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OFFICIAL/ The Albanian Super League will be made up of 12 teams, the Albanian Football Association (AFH) confirms

2026-06-23 18:01:00, Sport CNA

OFFICIAL/ The Albanian Super League will be made up of 12 teams, the Albanian

The Executive Committee of the Albanian Football Association held its next meeting this Tuesday at the “House of Football”. The meeting agenda included a number of important issues directly related to the development of Albanian football, starting from changes in competition regulations and championship formats, to infrastructure projects.

One of the most important decisions approved at today's meeting was the change in the format of the "Abissnet Superiore" championship, which will come into effect starting from the 2026/2027 season, with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of the championships, maintaining sporting interest throughout the season and improving the preparation of Albanian clubs for participation in European competitions.

From the 2026/2027 season, the championship will no longer be played with four regular phases, 36 weeks of competition and the “Final 4” phase. The new format foresees the development of three regular phases, with a total of 27 weeks.

After their completion, the teams will be divided into two groups, based on the final rankings. The points accumulated during the regular phase will be halved before the start of the play-off and play-out phases.

The top six teams will qualify for the play-off phase, where they will play a home-and-away series over a total of 10 weeks. The team that finishes first at the end of this phase will be declared the champion of the 2026/2027 season.

The four teams ranked in the last places (from 7th to 10th place) will participate in the play-out phase, where they will also play in a home-and-away system, in a total of 9 weeks of competition.

The team ranked last at the end of the play-out phase will automatically fall to the First Category. The top two teams in the First Category at the end of this season will automatically advance to the “Abissnet Superiore”.

The teams ranked 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th in the First Category in the play-off phase will play matches according to the 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5 scheme. The winners of these two pairs will face off in a final and the winner of this final will advance to the "Abissnet Superiore" championship in the next season.

While the other finalist team will play a final with the team ranked second to last in the play-out phase of the “Abissnet Superiore”. The winner of this duel will ensure participation in the “Abissnet Superiore”.

Meanwhile, starting from the 2027/2028 season, the “Abissnet Superiore” championship will expand from 10 to 12 teams. According to the new format, the championship will be held in two regular phases, with a total of 22 weeks of competition.

After their completion, the teams will be divided into two groups according to the final standings after 22 weeks. The points accumulated during the regular phase will be halved before the start of the play-off and play-out phases.

The top six teams will compete in the play-off phase, where they will play home and away matches for a total of 10 weeks of competition. The team ranked in first place will be declared the champion of the 2027/2028 edition.

Also, the six teams ranked in the bottom half of the table will play in a 10-week home-and-away play-off. The two teams ranked in the bottom two places will automatically be relegated to the First Division for the following season.

The third-to-last ranked team will play the play-off match for staying in the category against the winner of the First Category play-off phase (played between the teams ranked in places 3-4-5-6).