I understand about the top four teams in the series have a shot at promotion. Checking out the series leaders in vi, I noticed that 6 of the 8 teams listed are fairly weak (but have 19 pts) due to be being in very weak leagues. So how does promotion work? Which teams get promoted? How many get promoted per season?
Only the number one team in each series has a chance at promoting. The #1 team based on points/GD will replace the worst #7 team from the series above. The 2nd best #1 will replace the next worst. Once all the #7 and 8s are replaced the remaining #1s will play a qualifier against the 5 and 6 teams.
The best 50% of the first place teams will promote up automatically, no qualifier match. 2nd, 3rd & 4th stay in the same division without having to play a qualifier match. 5th & 6th have to play a qualifier match against one of the first place teams from the division below them... one of the 50% that don't autopromote. 7th & 8th automatically demote. (They switch places with one of the teams that autopromoted.)
Unless of course the 7th and 8th place teams are in the lowest league (in the US, D.VI), in which case they stay where they are.
It's backwards from that. The best autopromoting team based on pts and GD replaces the best autodemoting team. I'm not exactly clear on the thought process behind that, but it is what it is.
Really? Thanks for clarifying. All this time i thought it was the other way around. And like you, not sure I understand the thought process behind it.
It might not be a thought process, it could just be a coding thing. Maybe? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
All I know is that it's better then the system they used to have. When I first started back in 2001 the best autopromoting team went directly to the first series in the division above him (2nd best to the 2nd series, 3rd best to the 3rd series, etc). Since I was placed in III.1 when I started, I had to sit idly by while each season the toughest team from D4 would be promoted into my league and beat the tar out of everybody. Meanwhile those clubs lucky enough to start off in or promote to, say, III.8 would have a cakewalk by comparison. Maybe Dan Loney (California Sea Lions) can elaborate a bit on that since he shot up to D2 awful quickly when he first started. At one point III.1 was the toughest series in the entire USA (the ML still had bot teams in it). We were all glad when the HT Gods changed the system a bit to make it more random. Panther City FC II.3 - USA