Veikkausliiga (Finland)

Veikkausliiga (Finland) (Finnish Premier League, top division in league format since 1930, founded in 1990) - the top professional club division in Finland under the Finnish Football Association. Regulations: 12 clubs take part, the season is played spring-to-autumn, the regular season is a double round-robin (22 matches), then the competition splits with points carried over - the top six enter the championship group and play 10 additional matches within the group, while the bottom six enter the relegation group and play 5 additional matches. Teams receive 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss, ties on points are broken by goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head criteria (points, goal difference, goals scored), then away goals in head-to-head matches and finally drawing of lots, and a replay to decide positions is used only if it is explicitly предусмотрено in the competition rules. The title is decided by the final table of the championship group, the bottom club of the relegation group is relegated to the second tier, and the team just above them plays a two-legged play-off home and away against a second-tier club, with the winner decided on aggregate goals, and if still level extra time and a penalty shoot-out are played in the second leg. UEFA competition qualification is determined by final positions - the champion enters UEFA Champions League qualifying, the Finnish Cup winner enters UEFA Europa League qualifying, and the next best teams enter UEFA Conference League qualifying.