Promotion and relegation: how many teams go down in 2026/27

Relegation is the simplest rule in league football and one of the least uniform. Finish near the bottom and you go down, but how near depends on the country. Of the seven leagues below, three send their bottom three straight down, Brazil sends four, and three give a club just above the drop a second chance in a play-off against a side from the division below. Italy keeps a play-off in reserve for one situation only.

The formats are the 2026/27 ones, taken from the regulations of each league or federation. For Brazil, whose season follows the calendar year, they are the rules for 2026.

How many teams are relegated in each league?

League	Clubs	Relegated directly	Relegation play-off	Promoted from below
Premier League	20	3 (18th–20th)	None	3: top two of the Championship and a play-off winner
LaLiga	20	3 (18th–20th)	None	3: top two of Segunda and a play-off winner
Bundesliga	18	2 (17th–18th)	16th v 3rd of 2. Bundesliga	2, plus the play-off winner
Serie A	20	3 (18th–20th)	Only if 17th and 18th are level on points	3: top two of Serie B and, usually, a play-off winner
Ligue 1	18	2 (17th–18th)	16th v the Ligue 2 play-off winner	2, plus the play-off winner
Brasileirão	20	4 (17th–20th)	None	4: top two of Série B and two play-off winners
Russian Premier League	16	2 (15th–16th)	13th v 4th and 14th v 3rd of the First League	2, plus the play-off winners

So in England, Spain and Brazil the line drawn on the table is final, and in Italy it almost always is. In Germany, France and Russia the clubs just above it still have football to play once the season is over.

Which leagues have no relegation play-off?

The Premier League, LaLiga and the Brasileirão have none: the bottom three, or four in Brazil, go straight down. Their play-offs happen one division lower, among the clubs trying to come up, and two of them have changed recently.

England. The Premier League's rules relegate the bottom three of its 20 clubs to the EFL. The Championship's top two go up automatically, and from 2026/27 the third place is decided by a six-club play-off instead of a four-club one. The EFL confirmed the expansion in March 2026. As Sky Sports set out in August, fifth plays eighth and sixth plays seventh in one-off eliminators at the higher-placed club's ground. The winners meet the clubs that finished third and fourth over two legs, with third paired against the lowest-ranked club left, and the final is at Wembley.

Spain. The clubs in 18th, 19th and 20th go down to Segunda División, a 22-club league whose champion and runner-up go up. Third to sixth then play off: third against sixth and fourth against fifth over two legs, with the first leg at the lower-placed club, then a two-legged final. A tie that is level on aggregate goes to 30 minutes of extra time, and if it is still level there are no penalties. The club that finished higher in the regular season goes up.

Brazil. Four go down, the Z4, as Brazilians call the bottom four places. What changed in 2026 is the way up: Série B no longer promotes its top four directly. First and second go up, and the other two places are decided by two-legged ties, third against sixth and fourth against fifth, with the second leg at the higher-placed club. The ties are decided on points across the two matches, then goal difference, then league position, so a tie that finishes level goes to the club that finished higher.

How does the Bundesliga relegation play-off work?

The Bundesliga relegates its bottom two automatically, and the champion and runner-up of 2. Bundesliga take their places. The club in 16th plays the third-placed club in 2. Bundesliga over two legs, the Relegation.

The DFL's match rules give the second leg to the club that had fewer rest days before the first, with a draw of lots if the number is the same. In most years that means the Bundesliga club is at home first. Away goals have not counted since 2021/22, so a tie that is level on aggregate goes to extra time and then penalties in the second leg. The DFL calendar puts the play-off first legs on 27 and 28 May 2027 and the second legs on 31 May and 1 June.

How does the Ligue 1 relegation play-off work?

Ligue 1 has 18 clubs, and so does Ligue 2. The bottom two go down and the top two of Ligue 2 come up. The club in 16th gets a play-off, the barrage, but its opponent first has to come through a ladder in Ligue 2: fifth plays away at fourth, and the winner plays away at third. Both are single matches that go straight to penalties if they are level after 90 minutes.

The survivor meets Ligue 1's 16th over two legs, with the first leg at the Ligue 2 club and the second at the Ligue 1 club. If the aggregate is level, the second leg goes to extra time and then penalties.

How do the play-offs work in the Russian Premier League?

The Russian Premier League has 16 clubs and puts a quarter of them at risk. The clubs in 15th and 16th go down, and the top two of the First League come up. The clubs in 13th and 14th are not safe either. The 13th-placed club plays the First League's fourth, and the 14th plays its third, over two matches each, one at home and one away. The Russian Football Union has scheduled the play-offs for 2 and 5 June 2027.

Licensing matters here as much as the table. Only First League clubs that finish in the top six and hold a top-flight licence can go up or take part. If only one of them is eligible, it plays the club in 14th and the club in 13th stays up; if none is, there are no play-offs.

What happens if two Serie A teams finish level in 17th?

Serie A relegates 18th, 19th and 20th, and in a normal season that is all. The exception is a tie on points between 17th and 18th. For 2026/27 the Italian federation has confirmed that the last safe place then goes to a two-legged play-off rather than to head-to-head. The club ranked higher on the head-to-head table, the classifica avulsa, hosts the second leg. Goals over the two matches decide it, and if they are level it goes straight to penalties, with no extra time.

If more than two clubs finish level, the classifica avulsa picks the two who play. And if one of them is in a UEFA final, there is no play-off at all: the classifica avulsa decides.

Serie B promotes three. First and second go up, and third goes up directly if it finishes more than 14 points clear of fourth. Otherwise third to eighth play off: one-off preliminary ties, fifth against eighth and sixth against seventh, then two-legged semi-finals against third and fourth, then a two-legged final. Level ties are mostly settled in favour of the higher-placed club rather than by penalties.

The practical version

Read the bottom of the table by country. In England, Spain and Italy the relegation zone is the bottom three, and in Brazil the bottom four. In Germany and France it is the bottom two, with 16th facing a play-off. In Russia it is also the bottom two, with 13th and 14th facing play-offs. Only Italy has a rare extra line: a 17th-placed club level on points with 18th still has to play for its place.

Sources: Premier League Handbook 2026/27, EFL statement on the Championship play-off format, RFEF Bases de Competición 2026/27, DFL Spielordnung, DFL calendar for 2026/27, Bundesliga clubs 2026/27, Bundesliga on promotion and relegation, FIGC Comunicato Ufficiale 209/A, FIGC Comunicato Ufficiale 244/A, FIGC Comunicato Ufficiale 25/A, LFP Règlement des Compétitions 2026/27, CBF Regulamento Série A 2026, CBF Regulamento Série B 2026, RPL Regulations 2026/27, RFS calendar for 2026/27, Sky Sports on the new Championship play-offs.