Segunda División B
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Segunda División B is the third level of the Spanish football league system. It is administered by the RFEF. The top two levels are La Liga, also referred to as the Primera División and the Segunda División. Immediately below Segunda División B is the Tercera Division. Among the teams playing in the division during the 2007/08 season are Real Unión, who were founding members of La Liga. The division also includes the reserve teams of several La Liga teams including Real Madrid Castilla, Atlético Madrid B, Bilbao Athletic, Real Sociedad B, RCD Espanyol B, Celta de Vigo B and Real Betis B.
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[edit] Current Format
Segunda División B currently features 80 teams divided into 4 groups of 20. The top four teams from each group, 16 teams in total, qualify for play-offs to determine which four teams will replace the four teams relegated from the Segunda División. However reserve teams are only eligible for promotion to the Segunda División if their senior team is in the Primera División. The top five teams from each group and best two teams regardless of group outside the previous twenty, excluding reserve teams, also qualify for the following seasons Copa del Rey. The bottom four teams in each league are relegated to the Tercera División. Also, the four 16th-placed teams enter into a relegation playoff to determine the two teams to be relegated. One team is paired with one of the others in home and away series. the two winners remain in the division while the losers are relegated. A reserve team can also be relegated if their senior team is relegated from the Segunda División. Along with teams from the Tercera División, teams from the division also compete in the Copa Federación.
[edit] History
The term Segunda División B was first used during the inaugural La Liga season of 1928/29. It was used to designate a third level of teams after the Primera División and a Segunda División A. This division featured 10 teams and at the end of the season Cultural y Deportiva Leonesa were crowned champions. However the 1929/30 season saw the first of many reorganisations of the Spanish football league system and the original Segunda División B was replaced by the Tercera Division. At the start of the 1977/78 season the Segunda División B was revived, replacing the Tercera División as the third level. Initially the division consisted of only two groups. The second two groups were added for the 1987-88 season.
