As the season enters the business end, more is at stake every week for the teams battling for promotion to the Aldi Men’s Premier North.
There are four spaces up for grabs in the promotion playoffs, with only one team able to take the final space in the top tier of men’s university football.
All hopeful teams are more than halfway through the season, but nobody has yet confirmed their spot in these playoffs, meaning it is all to play for.
How the Aldi Men’s Premier North promotion playoffs work
University sport in the United Kingdom does not follow the promotion and relegation format seen in the professional leagues, such as the Premier League and the Championship.
Instead, they employ a playoff system, meaning teams have to contend with a semi-final and final before they can pop the champagne and start celebrating.
This gives four teams with an opportunity to reach the pinnacle of men’s BUCS football.
Given this is the Aldi Men’s Premier North, the teams hoping for promotion all come from northern universities.
Three teams are taken from the tier below the premier divisions. Given only each university is allowed a side in the top division, the first teams who finished highest take part in the playoffs.
These teams are taken from the Men’s Scottish, Northern, and Midlands Tier 1.
Last chance saloon for one team
The final side in with a chance is not fighting for glory, but instead for survival, and the right to remain in the premier division of BUCS Football.
The fourth side which competes in the Aldi Men’s Premier North promotion playoffs is the side who finish bottom in that league.
This gives the team the chance to make up for their shortcomings throughout the previous season, and demonstrate they belong in the top tier.
Currently, the team who will be fighting for their survival would be Durham.
After seven games this season, Durham have only picked up one win, with two draws also adding to their points total of five.
They have struggled to find form in front of goal, having just scored eight goals, the lowest in the league. For comparison, Stirling in first have scored 24 goals.
All is not lost for the side from the North-East, however. Although currently bottom, they are only three points behind Loughborough in fifth. In addition, they play Loughborough in the last game of the season, with a win potentially enough to see them remain in the league without the need for a playoff.
There are two games before that though, where Durham have the difficult task of playing the teams who currently sit in first and second.
Leeds Beckett and Birmingham in pole for Aldi Men’s Premier North promotion playoff glory
Whilst one of the teams in the Aldi Men’s Premier North promotion playoffs are fighting for their lives, the other three teams are looking to end a successful season at the top table of BUCS Football.
Leeds Beckett currently sit three points clear in the Northern Tier 1, and are yet to lose a league game. They can boast the impressive record of six wins from seven games.
The team from Leeds will be hoping to forget last season’s playoff heartbreak. They reached the final in emphatic style, beating Edinburgh 29(twenty-nine)-1, before losing out to Nottingham in the final. They have the experience of the tournament, and will be hoping this plays to their advantage.
Although Birmingham do not sit top of the Midlands Tier 1, they will qualify for the playoffs as the team above them are Nottingham 2s. They are only two points behind the leaders, and will hope to demonstrate their place in the playoffs by topping that group.
The Midlands Tier 1 is a close league, with only five points separating the top five. This gap will be reduced to four if Cambridge win their game in hand. In fact, it will see them go level on points with Birmingham. Do not be surprised if the potential Midlands representative in these playoffs changes numerous times in the next couple of weeks.
Heriot-Watt currently King of the Scots
The third team who would compete in the playoffs if the league ended tomorrow would be Heriot-Watt from the Scottish Tier 1. Again, this represents a side who would qualify as the team above, Stirling 2s, already have a university representative in the league above.
However, this is not to say Heriot-Watt would not be worthy of a place in the Aldi Men’s Premier North promotion playoffs. They boast a reputable record of four wins from five games, scoring a joint league-best 15 goals on the way. They are also three points clear of their closest threat, Aberdeen.
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