In the sports leagues — especially soccer leagues — of many countries, relegation (or demotion) means the mandated transfer of the worst team(s) (often the bottom three) of a higher league into a lower league at the end of the season. An equal number of best team(s) from the lower league enjoy the opposite procedure, promotion. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The striker (wearing red jersey) has run past the defender (in white jersey) and is about to take a shot at the goal, while the goalkeeper positions himself to stop the ball. ...

A notable exception to this system is sport in the United States, where teams are not relegated. Compared to the American method, this has the effect of regularly rearranging the leagues according to the teams' playing strength, and also prevents the games of the not-so-good teams of each league from becoming boring towards the end of the season.

One argument in favour of the North American system is that the embarassment in coming last is often enough to cause bottom teams to play hard at the end of the season. Another is that teams in lower grades often struggle financially, so relegation can potentially mean severe hardship or even bankruptcy for demoted clubs. Relegation can be a heart-wringing melodrama for the fans, but just avoiding it can also be a source of pure bliss and continuing legends, sometimes even more so than winning the title. World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Bankruptcy - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Poster for The Perils of Pauline (1914). ... For an alternate meaning, see Fan (implement). ... A legend (Latin, legenda, things to be read) is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. ...

The following are the promotion and relegation rules for the English Premier League and Football League, to serve as an example: Premier League The FA Premier League (which, for sponsorship reasons, is often referred to as the Barclays Premiership in the UK and the Barclays English Premier League internationally) comprises the top 20 football clubs in the league system of English football. ... The Football League is an organisation representing 72 professional football clubs in England and Wales, and runs the oldest professional football league competition in the world. ...

1. English Premier League (level 1): Bottom three teams relegated.
2. Football League Championship (level 2): Top two automatically promoted; next four teams play off, with the winner gaining the third promotion spot. Bottom three relegated.
3. Football League One (level 3): Top two automatically promoted; next four teams play off, with the winner gaining the third promotion spot. Bottom four relegated.
4. Football League Two (level 4): Top three automatically promoted; next four teams play off, with the winner gaining the fourth promotion spot. Bottom two relegated.
5. Conference National (level 5): Top team promoted, subject to stadium being of required standard; next four teams play off, with the winner gaining the second promotion spot (again with the same stadium requirement). If stadia are not of the required quality, teams from League Two are not relegated. Note that Conference National is not part of The Football League, but is instead the top level of the National League System, a comprehensive system of lower-level leagues which itself has promotion and relegation between its levels.

Recently, the United Soccer Leagues of North America (with teams from across the United States and Canada) discussed a possible relegation system, and implemented two leagues, the USL division one and two. The Football League Championship (often referred to as The Championship for short or the Coca-Cola Football League Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system. ... Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Coca-Cola Football League 1 for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system. ... Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Coca-Cola Football League 2 for sponsorship reasons) is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system. ... Conference National (often referred to as the Nationwide Conference for sponsorship reasons) is the top division of the Football Conference. ... The National League System, otherwise known as the football pyramid, is a comprehensive league structure for football clubs in England playing below the level of the FA Premier League and The Football League. ... The United Soccer Leagues (USL) is directly affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA). ...