With the Indian Super League receiving the country’s top-tier status, Indian football is currently facing a vague future. In this article, we are going to talk about countries with similar structures.
With the Indian Super League set to receive the AFC Champions League slot, the country’s top football federation has put itself within endless controversy. In AIFF’s ongoing battle with I-League outfits, the main issue which president Praful Patel hasn’t been able to defend is the absence of a promotion-relegation system in the country’s top-tier championship. Although, the FIFA Council member has stated that everything will be back to normal in two-three years.
India is not the first country to follow such a system. Other nations like the United States have implemented a similar structure in the past. In this article, we are going to talk about some of the countries with closed top-tier football leagues:
7. Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio | San Marino (FIFA Ranking: 211)
The lowest-ranked FIFA nation, San Marino holds the record of having won only one match in their international history. Considered by many to be the worst footballing country, the country’s top-tier championship, Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio is an amateur league without any promotion-relegation system. It is structured into two divisions called Girone, from which the top three teams enter a playoff tournament to decide the championship winners. It is also ranked last among European leagues, according to UEFA’s league coefficient.
6. Philippines Football League | Philippines (FIFA Ranking: 126)
Kicked-off in 2017, the Philippines Football League is a professional association league, recognised by the Philippine Football Federation as the highest level of men’s football in the country. Structured like a franchise-based system, the PFL has had a shaky start in the Filipino nation due to financial and logistical issues. It had shut down after its 2018 season, but revived in mid-May 2019.
The organisers have faced constant broadcast issues, relying on live streaming. Amidst its issues, the league was set in a professional manner after identifying key locations by a Nielsen survey.
The Philippines national team hasn’t had much luck in the international stage, having never qualified for a World Cup. They qualified for their maiden AFC Asian Cup in 2019.
5. New Zealand Football Championship | New Zealand (FIFA Ranking: 117)
A franchise-based system, the New Zealand Football Championship started in 2004. Also known as the ISPS Handa Premiership due to sponsorship reasons, the competition doesn’t promotion-relegation.
Associated with Oceania region, the New Zealand national team have appeared in two World Cups, but other than that, they haven’t achieved anything notable.
Founded in 2014, the Indian Super League has never had a promotion-relegation system. The competition is franchise-based, similar to cricket’s Indian Premier League. Having recently been given the AFC Champions League slot, the championship has dethroned I-League from its rightful throne.
Participating teams play in a league format, with top-four outfits going into playoffs to decide the winner. With most teams facing financial issues due to poor planning, the competition has seen new outfit names come and go, with the most recent being Pune City, who shut down first-team activities. Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), organisers of the league, is also a commercial partner of AIFF. With a small fan base in most clubs, ISL has benefitted mainly due to its broadcast and invested money, but clubs have been facing huge losses. With many experts and fans asking for I-League clubs (many outfits with larger followings) to be included in the top-tier, the organisers haven’t paid any heed. The league also has a heavy Rs. 15 crore franchise fee.
The Indian national team has improved over the past few years, but the credit belongs to both I-league and Indian Super League. In contrast to the PR perception, most native ISL players were nurtured by the I-League clubs, and are excelling in national colors.
3. Canadian Premier League | Canada (FIFA Ranking:78)
The Canadian Premier League is it's country’s top-tier league. It is a club-based competition, unlike India’s franchise-based system. Founded in 2019, the competition doesn’t have a promotion-relegation system, with an aim to expand and introduce such a system in the near future.
Ranked 78, Canada is the only other North American team to win the Gold Cup, other than USA and Mexico. The national team has played in the 1986 World Cup, but hasn’t had any success in recent times.
Founded in 2005, the A-League has never had a promotion-relegation system. The competition’s clubs are eligible for Champions League participation. In a better level when compared to many other AFC counterparts, A-League clubs have invested in decent infrastructure and facilities.
The Australian national team has participated in multiple World Cups and AFC tournaments. A superior team in Asia, the Socceroos have never been a match against South American, African and European nations.
1. Major League Soccer | United States (FIFA Ranking: 22), Canada (FIFA Ranking: 78)
Founded in 1996 and without any promotion-relegation system since then, Major League Soccer is USA’s top-tier football competition. Franchise-based, the league has had its equal share of critics and supporters. The main criticism the league has received is due to its closed system. The competition has teams from the US, and few from Canada.
A FIFA Ranking doesn’t really describe the performance of a team due to the algorithms involved in such calculations. Ranked 22, the USA has had success within North America, winning many Gold Cups. The main problem, the national team has faced is in FIFA World Cups, being no match to South American and European nations. The team also missed out on qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The main problem for closed league systems in these countries is the lack of competitiveness. Without fear of relegation, teams placed in the bottom half of the table lose interest towards the second-half of the season, with only the outfits close to winning the title still in competition. Also, a smaller number of teams lead to meagre chances for many players to have a say. For example, in the Indian Super League, many native strikers are pushed down the pecking order due to presence of foreign players, thereby leading to issues in the national team’s goalscoring statistics.