Rabastor Sports Federation football league system
The Rabastor Sports Federation football league system (or colloquially, the RSF pyramid) describes the structure and inter-connectedness of football leagues within Rabastorian Union (RBU) nations. Not all RBU nations have a football league in the main pyramid, some are referred to as "Associate Members", and operate as a loosely connected group of their own, separate to the main pyramid.
| Level | League(s)/division(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rabastor Premier League 18 clubs – 3 relegations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Ilungu Isibini 16 clubs – 3 promotions, 2 relegations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 |
RSF Challenge Premier League | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 (National Step 1) |
OFA Phoenix League 10 clubs 1 promotion, 1 relegation |
CFF Panther League 10 clubs 1 promotion, 1 relegation |
SuperLiga Aquilliana 10 clubs 1 promotion no formalised relegation |
EFC Golden League 10 clubs 1 promotion no formalised relegation |
CSC Radiant League 8 clubs 1* promotion[a] no formalised relegation |
LAFF Limey League 8 clubs 1* promotion[a] no formalised relegation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Northern Premier | Southern Premier | Western Premier | CFF Silver League | FADA Nova League | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 clubs per division 1 promotion via playoff 1 relegation per division |
10 clubs 1 promotion no formalised relegation |
10 clubs no codified promotion or relegation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Northern League Two | Southern League Two | Western League Two | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 clubs per division 1 promotion per division, no formalised relegation procedure | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rabastor Associate League
In addition to the main pyramid, the Federation Akachese de Football (FAF) operates Ligue Akach and the Ipa'elu System outside the integrated RSF league system, but also under the RSF umbrella. Ligue Akach was briefly considered part of the pyramid before the FAF withdrew, citing the complications raised by temporal differences. The FAF are still permitted to send up to eight teams to compete in the Rabastor Champions Cup, however.
Similarly, the eight-team Xiaolin Master League – which primarily plays a local variant of football – is permitted to enter up to eight teams into the Rabastor Champions Cup, competing under association football rules, though the Master League itself also operates outside the integrated RSF league system.
Marmaladaica does not have a professional football league, and as such, are not included in the pyramid, or among the Associate Leagues; however, should they establish a professional league, they would be granted the same privileges as the FAF.
The Radiant League and Limey League are considered Associate Member leagues, too. From season 15 onwards, it was agreed that their champions would be eligible for promotion to the RSF Challenge Premier League via a new playoff system[a], and if successful, be permitted earn promotion to the tiers above, and also to enter the Rabastor League Trophy like any other Challenge Premier side.
Relation to Cup competitions
A club's tier within the pyramid is almost always the determining factor when deciding which cup(s) they are eligible to enter, and the round(s) at which they enter the competition. As things stand, with the three cup system in place across RSF integrated leagues, the tiers align as follows:
| Tier | Champions Cup | Secondary Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Entry | ||
| 1 | Group | Rabastor League Trophy | Round Three[b] |
| 2 | Round Two | Round Two | |
| 3 | Round Two(top six) Round One (bottom ten) | ||
| 4 | Rabastor Challenge Shield | Group[c] | |
| 5 | Round One | Round One | |
| 6 | Preliminary[d] | ||
With the exception of Callistean and Limey teams who gain admittance to the Rabastor Challenge Premier League, teams in Associate Member leagues contest the Rabastor Associate Members Plate.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 When an association has multiple teams in the bottom four of the Challenge Premier League, the lowest ranking side is replaced by the corresponding National Step 1 champion, as usual. The additional sides in the bottom four must then enter the Challenge playoffs to keep their place in the Challenge Premier. If there is only one additional side, the champions of the Limey League and Radiant League must play a two-legged tie to determine who gets to challenge for the berth. If there are two additional sides, both the Limey League champion and Radiant League champion get to challenge for a berth (drawn at random). If all four sides in the bottom four are from the same association, the team finishing 15th must play against the second-highest placed side in the corresponding National Step 1 league that has not been promoted.
- ↑ Applies to tier one sides except the lowest two finishers from the previous season/promoted teams for this season. See RLT Entry List for full details.
- ↑ The top two teams in each division across tier four (except Associate Leagues) enter the Rabastor League Trophy. Runners up in the Preliminary Round, champions in Round One.
- ↑ The lowest sixteen teams across the entire tier contest the preliminary round. The remainder enter at round one, along with tier 5 teams.