Their home stadium is Sharjah Stadium.
The Football League was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as Beta Ethniki and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super League 2 as the new second tier and it was eventually abolished in 2021 when the 2021–22 Super League 2 went from a 12 team to a 36 team league, absorbing most of the clubs from the Football League.
The Japan Football League, also known as simply the JFL is the 4th tier of the Japanese association football league system, positioned beneath the three divisions of the J.League. The league features fully professional teams that hold J.League associate membership among its ranks.
The Israeli football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in Israel. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, and allows even the smallest club to dream of rising to the very top of the system. There are five levels, containing a total of 16 divisions. It is run by the Israel Football Association (IFA).
UAE First Division League is the second tier of football league competition in the United Arab Emirates.
The Romanian football league system, also known as the football pyramid, refers to the system in Romanian club football that consists of several football leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation. The first three leagues are organized at a national level and consist of fully professional teams. Lower divisions are organized at county levels, with each county's football association controlling its respective leagues.
The French rugby league system is a four tiered structure with the major national club competition being the Elite One Championship. Below this is the Elite Two Championship and a number of regional leagues. The teams in each competition can change each year depending on final standings and relegation/promotion.
The Australian soccer league system is the league structure for soccer clubs in Australia. The league system in Australia since 1977 has involved one top divisional league controlled by Football Australia and many leagues run within each state below. The National Soccer League stood from 1977 to 2004 as the top nationwide tier above the current state-based league systems, in 2005, the A-League was established as its successor. The introduction of the National Premier Leagues in 2013 introduced a direct second tier of soccer in Australia, underpinning the A-League. The National Premier Leagues incorporated the existing state leagues as divisions with a nationwide end of season finals series. In 2013, the National Premier Leagues rebranded 5 of the 9 top state leagues, and the remainder – with the exception of the Northern Territory – joined in 2014. There is no promotion and relegation to and from the top-tier A-League, and promotion and relegation at other levels varies between different state systems.
The Shinty league system is a series of interconnected leagues for shinty in Scotland. It is administered by the Camanachd Association.
The J2 League or simply J2 is the second division of the Japan Professional Football League and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasuda Life and it is thus officially known as the Meiji Yasuda J2 League. Until the 2014 season it was named the J.League Division 2.
Hockeyettan is the third tier of ice hockey in Sweden. As of the 2015–16 season, the league consists of 39 teams divided geographically into four groups. Hockeyettan operates a system of promotion and relegation with HockeyAllsvenskan and Division 2.
The UAE Pro League, known for sponsorship reasons as the ADNOC Pro League, is the top professional football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The first team to win the title was Al Orouba (Sharjah), whilst Al Ain has the record with 14 league titles to their name. Fourteen clubs compete in the League that operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the First Division League.
Hampshire 1 is an English level 10 Rugby Union league for teams based in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Up until the 2017–18 season it was known as Hampshire 2 but was changed to Hampshire 1 following the restructuring of the Hampshire leagues, which would see the re-introduction of a third division as well as 2nd and 3rd XV sides joining for the first time. Each year some of the clubs in this division also take part in the RFU Junior Vase - a level 9-12 national competition.
J3 League or simply J3 is the third division of Japan Professional Football League. It was established in 2013 as the third-tier professional association football league in Japan. The league is known as the Meiji Yasuda J3 League for their title sponsor.
UAE Second Division League is the third tier of football league competition in the United Arab Emirates, the league is organised by UAE Football Association for private funded clubs and universities with amateur teams. The league was established in 2019. The league featured 10 teams who played each other twice in its first season however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates, the UAE footballing season was cancelled and declared a void and all results were null. The UAE FA set a strategy to support featuring more privately owned clubs and football academies in the UAE Football Pyramid. Ahead of the 2022–23 season, the UAE FA confirmed that the format of league will remain as 12 teams, with the introduction of the UAE Third Division League with a promotion-relegation system.
