Moroccan football league system
The Moroccan football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in Morocco. The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the hypothetical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system. There are more than 19 individual leagues, containing more than 5 divisions.[1] The exact number of clubs varies from year to year as clubs join and leave leagues or fold altogether, but an estimated average of 12 clubs per division implies that more than 174 teams of nearly 4,176 clubs are members of a league in the Moroccan men's football league system.
Structure
At the top is the Groupement National de Football Elite, which has two divisions (GNF 1 and GNF 2). Below that is the Groupement National de Football Amateurs which has two divisions, GNFA 1 (3rd Division) and GNFA 2 (4th Division), and below that is a league of regional divisions.
Moroccan Football League System :
1. Botola Pro (level 1, 16 teams): The bottom three teams are relegated.
2. Botola Pro 2 (level 2, 16 teams): Top two automatically promoted; next four compete in the playoffs, with the winner gaining the third promotion spot. The bottom three are relegated.
3. Botola Hawiya (level 3, 32 teams): Top two are automatically promoted; next four compete in playoffs, with the winner gaining the third promotion spot. The bottom four are relegated.
4. Botola Hawiya 2 (level 4, 64 teams): Top three teams are automatically promoted; next four compete in playoffs, with the winner gaining the fourth promotion spot. The bottom two are relegated.
5. Botola Iqlymi (level 5, 128 teams): The champions are promoted; next four compete in playoffs, with the winner gaining the second promotion spot. The bottom four are relegated to either North or South division as appropriate. Composed of 11 sub-divisions :
1. Botola Iqlymi n Chaouia-Ouardigha
2. Botola Iqlymi n Doukkala-Abda
3. Botola Iqlymi n Fès-Boulemane n Taza-Al Hoceïma-Taounate n Oued ed Dahab-Lagouira n Oriental
4. Botola Iqlymi n Gharb-Chrarda-Beni Hssen n Tanger n Tétouan
5. Botola Iqlymi n Grand Casablanca
6. Botola Iqlymi n Guelmim-Es Semara n Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia el Hamra
7. Botola Iqlymi n Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz
8. Botola Iqlymi n Meknès-Tafilalet
9. Botola Iqlymi n Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaër
10. Botola Iqlymi n Souss-Massa-Drâa
11. Botola Iqlymi n Tadla-Azilal
See also
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