List of association football leagues without promotion and relegation

The following is a list of association football leagues which do not or did not have a promotion and relegation process.

Leagues within the scope of this list are:

  • Top-tier football leagues with no relegation system
    • In countries without lower-tier leagues (e.g., Philippines)
    • In countries with lower-tier leagues not integrated to the top-tier league; closed model (e.g., United States)
  • Recognized Division II or lower leagues without promotion or relegation.

Excluded are:

  • Any Division II or lower leagues with promotion but without relegation

Leagues

Top tier leagues

League Country Confederation First season Without relegation since
A-League[1] Australia, New Zealand AFC 2005–06 2005
W-League Australia AFC 2008–09 2008
Indian Super League[2] India AFC 2014 2014
J1 League[3] Japan AFC 1993 2020
Philippine Football League Philippines AFC 2017 2017
PFF Women's League Philippines AFC 2016–17 2016–17
Canadian Premier LeagueCanadaCONCACAF20192019
Major League Soccer[4] United States, Canada CONCACAF 1996 1996
National Women's Soccer League United States CONCACAF 2013 2013
New Zealand Football Championship[5] New Zealand OFC 2004 2004
Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio San Marino UEFA 1985–86 1985
Gibraltar National League Gibraltar UEFA 2019–20 2019

Lower division leagues

League Division Country Confederation First season Without
promotion since
Next highest league Relegation to
National Premier Leagues 2 AustraliaAFC2005–062005A-LeagueVarious (State-level leagues)
USL Championship[lower-alpha 1] 2 United States[lower-alpha 2]CONCACAF2017[lower-alpha 3]2017Major League SoccerNone
USL League One 3  United States
 Canada
CONCACAF 2019 2019 USL Championship None
  1. Established in 2011 as USL Pro; rebranded as United Soccer League (USL) in 2015 and the USL Championship in 2019.
  2. The USL Championship featured teams from Canada as late as 2019, but all teams that played in the most recent 2020 season are US-based, and no Canadian team is expected to play in the 2021 season.
  3. First season as second-level league.

Top tier leagues

League Country Confederation First season Last season Years without
relegation
Relegation to
National Soccer League AustraliaOFC19772003–041977–2004None (underperforming clubs were de facto relegated to the state leagues but there was no set criterion for relegation)
Philippine Premier League PhilippinesAFC201920192019None
United Football League PhilippinesAFC201020162016[6]United Football League Division 2
(2010–2015)
North American Soccer League (1968–84) United States
 Canada
CONCACAF196819841968–1984None
Women's Professional Soccer United StatesCONCACAF200920112009–2011None
Women's United Soccer Association United StatesCONCACAF200120032001–2003None

Lower division leagues

League Division Country Confederation First season Last season Years without
promotion
Next highest league
North American Soccer League 2 United States
 Puerto Rico
CONCACAF201120172011–2017Major League Soccer
USSF Division 2 Professional League 2 United States
 Canada
 Puerto Rico
CONCACAF20102010Major League Soccer
USL Pro / United Soccer League[lower-alpha 1] 3  United States
 Canada
CONCACAF 2011 2016[lower-alpha 2] 2011–2016 North American Soccer League
  1. The USL organization dropped "Pro" from the league branding in advance of the 2015 season.
  2. Last season as third-level league. In 2017, the USL was granted second-division status alongside the NASL; it became the sole second-level league in 2018 and was renamed the USL Championship in 2019.

References

  1. Thomas, Josh (29 March 2018). "Neil Kilkenny calls for promotion and relegation in the A-League". Goal. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  2. Sarkar, Dhiman (5 April 2018). "Indian clubs face ban if single football league not started from 2019-20: Fifa-backed report". The Hindustan Times. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  3. Orlowitz, Dan (19 March 2020). "J. League to skip relegation as schedule threatened by coronavirus". Japan Times. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  4. Pitt-Brooke, Jack (3 March 2018). "MLS stands alone as a closed shop in the world of football. Meet the two men trying to change that". The Independent. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  5. http://www.nzfootball.co.nz/asset/downloadasset?id=d8ec9b94-cc80-43cf-99a7-b3ef49c6780b
  6. Guerrero, Bob (13 January 2016). "What to expect in Philippine football in 2016". Rappler. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
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