Football in Romania

The Romanian football league system refers to the system in Romanian club football that consists of several football leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation.

Liga I

The Liga I is the highest level in the Romanian football league system and is operated by the Romanian Professional Football League . 18 professional teams compete for the title of Romanian Football Champion in a round-robin home and away 34 game season. The teams ranked 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th at the end of the season are automatically relegated to Liga II.

Liga II

The Liga II is the second highest level in the Romanian football league system and is operated by the Romanian Football Federation. 30 teams in 2 regional groups of 15 teams each (Liga II: Seria 1, Liga II: Seria 2) compete in a round-robin home and away 30 game season. The champion and the runner-up are automatically promoted to the Liga I. The five bottom teams (10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th places) at the end of the season are automatically relegated to the Liga III.

Liga III

The Liga III is the third highest level in the Romanian football league system and is operated by the Romanian Football Federation. 78 teams in 6 regional groups of 13 teams each compete in a round-robin home and away 26 game season. The champion of each regional division is automatically promoted to the Liga II. The bottom five teams (10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th places) at the end of the season are automatically relegated to the Liga IV. Another three teams from the 9th placed teams from each regional division are relegated. To determine these teams, separate standings are computed, using only the games played against clubs ranked 1st through 8th.^[2]

Liga IV and lower

Below Liga III the football leagues are managed by the 42 county football associations, including Bucharest. Clubs finishing the season at or near the top of their division may be eligible for promotion to a higher division. Similarly, clubs finishing at or near the bottom of their division may be relegated to a lower division. Liga IV has 42 county leagues as well as Liga V. Liga VI has only 8 county leagues each one representing these counties: Arad, Brăila, Bucharest, Dâmboviţa, Ialomiţa, Mureş, Prahova and Teleorman.

Level	League(s)/Division(s)
1	Liga I 16 clubs
2	Liga II Seria I 15 clubs		Liga II Seria II 16 clubs
3	Liga III Seria I 18 clubs	Liga III Seria II 18 clubs		Liga III Seria III 18 clubs
4,5,6	County football leagues