Leagues

Leagues are MFL's season-long competition format. When the game officially launches, 63 different leagues across 6 divisions will be available for MFL clubs to join. All clubs, leagues, and divisions fall under the governance of a single body: the International Metaverse Football Federation (IMFF). In the future, and as the user base grows, other federations may emerge and divide the MFL universe into regions or continents, much like in the real world.

In an effort to prevent match-fixing, users may be able to enter multiple teams into a Division, but not within the same League.

Format

Each league uses a double round-robin format, with teams in each league playing the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at their opponent's. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. A defeat results in no points being awarded. Teams are ranked by total points, then by goal difference, and lastly by goals scored.

We want the ecosystem to be lively and for new users to be able to jump into the action fairly quickly. While we are yet to confirm this, seasons should span around six real-world calendar weeks.

Structure

The IMFF has a pyramidal structure with multiple divisions. Each division is made up of leagues containing 12 teams.

The Diamond league sits on top of the pyramid and hosts just twelve teams. It is both a league and a division of its own. As such, it is a select group that many will aspire to join.

Each division comprises twice as many leagues (and teams) as the one above it.

This structure will be re-evaluated at the beginning of each season to account for changes in the active userbase. New divisions may be created as the user base expands. When that is the case, newly created clubs will have to climb their way up from the lowest divisions.

Promotion & Relegation

MFL uses a promotion and relegation system, meaning teams will be moved between divisions based on their performance during the previous season. Except for Diamond League teams, which cannot be promoted, and teams in the lowest division, which cannot be relegated, there are three possible outcomes: promotion, relegation, or remaining in the same division.

Click on the blocks below to learn more about the promotion and relegation system in the IMFF.

Promotion

• The team which ranked 1st in each of the leagues will be directly promoted to the higher division.

• The team which ranked 2nd in each of the leagues will play a playoff match against the team that ranked 2nd in a different league within the same division. The winner will be promoted to the higher division.

• The team which ranked 3rd in each of the leagues will play a semi-final playoff match against the team that ranked 3rd in a different league within the same division. The winner of the semi-final playoff will face the team that ranked 9th in one of the leagues in the higher division in a final playoff match. If a lower division team wins both playoff matches, they will be promoted to the higher division.

Relegation

• The bottom three teams (ranks 10, 11, and 12) of each league will be relegated to the lower division.

• The team which ranked 9th in each of the leagues will play a playoff match against the team that ranked 3rd in one of the leagues in the lower division. If they lose the playoff match, the higher division team will be relegated. Should they win, they will remain in their current division.

The promotion system is crucial to keeping the game exciting and competitive. An average of 1.75 teams will be promoted to the higher division using this system. On the other hand, an average of 3.5 teams will be relegated to the lower division.