The last round of the Regional League will be played tomorrow.
A day before the last matches of the regular season, the Regional League Board decided to expand the A1 League for the next season.
In the season 2020/21, the number of participating clubs in the A1 League (which will be renamed to the Premier League) increases from 10 to 12.
That means that none of the clubs will be relegated directly to A2 League this season.
According to the previous regulations, which were valid until today, the 10th-placed team would be relegated, while the ninth-placed would play in the relegation playoffs against the 2nd-placed team of the A2 League.
New regulations
These are the new regulations which have been published this evening:
– In the A1 Regional League (Premier League) for the 2020/2021 season the number of clubs increases from 10 to 12.
– The Group A1 will be called the Premier League, and the Group A2 will be called the 1st Regional League or Group A1 RL.
– The 9th-ranked club from the A1 League in the 2019/2020 season will not play playoff games with the 2nd-ranked club in Group A2 (RL Proposals). Both clubs will qualify for the A1 League for the 2020/2021 season. (Premier League).
– The 10th-placed club in the A1 League in the 2019/2020 season will play two playoffs games with the third-placed club from Group A2 for a spot in the Group A1 (Premier League) for the 2020/2021 season.
– The ten-ranked club in A1League plays the first game of the playoffs as a guest and the second as a host.
In an explanatory statement, the Regional League Board wrote:
“It is evident that a part of the clubs in group A2 is equal in quality with some clubs in the lower part of the A1 League, which is confirmed by the still uncertain final of the championship in group A1 since the last round will decide the order of the three last-placed teams. All national federations of the League participated positively, so the Board made this decision.”
The teams which secured their spots in the A1 (Premier) League for the next season are Jug Dubrovnik, Mladost Zagreb, Jadran Herceg Novi, Jadran Split, Crvena Zvezda, Sabac, Budva (1st – 7th place in the A1 League), KVK Radnicki (1st in the A2 League) and Solaris (2nd in the A2 League).
Partizan, which is currently in the last place, Primorac and Mornar are in the battle for the 8th and 9th place in the A1 League.
Standings in the A1 League (group 6th – 10th place), before the last round: 6. Budva 15 pts (13 games), 7. Sabac 13 (12), 8. Primorac 10 (12), 9. Mornar 9 (12), 10. Partizan 8 (12).
Tomorrow, in the last round, Primorac will host Partizan, while Mornar will visit Serbia to play against Sabac.
Everything is decided in the A2 League – Radnicki will remain in 1st place, Solaris will enter the A1 (Premier) League from 2nd place, while 3rd-placed Primorje will have a chance in the playoffs.
