Structure
There were 12 teams in Liga Artzit. Each team played 33 matches; the first 22 matches were played on a home and away basis, with the last 11 fixtures based on league positions after 22 games. Like the majority of leagues in the world, three points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. Final League positions were determined firstly by points obtained, then by goal difference, then goals scored, and if necessary, a mini-league of the results between two or more teams ranked using the previous three criteria and finally a series of one or more play off matches.
In the past at the end of the season, providing they met certain criteria, the top two teams weren promoted to Liga Leumit, and were replaced by the bottom two teams from that league. The teams finishing 11th and 12th in Liga Artzit were relegated to Liga Alef, where they were assigned to a geographically suitable division. They were replaced by the champions of Liga Alef North and Liga Alef South providing they meet criteria for entry into Liga Artzit.
However, the league was abolished at the end of the 2008–09 season as part of structural reforms to the Israeli league system that saw the Premier League and Liga Leumit both expanded to 16 clubs. At the end of the season the top seven clubs were promoted to Liga Leumit; the 8th placed club was played in a play-off round against the 11th placed club in Liga Leumit for a place in Liga Leumit, whilst the 9–12th placed clubs was relegated to Liga Alef.
Read more about this topic: Liga Artzit
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