MAVINET'S OFFICIAL DOMESTIC FOOTBALL NEWSWIRE
After a fairly successful entry into international football, with a 3rd place finish in the 47th Di Bradini Cup and a trophy to bring home in the 72nd Baptism of Fire, the Mavinese Football Association (MFA) announced their plan to reform the domestic football system with the goal to further professionalize the league and incentivize clubs to improve their performance. The M1 League and M2 League will now replace the National League as the domestic league system in Mavinet.
Mavinet’s domestic football system started in the mid-1970s, when several semi-professional clubs across the country formed the first A1 Football League. The original league had 8 clubs competing but with very loosely defined rules and regulations, changing its name and the number of club participating several time during its existence from 1976 to 1990 as more clubs entered the scene.
From 1990 to 2000, the A1 Football League expanded to 16 clubs and was split into two groups based on geography, with the winner of each group play each other in a championship match to determine the champion of the season.
From 2000 to 2019, due to increased expense of holding regional groups and to open up the league to more clubs, the A1 Football League was reformed into the National League. The reorganized league had 20 teams all competed in a double round-robin format with no promotion or relegation.
With the advent of the new league system this year, the 20 teams competing in the previous season are again split into 2 groups. The top 10 teams will compete in the M1 League, while the bottom 10 will play in the lower M2 League. Each team will play every other teams 4 times a season, which adds up to a total of 36 rounds and 180 games per season, going from July to May of next year. The clubs will have a 1-month break in between the two halves of the season. At the end of the season, the league winner along with 3 other top teams will be qualified for participation in the multiverse IFCF competitions. The bottom 2 teams will be relegated to the M2 League, replaced by the top 2 clubs from the second division. There is no relegation in the M2 League for the time being.
Running alongside the leagues is the Mavinet Cup. The bottom 4 clubs from each division will play among themselves in the preliminary round to pick out 4 clubs, 2 from each division, that go on to play along with the rest of the clubs in the proper tournament. Matches from the Round of 16 to the Semifinals are played over two legs on a home and away basis. The aggregate score determines the winner and the away goals rule is applied in case of a tie aggregate. The final will be played at Thang Long Stadium in Dai Hoa in one match.