In tournaments, we see teams get knocked out after losing, but in soccer leagues—especially those outside of the USA and Canada—teams are demoted to lower leagues.
This demotion is termed “RELEGATION”.
Relegation happens when teams finish in the bottom three of the league at the end of the regular season. It is essential for league organization.
Let’s examine how relegation works, its relationship with promotion, its impact on soccer, how to survive it, and famous relegations in soccer history. Trust me, it is a bumper package with many things to learn.
What Is Relegation In Soccer?
Relegation simply means assignment or banishment to an inferior position, place, rank, or condition – and is also a part of soccer.
It is a system that has been in circulation since 1898.
When teams finish in the bottom three of the league standings at the end of a regular soccer season, they drop down to a lower division – in essence, they get relegated.
This particular system is seen across many top-flight leagues worldwide except the MLS where a different soccer model is played.
How Does Relegation In Soccer Work?
Now you know what relegation is in soccer.
So the question is, “How does it work?”.
Teams are grouped into tiers or divisions in countries and leagues where they practice this system. At the end of each season, teams get ranked based on their points on the log.
The teams with the lowest number of points get transferred to a lower division for the next season, where they have to fight to return to their former division.
In some leagues, three teams go down. In others, two teams go down, and in others, four teams go down. Some leagues involve a low-ranking team in a playoff for their safety.
The deployment of this system depends on the way a league is structured.
What Is Promotion In Soccer?
Relegation and promotion work together. The former affects the teams in the higher division, while the latter affects the teams in the lower division trying to climb the ladder.
When relegation happens, it opens up a space in a league division. The top teams in the lower division get promoted to fill those empty slots.
Here’s an example of how it works:
In England, three teams are relegated every season from the Premier League, the first division, to the second division, called the EFL Championship.
The top two teams from the Championship then move up to fill the empty slots. Then the teams that finished in 3rd to 6th place enter a playoff whose winner fills the third empty slot in the Premier League.
Why Does Promotion And Relegation Happen In Soccer?
Promotion and relegation are systems designed to maintain competitive integrity, ensure merit-based progression, and keep soccer leagues dynamic.
In a league without relegation, it is easy for teams to abandon a season and play badly without serious consequences when they see they can’t win.
Relegation and promotion make sure that all teams in a league system have something significant to play for throughout the season.
While champions emerge, runner-ups too, and other teams at the bottom fight to avoid relegation; teams at the top in the second division compete for promotion, making every match meaningful.
The system also rewards consistency. A league season is a marathon in which teams need to be consistent.
A lack of consistency earns a team relegation to a higher division, while consistency earns a team promotion to a lower division. It’s all about merit-based rewards.
The Impact Of Promotion And Relegation In Soccer
This system doesn’t just affect whether teams stay up or go down. The biggest impact is the hit the team’s finances take when relegated and the boost they receive when promoted.
Promoted teams typically experience a major boost in revenue from television rights, sponsorship deals, and matchday earnings due to the higher visibility and prestige of the top leagues. Relegated ones lose all these perks.
For players, the opportunity to play in front of a bigger crowd is a major driving force. Promotion comes with this opportunity while relegation takes it away from them. You can take a correct guess on how this affects their brands.
However, players who suffer relegation with their teams but impress in the course of a season can still secure moves to teams in higher divisions, which affects the relegated teams Talented players prefer to continue playing in higher divisions.
An underrated impact of this system is the boost and the drop in fan pride and community support.
Teams that get relegated have to deal with disappointed fans for long stretches of the season. Teams that get promoted enjoy the loudest support as they push to stay in the top divisions.
How To Survive Relegation In Soccer
No team plans to get relegated, but different circumstances can lead to relegation, some of which can be beyond a team’s control.
Losing key players to injuries or bigger teams, poor refereeing decisions that cost the teams points, and incredibly tough competition are some of the factors that lead to relegation.
Therefore, let’s look at some of the steps that can help a team avoid relegation in soccer.
Financial management: A calculated decision must be made in terms of spending if a team wants to beat the drop. Clubs must also implement cost-saving strategies across the club, including operational expenses and staff salaries.
Squad management: Clubs must aim to keep the talented players who can help the club stay up. In addition, youth team players should be given opportunities to reduce spending on transfers.
Strategic planning and managerial stability: Clubs who intend to stay up must be objective in their plan, while also backing their managers to get the job done on the pitch.
Long-term sustainability: Ensure the club operates within its means to avoid financial distress. Sustainable financial practices are crucial for long-term stability.
Famous Soccer Relegations And Promotions
Here are some of the famous promotions and relegations in soccer history.
FC Kaiserslautern
This particular story is notable and dramatic. FC. Kaiserslautern is a prominent team in German football, and they did something spectacular.
The Red Devils were Bundesliga regulars until relegation in 1997, but they bounced back to famously win the Bundesliga in 1998 as a newly promoted team, a feat that has never been repeated to date.
Leicester City
Leicester City’s story in the Premier League is an incredible one. Following their promotion to the top flight in the 2014–15 season, the team struggled and spent most of their time at the bottom of the league table with only 19 points from 29 matches.
However, they won seven games from their final nine league matches to finish the season in 14th place with 41 points. Leicester’s upturn in results remains one of the greatest escapes in Premier League history.
In the following campaign, led by Claudio Ranieri, they won the Premier League against all odds. Another achievement that could remain unmatched for decades.
Deportivo de La Coruña
Deportivo were quite popular in La Liga and across Europe at the start of the century, but they have suffered multiple relegations, they have not found their way back to the top flight since then.
In 2020, two decades after their championship title, Os brancoazuis were relegated from the second division, finding themselves in the third tier for the first time since the 1980/81 season, but they are back in the second division now after so many near misses.
Final thoughts
We have been able to x-ray relegation and promotion as a topic in soccer. We have also seen real-life examples, the impact on clubs, and many more. It is an important aspect of the sport that rewards consistency and solid performances of clubs on the pitch.
