Promotion and relegation: explained
Yes, teams do actually get kicked out of the league
Welcome to The Tap-Inn. Where you can tap into the world of soccer with me, your Irish Tap-Inn bartender, Joe. 🍻
Pull up a stool. This week we're covering:
↕️ Promotion and relegation, explained through the lens of my first shifts at The Tap-Inn
🏆 FA Cup semi-final previews
😰 World Cup hotel and ticket sale concerns
Let's tap in.
🥃 TOP SHELF
Like our bouncer’s bad books, the relegation zone is not a place you wanna be
Promotion and relegation explained
I’ll never forget my first day at The Tap-Inn.
It was late Saturday afternoon and I was smelling of beer before I had even put a foot in the door. Poor young Joe was hungover, 26 minutes late and not at all ready to be a “sponge for information”.
In fact if you had wrung me out there and then, all that would have been expelled was sweat, tears and last night’s Miller High Life.
Needless to say, the next few shifts did not go swimmingly. After a string of poor performances and a hefty number of L’s, my boss called me into the stock room for a chat —
“Joe. You’re getting demoted to weekday bartender. You’re not cut out for a weekend rush.”
I was getting shipped out of the big leagues. Distanced from the crowds. Far away from the real action. In soccer terms, I was getting relegated.
What does relegation mean?
In all Europe’s biggest leagues, if you don’t perform well and finish in the bottom 2 or 3 positions, you’re getting kicked out of said league. I know. The US mind can’t comprehend.
Instead of being gifted a top draft pick for poor performance, you’re getting punished. You get moved down a division to play with weaker teams who are all battling it out to move up to where you just came from.
Back at The Tap-Inn though, I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge.
I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. I polished glassware and changed kegs like my life depended on it. I made frozen margs without once telling customers the blender was broken. I even said “no problem, I’ll get you a new one!” to customers telling me their Long Island Iced Tea was “too icy.”
Step forward, my boss —
“Don’t come in on Thursday, Joe. I want you fresh for the weekend team.”
Bigger crowds, better wages and better colleagues? Yep. I was getting a promotion.
What does promotion mean?
In English soccer, finishing at the top of your division means moving up to a higher-stakes competition. While three teams are relegated from the Premier League each season, they’re replaced by three clubs promoted from the Championship — the division below.
The top two teams in the Championship go up automatically. But the third and final promotion spot? That's where it gets interesting.
The clubs that finish 3rd through 6th enter a playoff (Wrexham are currently sixth — just), culminating in a one-off final at Wembley Stadium — 85,000 fans, one game, winner takes all. The prize is a place in the Premier League, worth an estimated £200 million ($270 million) in revenue. They call it the richest game in soccer, and it's not hard to see why.
⏰ TLDR: The worst teams in a division go down, the best from the division below come up — with playoffs adding extra drama for the teams caught in between.
As for me? I've been on the weekend team for years now. No plans to go back to Tuesdays. Though I'll be honest — the threat of it still keeps me sharp.
Also on tap:
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🗞️ THIS WEEK IN SOCCER
That one blue dot? The first day this year Arsenal weren’t top of the table. Credit: The Athletic
Premier league roundup
The big story in midweek: Manchester City beat Burnley 1-0 on Wednesday — Haaland in the fifth minute — to go top of the Premier League for the first time this season, ending Arsenal's long, long stay at the summit.
Both sides are now level on 70 points and identical goal difference of +37. City lead only on goals scored — 66 to Arsenal's 63. If that sounds confusingly close, it is. Good thing you’ve read our guide on how a league table works.
The weekend ahead:
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (Sat, 10am ET) — Liverpool looking for three wins in a row to all but confirm their Champions League qualification for next season.
Wolves v Tottenham (Sat, 10am ET) — Wolves are already down and have nothing to play for. Spurs are in the relegation zone and desperately need three points.
Arsenal v Newcastle (Sat, 12:30pm ET) — The big one. Arsenal need a win to reclaim top spot.
Man United v Brentford (Mon, 3pm ET) — Brentford are flying high and could reach sixth with a win. Won’t be an easy one for United.
FA Cup preview
It’s semi-final time in England’s FA Cup and here’s the lineup:
Manchester City v Southampton — Southampton are in the Championship , a division below City. On paper this shouldn't be close. But Southampton knocked out Arsenal in the quarters, so they're no pushovers.
Chelsea v Leeds United — after losing their last five games by a total score of 11-0, Chelsea manager ‘LinkedIn Liam’ Rosenior’s 106-day tenure is over — and I’m pretty sure the entire downfall can all be traced back to this woeful first touch. Chelsea now walk into Wembley under a caretaker manager, in their worst scoring run since 1912, against a Leeds side that's been one of the form teams in England.
The Red Dragons are still alive
Tuesday's 1-0 win over Oxford put Wrexham back into the playoff places in the Championship with two games to go.
Here's the maths: Wrexham sit in sixth on 70 points, Hull City also on 70 but behind in seventh on goal difference. Two games each remaining.
Wrexham travel to the newly crowned champions Coventry on Saturday then host Middlesbrough on the final day. This one is going to go to the wire.
It’s almost as if someone is writing these Wrexham scripts?
📝 TRIVIA ON TAP
Long shot
Leicester City have just been relegated to League One — the third division in the English soccer pyramid — just 10 years after their 2015/16 Premier League title win. Their triumph is widely considered the greatest soccer upset in history.
Before that season kicked off in August 2015, what odds did bookmakers give Leicester to win the league?
A) +10000 (100–1)
B) +100000 (1,000–1)
C) +500000 (5,000–1)
D) +1000000 (10,000–1)
Answer at the bottom 👇
🌎 WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN: 48 DAYS
Me too, buddy.
Room for concern
Here's a sentence nobody expected to be writing: with less than 50 days until the World Cup kicks off on home soil, the hotels still aren't full.
Properties across US host cities that were charging 300% above normal rates back in December have since slashed prices by over 40%. Bookings are coming in well below projections.
Personally, I’m shocked. Who would’ve thought $73,200 ticket packages, $100 train rides that normally costs $12.90, and threats of stadium staff strikes would result in lower traveller numbers?
At least US fans will be out in full support?
Ehhhhh…
FIFA have just launched a last-minute, first-come first-served ticket sales phase to shift lots of unsold ticket inventory. The USMNT's opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium on June 12 still had nearly 30,000 seats available as of two weeks ago.
The tournament will still be incredible and the soccer will still be unmissable. But the gap between the hype and the reality off the pitch is getting harder to ignore.
🔥 QUICKFIRE
Wembley Stadium and its 440-foot-high arch. A beauty.
Sound like a pro
Phrase: In the drop zone
Origin: "Drop" is shorthand for relegation — teams that go down literally drop a division. The phrase became standard in English soccer commentary through the 1980s and 90s as the bottom three relegation spots became a regular focal point of the season run-in.
Definition: If you're in the drop zone, you're in danger. In American sports terms, imagine if the last three teams in any conference didn't just miss the playoffs — they got demoted to a completely different league. That's the drop zone.
Usage: "Spurs are actually in the drop zone, it’s hard to believe."
Stadium of the week
Wembley Stadium, London, England. Capacity 90,000.
The now largest stadium in the UK first opened its gates way back in 1923. It has since hosted World Cup finals, European Championship finals, FA Cup finals, and some of the most famous nights in soccer history.
This weekend it hosts both FA Cup semi-finals — Chelsea vs Leeds, then City vs Southampton.
Last call
Wednesday night in MLS. Toronto FC losing 3-2 to Philadelphia in stoppage time. Nothing left to lose. So they sent their goalkeeper up for a free kick.
Luka Gavran ran the length of the pitch and headed home a 96th-minute equalizer. First goalkeeper goal in MLS since 2010. First ever by a Toronto FC keeper in the club's 19-year history.
His explanation:
"I can't even remember what happened. All I remember was 10 seconds left, I looked to the bench, and everyone was waving me down to go. I used to be a number nine, so I'm used to it."
A goalkeeper. Former striker. Stoppage time header. 3-3 draw. Wednesday night. This is why we watch.
📝 TRIVIA ANSWER
C) +500000 (5,000–1)
Before a ball was kicked in August 2015, bookmakers thought the chances of Leicester City winning the Premier League was about one in 5,000. A $100 bet would have paid out $500,000.
They won it anyway. This week, they were relegated to League One. The greatest sporting upset in history, and ten years later they're playing third-tier soccer.
Soccer really does giveth and taketh away.