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In sport a semi-closed league (also referred to as a semi-open league) is a sports league where a group of teams are guaranteed entry into the league every season, while another group of teams have to qualify or stand at risk of relegation following each season. It is considered a hybrid of closed leagues and leagues with promotion and relegation. Semi-closed leagues can lead to a league where its permanent members are richer vis-à-vis the remaining teams in these semi-closed leagues or teams in more local competitions in which permanent members compete. [1]
The following are examples of leagues said to be semi-closed:
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.
The Scottish Junior Football Association, East Region is one of two regions of the SJFA, which currently organises the Midlands League and local cup competitions.
Fussball Club Vaduz is a professional football club from Vaduz, Liechtenstein that plays in the Swiss Challenge League. The club plays at the national Rheinpark Stadion, which has a capacity of 5,873 when all are seated but has additional standing places in the North and South ends of the ground, giving a total stadium capacity of 7,838.
The Rugby Football League Championship, is the second highest division of rugby league in Britain after the Super League.
The Eredivisie is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. As of the 2024–25 season, it is ranked the sixth-best league in Europe by UEFA.
The Hrvatska nogometna liga, abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. It was previously called Prva Hrvatska nogometna liga, but a league structure reorganization from 2022–23 led to name changes for the three top league levels.
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL, currently known as the China Resources C'estbon Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in China, operating under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The league was established in 2004 by the rebranding of the former top division, Chinese Jia-A League.
Association football is the most popular sport in France. In 2024, 53% of people in France declared an interest in football, with 26% being very interested. The French Football Federation is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the country, both professional and amateur. The federation organizes the Coupe de France and is responsible for appointing the management of the men's, women's, and youth national football teams in France. The federation gives responsibility of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 to the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) who oversee, organize, and manage the country's top two leagues. The LFP is also responsible for organizing the Coupe de la Ligue, the country's league cup competition. The French Football Federation also supervises the overseas departments and territories leagues and hosts football club AS Monaco, a club based in the independent sovereign state of Monaco. In 2022, the FFF had 2.1 million licensees, 1.8 million players and 14,000 registered clubs, the second highest number of registered players in Europe after Germany.
The Super League Greece 1, or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The members of the cooperative are the Football Limited Companies (P.A.E.) that have the right to participate in the Super League 1 championship. The president of Super League 1 is Vangelis Marinakis, who has been re-elected for the third time.
The Indonesian football league system is a series of league system for association football clubs in Indonesia. Since 1994, Liga Indonesia is the league competition featuring association football clubs, as a result of two existing top-flight football leagues merger: Perserikatan (amateur) and Galatama. Liga Indonesia is managed by PSSI, the Indonesian national football federation, and operated by PT. Liga Indonesia Baru and its previous iterations.
AEK Larnaca FC is a Cypriot professional football club based in Larnaca. The club was formed in 1994 after a merger of two historical Larnaca clubs, EPA Larnaca and Pezoporikos. The club also has a men's basketball team, a women's volleyball team and a men's futsal team.
The Serbian Super League, stylized as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian professional league for football clubs.
Hatayspor Kulübü, known as Atakaş Hatayspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club located in Antakya, Hatay Province. Hatayspor, founded in 1967 through a merger of three local clubs, aimed to promote sports and positive habits among youth. The team's colors symbolize nobility, purity, and peace. They won their first championship in 1969–70, earning promotion. Over the years, they faced relegations and promotions in lower leagues. They reached the Second League in 1989-90 and 1993, and finally promoted to the Süper Lig in the 2019–20 season.
Henan Football Club, currently known as Henan F.C. Jiuzu Dukang for sponsorship reasons, is a Chinese professional football club based in Zhengzhou, Henan, that competes in the Chinese Super League, the top tier of Chinese football. Henan plays their home matches at the Hanghai Stadium, located within Guancheng Hui District. Their owners are the Jianye Residential Group (China) Co., Ltd., which is part of the Central China Real Estate Limited. Their name referred to Jianye, a former name of the ancient city of Jiankang.
Football is the most popular sport in Turkey, followed by basketball, tracing its roots to the Ottoman Empire. The first matches were played in Ottoman Salonica in 1875. The sport was introduced by English residents. The Turkish football league system comprises five professional leagues, one of which is dedicated to female athletes.
Football is the most popular sport in Romania. The Romanian Football Federation, a member of UEFA, is the sport's national governing body.
The TT Premier Football League 2 is a league for semi-professional association football clubs in Trinidad and Tobago. It is the second-highest division of the Trinidad and Tobago football league system. The league currently comprises 19 teams between 2 leagues and operates on a system of relegation between those leagues. Although the Super League champion of each season can apply for membership in the TT Pro League, the two leagues do not operate on an automatic promotion and relegation system.
The Egyptian Basketball Premier League is the top professional basketball division of the Egyptian basketball league system. Administered by the Egyptian Basketball Federation (EBBFED), it is contested by 16 teams, with the two lowest-placed teams relegated to the Egyptian Basketball Premier League B and replaced by the top two teams in that division.
The 2020–21 UEFA Nations League was the second season of the UEFA Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of UEFA. The competition was held from September to November 2020, October 2021 and March 2022.