The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and the highest professional level of American football in the world. Each NFL season begins annually with a three-week preseason in August, followed by the 18-week regular season, which runs from early September to early January, with each team playing 17 games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, seven teams from each conference, including four division winners and three wild card teams, advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament, which culminates in the Super Bowl, played in early February between the winners of the AFC and NFC championship games.
The J1 League, a.k.a. the J.League or 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 professional club football history. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J2 League. It was known as the J.League from 1993 to 1998 before becoming a two-division league, and as J.League Division 1 from 1999 to 2014.
Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a League system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes called open leagues. In a system of promotion and relegation, the best-ranked team(s) in a lower division are promoted to a higher division for the next season, and the worst-ranked team(s) in the higher division are relegated to the lower division for the next season. During the season, teams that are high enough in the league table that they would qualify for promotion are sometimes said to be in the promotion zone, and those at the bottom are in the relegation zone.
The TT Premier Football League is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad and Tobago football league system. Contested by ten clubs, the league is one of the world's few football leagues that does not operate on an automatic system of promotion and relegation. Seasons run from September to May, with teams playing 18 games each totaling 90 games in the season. Most games are played in the evenings of Fridays and Saturdays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. TT Premier Football League clubs also play in other competitions, such as the FA Trophy, League Cup, TOYOTA Classic, Goal Shield, and Pro Bowl against domestic clubs from other divisions; and against clubs from other countries in the CONCACAF Caribbean Cup and the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
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 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.
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 Japan Professional Football League, commonly a.k.a. shortened to the J.League, and officially known as the Meiji Yasuda J.League for sponsorship with Meiji Yasuda Life, is the men's association football league in Japan. It is responsible for organizing Japan's major professional football tournaments, including the J1, J2 and J3 leagues. Established in 1993 as Asia's first professional football league, it has been one of the most successful leagues in Asia. Originally founded as a single division, in 1999, the second division J2 League was established, followed by the third division J3 League in 2013.
Association football is the most popular sport in Denmark, with 331,693 players and 1,647 clubs registered under the Danish FA. The game was introduced into Denmark by British sailors. Kjøbenhavns Boldklub is the oldest club outside of the United Kingdom, having been founded on 26 April 1876.
The Malaysia Premier League was the second-tier professional football league in Malaysia. It replaced the Liga Perdana 2 in the Malaysian football league system.
Soccer, also known as football, is the most played outdoor club sport in Australia, and ranked in the top ten for television audience as of 2015. The national governing body of the sport is Football Australia (FA), which until 2019, organised the A-League Men, A-League Women, and still organises the Australia Cup, as well as the men's and women's national teams, while foreign leagues such as the Premier League, the Championship and the Women's Super League also being popular. The FA comprises nine state and territory member federations, which oversee the sport within their respective region.
The Greek Basketball League (abbreviated as GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the Hellenic Basketball Association (abbreviated as HEBA; Greek: ΕΣΑΚΕ), under the legal authority of the Hellenic Basketball Federation (abbreviated as HBF; Greek: Ε.Ο.Κ.). Over the years, the league has previously been known by several different names, which have included: the Panhellenic Basketball Championship or Greek Basketball Championship, the Panhellenic Basketball First Category Championship (1st) (A) or Greek Basketball First Category Championship (1st) (A), the Greek Alpha National Basketball Category Championship (A), the Greek Alpha1 National Basketball Category Championship (A1), the HEBA Alpha1 (A1), and most recently, the Greek Basket League. The league's current official main sponsor is Stoiximan.
The Qatar Stars League, known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Qatari Second Division (QSD). The QSL season usually runs from September to April. The league's first season was played in 1963, although the first official season occurred in 1972. The league currently features 12 clubs, with one club being demoted to make room for one club being promoted.
The National Football Jia A League, commonly known as Jia-A, was the highest tier of professional football in the People's Republic of China, during 1994 through 2003, operating under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association.
Association football is the most popular sport in Hong Kong, followed by rugby union. The Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA) is the governing body for football in Hong Kong.
The United Football League, commonly known as the UFL, was an association football league, replaced by the Philippines Football League, based in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, governed by the Football Alliance (FA) in partnership with United Football Clubs Association (UFCA). The UFL was the Philippines' primary football league. In its last season in 2016, it was contested by 12 clubs and operated without a system of promotion and relegation with UFL Division 2, which was discontinued. Games were often scheduled on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. To avoid the country's rainy season, the league usually kicked off sometime between the months of January and February each year.
The Goa Football League is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of Goa, organised by the Goa Football Association as part of the state leagues. It was formed in 1951 as the Goa Primeira Divisão or Goa First Division, and the current top division consists of the Goa Professional League which is the premier state-level football league in Goa. Dempo is the most successful club in the tournament, with sixtteen titles.
K League (Korean: K리그) is South Korea's professional football league. It includes the first division K League 1 and the second division K League 2. Clubs competing in the K League have won a record total of twelve AFC Champions League titles, the top continental competition for Asian clubs.
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 under the organization of J.League. The league is known as the Meiji Yasuda J3 League for sponsorship reasons.
The Women's Super League (WSL), known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features twelve fully professional teams. The league replaced the FA Women's Premier League National Division as the highest level of women's football in England, with eight teams competing in the inaugural 2011 season. In the WSL's first two seasons, there was no relegation from the division.
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