The Competition
There are 144 clubs in Division 3, divided in 12 groups of 12 teams each representing a geographical area. During the course of a season (starting in April and ending in October) each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 22 games. The top team in each Division 3 group is promoted to Division 2 and the two lowest placed teams from each Division 2 league are relegated in their place. The second placed teams in each Division 3 group plays promotion/relegation play-offs against the third lowest teams in Division 2.
Normally, at the end of each season the three lowest placed teams of each group are relegated to the regional Division 4 and thirty-six teams from the regional Division 4 leagues are promoted in their place while the fourth lowest placed teams in the Division 3 leagues plays promotion/relegation play-offs against teams in Division 4. There were a series of relegation/promotion play-offs at the end of the 2010 season.
Read more about this topic: Swedish Football Division 3
Famous quotes containing the word competition:
“Playing games with agreed upon rules helps children learn to live by rules, establish the delicate balance between competition and cooperation, between fair play and justice and exploitation and abuse of these for personal gain. It helps them learn to manage the warmth of winning and the hurt of losing; it helps them to believe that there will be another chance to win the next time.”
—James P. Comer (20th century)
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—Marianne E. Neifert (20th century)