How Promotion and Relegation Works in European Football Leagues

Here is everything you need to know about promotion and relegation in the top European football leagues, including for the 2025-26 season.

How does promotion and relegation work in England, Spain, France, Germany and Italy? Who is up, down, and in Europe after the 2025-26 season? We have the complete guide here.

How Promotion and Relegation Works: The Basics

The core concept here is that after each football season, the top teams in each league are promoted to the next-higher league for the next season. Likewise, the bottom teams in each league get relegated to the next-lower league. And in the case of the top league in each country — say, the English Premier League or Serie A in Italy — the top teams qualify for European competitions the next season.

Beyond that, each country has its own way of doing things, and the European qualification process gets pretty complicated. So let’s get into it by country.

Promotion and Relegation in England: Premier League, Championship and Below

Here are the basics of English promotion and relegation:

• Anywhere from 7 to 9 of the top teams in the Premier League qualify for the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. Click each of those names to learn more. Typically it’s:
  • The top 5 in Champions League
  • No. 6 to Europa League
  • FA Cup Winner to Europa League
  • EFL Cup Winner to Conference League
  • If a Cup winner also qualifies for a higher competition, somebody else from the table takes their place.
• The bottom three Premier League teams drop down to the second-tier Championship
• The top two Championship teams automatically go up to the Premier League
• Teams finishing 3 through 8 in the Championship go into a playoff for the last promotion spot. (This is a new format for the 2026-27 season; previously it was just nos. 3 through 6.)
• The same basic system is replicated all the way down the league pyramid.

Here are the 2025-26 English ups, downs and European places.

Here is a map of all the English football clubs (tiers 1 through 6).

And this video gives a helpful visual explanation of promotion and relegation in English football:

Promotion, Relegation and European Places in Scotland

Scotland has a smaller league and is ranked much lower by UEFA (who runs European football) than most other leagues, so while the concept is the same, the numbers are smaller.

• European places in Scotland:
  • No. 1 goes to Champions League qualifiers
  • No. 2 goes to Champions League qualifiers or Europa League qualifiers.
  • No. 3 goes to the Europa League qualifiers
  • The Scottish Cup winner goes to Europa League qualifiers
  • No. 4 goes to Conference League qualifiers.
  • If the Cup winners are already qualified, their spot goes back to the table.
• 12th (last in the Premiership) is relegated
• 1st in the second-tier Championship is promoted
• 11th in the Premiership goes into a playoff
• Also in that playoff is the winner of a 2-through-4 playoff in the Championship.

Here are all the ups, downs, and European places in Scotland for the 2025-26 season.

Germany: Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga Promotion and Relegation

Germany runs a very similar system to England, with one key difference:

• Generally seven teams “get into Europe.” Typically it’s:
  • The top 4 in Champions League
  • No. 5 to Europa League
  • No. 6 to Conference League
  • DFB-Pokal Winner to Conference League
  • If the Cup winner also qualifies for a higher competition, somebody else from the table takes their place.
• The bottom two, nos. 17 and 18, are automatically relegated.
• The top two in 2. Bundesliga go up automatically.
• The difference: Bundesliga no. 16 goes into a two-legged playoff with the no. 3 team in 2. Bundesliga in what is called a “relegation playoff.” Whoever wins that is in the Bundesliga the next season.

Here are all the ups, downs, and European places in German football after the 2025-26 season.

Here is a map of all the clubs in German Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga.

Promotion and Relegation in Spain: La Liga and Segunda División

Spain runs more like the Championship in England than Germany, with automatic promotion and relegation plus a playoff that does not include anyone from La Liga:

• Six to eight teams go into Europe. Typically it’s:
  • Top 5 to Champions League
  • No. 6 to Europa League
  • Copa del Rey Winner to Europa League
  • No. 7 to Conference League
  • If the Cup winner qualifies for a higher competition, somebody from the table takes their place in Europa League.
• The bottom three in La Liga are relegated to Segunda División
• The top two from Segunda División go up automatically.
• Nos. 3 through 6 go into a playoff for the last spot: two-legged semis, then a two-legged final.

Here are all the ups, downs, and European places in Spanish football after the 2025-26 season.

Here is a map of all the clubs in Spain’s La Liga and Segunda División, or Liga 2.

Italy: Promotion and Relegation in Serie A and Serie B

Italy being Italy, it can get super complicated. It’s basically like Germany, with a playoff that includes Serie A teams fighting for survival, but there’s even more to it than that!

• Six to eight teams go into Europe. Typically it’s:
  • Top 4 to Champions League
  • No. 5 to Europa League
  • Coppa Italia Winner to Europa League
  • No. 6 to Conference League
  • If the Cup winner qualifies for a higher competition, somebody from the table takes their place in Europa League.
• Bottom three in Serie A go down to Serie B
• Top two in Serie B go up automatically
• Nos. 3 through 8 go into a playoff for the last promotion spot — but in later rounds, the lower-seeded team has to win, because if it’s a draw, the higher-placed team in the table wins.
• Just for fun, in Serie B, after nos. 18 through 20 go down to Serie C, there’s a playoff between #16 and #17 to see who also goes down — unless the point difference between them is big enough to cancel that playoff!

Italy is the best.

Here are the ups, downs, and European places in Italian football for the 2025-26 season.

Here is a map of all the clubs Italy’s Serie A and Serie B.

France: Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 Promotion and Relegation

France runs just like Germany, with a “relegation playoff” featuring somebody from Ligue 1 vs somebody from Ligue 2.

• Five to seven teams go into Europe. Typically it’s:
  • Top 4 to Champions League (although #4 goes into the qualifying stage)
  • No. 5 to Europa League
  • Coupe de France Winner to Europa League
  • No. 6 to Conference League
  • If the Cup winner qualifies for a higher competition, somebody from the table takes their place in Europa League.
• The bottom two, nos. 17 and 18, are automatically relegated to Ligue 2.
• The top two in Ligue 2 go up automatically.
• Ligue 1 no. 16 goes into a two-legged playoff with the no. 3 team in Ligue 2 in a “relegation playoff.” Whoever wins that is in Ligue 1 the next season.

Here are all the ups, downs, and European places in France for the 2025-26 football season.

Here is a map of all the clubs in France’s Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.

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