MBABANE – A global record.
That is the situation for Eswatini. Up to four teams at the end of the MTN Premier League shall face the axe. This is according to the Premier League Master Rules 2026.
“The member clubs that end the season in positions 14, 15 and 16 on the log table will be automatically relegated to the NFD (National First Division) League. The club at position 13 will also be relegated, but granted an opportunity to contest the last slot in play-offs with positions 3, 4 and 5 in the NFD league,” reads Article 9.1.
Compared to other international leagues with the same number of clubs, or even more, this is currently the highest number of clubs to drop per season. For instance, neighbouring South Africa’s Betway Premiership sees only two teams axed at the end of the season. The 16th-placed club gets automatic relegation to the Motsepe Foundation National First Division, while the 15th-placed team contests its place in the promotion play-offs. Meanwhile, Lesotho, who also use a 16-club league, relegates only the bottom two teams.
However, according GIS, global standards relegation adds a competitive edge to the professional game, while its key principle remains meritocracy; no team have an automatic right to remain in a league. It says relegation regulations vary widely around the world, with different leagues adopting different and often complex rules.
It cited the English Premier League (EPL) to have once relegated four teams at the end of the 1994/95 season, but this was specifically to reduce the league size from 22 to the current 20 clubs. Normally, only three teams are relegated from the EPL.
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