Accorlian Premier League

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The **Accorlian Premier League** is one of Accorlia's national association football professional leagues. At the top of the Accorlian football league system and contested by sixteen clubs, it is the country's highest level of football competition. Seasons run from August to May with each team playing 30 times, one home and away fixture. The Accorlian Premier League is the most viewed and attended sports competition in Accorlia, with an average attendance of 20,621 in the 2017-18 season.

## History

The Accorlian Premier League was founded in 1973 as the **Accorlian Football League**, with ten member clubs. The initial ten clubs were Albany Hellas, Callimon Macedonia, Mullbourne United, Ripponlea Athletic, Rossmark United, Victoria FC, Warrington Wolves, Fitzroy FC, Delinham Azzurri and Newport City. In the inaugural season, Albany Hellas won the title finishing one point ahead of Callimon Macedonia. Originally, the league was created as a way of the best clubs in Accorlia to compete with each other and was not projected for mainstream success. Being the first national sports competition in the country, it became popular very quickly and in 1976, the Accorlian Football Association decided to strip the clubs of their nationalistic symbols. At first, these particular clubs opposed this move, but as time progressed its identity began to represent cities and regions and therefore meant no one true ethnicity could be represented through the football team. Many clubs which previously had ethnic ties have either little or no recognition of their pasts, however usually the respective ethnic social club is within a kilometer radius of the stadium.

By 1992, six new clubs had been introduced to create a sixteen team league. After almost twenty-years of top-flight football, Accorlia introduced the **Accorlian Football Association Championship** in 1992, while also renaming the top-flight league to the **Accorlian Premier League**. The AFAC, as it is commonly known, has consisted of sixteen teams since its inception, and provides 2.5 promotion spots after each season, as well as 2.5 relegation spots from the Accorlian Premier League.

In 2004, to open up the AFA league structure, the third division was created with sixteen teams also. The **Accorlian Football League** is played mostly by the youth teams, as well as regional clubs, and is hardly publicized with the exception of a new championship winner. Youth teams cannot be promoted from the league, and in the chance a youth team wins, the next best team is granted promotion.

## Structure

Below the Accorlian Premier League, there is the Accorlian Football Association Championship, and below that is the Accorlian Football League. The fourth level of football in Accorlia are the state leagues.

Prior to 1992, there was no promotion or relegation, with the league directly under the top-flight being state leagues. In order to allow more chance for development and growth, the second division was created in 1988, and the promotion and relegation system was implemented in 1992.

## Championships

*Note: Shows only the past fifteen Accorlian Premier League Winners*