In the world there are a huge number of football competitions, the task of which is to involve as many of the clubs and national teams as possible. The organizers of a tournament must obtain the approval of UEFA and FIFA. By the way, UEFA is one of the first organizations to create the most famous and prestigious European football competitions. Football fans of all generations have always been happy about the new season, because the Champions Cup qualification matches have started, which is now called the Champions League. It is this tournament that collects thousands of stadiums and a lot of money on broadcasts. For every European team, it is a cherished dream to make it to the playoffs. Football today is more than just a game.
The meaning of the term “playoffs”
As already noted, there are many tournaments, but the path to the championship lies through the relegation game, and not a single football competition is complete without it. So what is football playoffs? These are butt games in which teams meet on the way to the finals. The phrase we are considering is English-speaking, and is translated into Russian as a “game to fly." Take the Champions League as an example, which will help us understand what playoffs are in football. Each European grand receives a direct ticket to the group of the mentioned League. The essence of this stage is in the butt games of teams. Each group consists of four clubs that have to play with each other. The first match will be held away, the second - at home. After six games, two favorites are determined, who took the first and second line in the table. This is where the playoff stage begins. By the way, according to UEFA rules, there should be eight groups.
Champions League relegation games
Usually, after all fights, a draw is carried out, which determines the opponents of each team that leaves the group. For example, a club that takes second place in Group B will play with an opponent who won first place in Group C. The essence of this stage is to weed out weak teams and leave the strongest in the tournament. The playoff phase lasts until there are only two clubs left. Then the match will be called the final, and in it will meet the two strongest - at the time of the tournament - the opponent. What is the playoffs in football, our clubs know. One of the strongest FCs in the Russian championship is St. Petersburg Zenit, whose leadership is constantly spending fabulous money on acquiring new players. These expenses sometimes lead to certain results. It is Zenit that is the most frequent participant in the Champions League relegation stage for the last 5 years.
National team playoffs
As for such games, then in the competitions at the national level there are playoff meetings. These tournaments were named European Championships and World Cup, which stands for European Championship and World Championship, respectively. The playoffs of the World Cup are also held after the strongest teams leave the group stage. According to the rules of FIFA, each four-year World Cup is held in one of the countries, which will be determined in the committee of the Football Association. By the way, at the World Cup in Brazil, the Russian team did not know what the playoffs were, because they could not get out of the group, which was considered very passable.
Cup matches for relegation
But relegation games are held not only in tournaments at the level of FIFA and UEFA. In each country, a national championship is held, as well as a country cup. For this reason, almost every professional club knows what playoffs are in football. Most cup games are held on weekdays, because the main tournament in any country is the national championship. At the initial stage of relegation matches, teams of different ranks are most often found, so that the strongest fight a little later and delight the audience with their face-to-face meetings.