League History
The 2nd Division was formed in 2006 with 10 member clubs. The league was created so that clubs from regional leagues could come together and play in a national league with the onus being on promotion and relegation so clubs could easily move up the Thai football system ladder depending on performances on the football pitch rather than performances behind the scenes.
The league was also created so it would combat against the rival Provincial League. With future growth moving the Pro League to join the 2nd Division.
In 2006, the first season, 10 clubs played each other twice, with promotion going to the championship winner Chula-Sinthana FC. No relegation occurred in 2006.
In 2007, the league was expanded to 12 clubs, with the top two in the championship achieving promotion (Mueang Thong NongJork United and PTT FC) and the bottom two clubs getting relegated (Thai Christian Sports Club and Thai Department of Agriculture).
Although two clubs were relegated at the end of the 2007 season, the league was again expanded the following year, to 22 clubs. 2 Groups would be created. 11 clubs in Group A and 11 clubs in Group B.
At the end of the season, 2 clubs from each group would be promoted with the league receiving four relegated teams from the Thailand Division 1 League. At the end of the season, the four clubs who achieved promotion would play off in an end of year competition to determine the overall league winner.
No clubs would be relegated due to re-structuring of the league system again for the 2009 season. But all clubs who wish to play at this level were asked to re-submit to the league and each club would be graded such items as club structure and ground stadium. Each club was expected to have certain criteria in place to achieve league status.
In 2009, Division 2 League was combined with Provincial League by FAT. The league was again split from 2 groups into 5 groups covering the North of Thailand, North East (Isan) region, Central East Zone, Bangkok central zone and South of Thailand. The league was also renamed as the Regional League Division 2. 5 group winners would enter a championship round to determine which three teams would gain promotion to the Thai Division 1 League. Raj Pracha duly won the championship stage and were promoted with Chiangrai United of the Northern League and Narathiwat of the Southern League.
75 teams were confirmed to play in the Regional League for the 2010 season. The number of teams in each region were as follows:
- North Region - 16 Teams
- North East Region - 16 Teams
- Central Region - 16 Teams
- Southern Region - 14 Teams
- Bangkok Region - 13 Teams
Four teams would automatically be promoted to Division 1. The four promoted teams would be decided by two mini leagues at the conclusion of the regular season. The total number of teams competing in the mini leagues will be 12, they will be made up of the top two from each league with the best two 3rd placed teams from the Northern, North-east and Central-East leagues The top two from each mini league will gain promotion. The sides coming in 3rd and 4th position in the mini leagues would again play playoff matches against the bottom four clubs of Division 1 in order to gain promotion.
77 teams were confirmed to play in the Regional League for the 2011 season. The number of teams in each region were as follows:
- North Region - 16 Teams
- North East Region - 16 Teams
- Central Region - 16 Teams
- Southern Region - 13 Teams
- Bangkok Region - 16 Teams
81 teams were confirmed to play in the Regional League for the 2012 season. The number of teams in each region were as follows:
- North Region - 18 Teams
- North East Region - 16 Teams
- Central Region - 18 Teams
- Southern Region - 11 Teams
- Bangkok Region - 18 Teams
84 teams were confirmed to play in the Regional League for the 2013 season. The number of teams in each region were as follows:
- North Region - 16 Teams
- North East Region - 16 Teams
- Central-East Region - 14 Teams
- Central-West Region - 13 Teams
- Southern Region - 11 Teams
- Bangkok Region - 14 Teams
Read more about this topic: Thailand Division 2 League
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