Liga III
Association football league in Romania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, and known as Superscore Liga 3 for sponsorship reasons,[1] is the third level of the Romanian football league system. Founded in 1936 as Divizia C, the competition was known as Divizia B between 1992 and 1997 and has been called Liga III since the 2006–07 season.[2]
| |
| Organising body | Romanian Football Federation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1936 |
| Country | Romania |
| Number of clubs | 96 (8x12) |
| Level on pyramid | 3 |
| Promotion to | Liga II |
| Relegation to | Liga IV |
| Domestic cup(s) | Cupa României Supercupa României |
| Current champions | Bucovina Rădăuți, Metalul Buzău, Afumați, CS Dinamo București, Câmpulung Muscel, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Ghiroda, Bihor Oradea, Gloria Bistrița-Năsăud, Zalău (2023–24) |
| Website | frfotbal.ro |
| Current: 2025–26 Liga III | |
History
Divizia C was founded in 1936 with the aim of creating an organisational and managerial buffer between national and regional football. Over time, the competition was abolished and reintroduced several times, particularly during periods when a fully local management structure was preferred. In other periods, its format was highly unstable.[3]
Until 1963, the competition was held irregularly. After the first two seasons (1936–37 and 1937–38), Divizia C was discontinued and resumed only for the 1946–47 season. Following another interruption, a new attempt was made in 1948–49, but the season was abandoned midway.[4][5][3]
The fourth edition took place in 1956, followed by the 1957–58 and 1958–59 seasons. After a further four-year hiatus, the competition returned in 1963–64, organised into four geographical series (East, West, South and North), each consisting of twelve teams, with the number of teams per series increasing to fourteen in the next season, and from that point the competition was held annually, undergoing several format changes in the following years.[3]
From 1968–69, the league expanded to eight geographical series of sixteen teams each. In 1971–72, it was reorganised again into twelve series of fourteen teams, later increased to sixteen teams from the 1973–74 season, this format being maintained until the 1992 restructuring of the Romanian football system, when it was reduced to four geographical series of twenty teams each and renamed Divizia B.[3]
In the 2020–21 season, Liga III was reorganised from five to ten geographically based series of ten teams each during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Each series was played in a double round-robin format. At the end of the regular season, a promotion play-off system was introduced in two rounds, with teams from paired series (1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 9–10) competing to determine the five teams promoted to Liga II.[6]
From the 2021–22 season, the format was adjusted to include internal post-season phases within each series. The top four teams entered a series play-off, while the remaining six teams competed in a play-out to determine relegation. Following these stages, the top two teams from each series qualified for the inter-series promotion play-offs, which ultimately produced five teams promoted to Liga II.
This structure remained in place in the following seasons, with an exception in the 2023–24 season, when the number of promoted teams was increased to six following the expansion of Liga II to 22 teams. The sixth promotion place is decided through a knockout tournament involving four of the five teams defeated in the promotion play-off finals.
Current format
Starting with the 2025–26 season, the format was changed to 96 teams divided into eight series of twelve teams, played across three phases: a regular season, post-season play-offs and play-outs, and a knockout tournament for the fifth promotion place.[7]
In the regular season, each team plays 22 matches in a double round-robin format. The top four teams from each series advance to the promotion play-offs, while the remaining teams enter the play-outs.[7]
In the promotion play-offs, qualified teams are paired with those from a neighbouring series (1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8), forming four play-off groups. The winners of each group are promoted to Liga II, while the runners-up compete in a knockout tournament for a fifth promotion place.[7]
In the play-outs, teams ranked 5th–12th play a single round-robin (7 matches), carrying over the points accumulated during the regular season. The bottom two teams from each play-out group are relegated, along with five additional 6th-placed teams, determined by an overall ranking.[7]
List of champions and promoted teams
Source:[8]
Divizia C (–1992)
Divizia B (1992–1997)
| Season | Seria I | Seria II | Seria III | Seria IV | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992–93 | Constructorul Iași | Metalul Plopeni | Gaz Metan Mediaș | Phoenix Baia Mare | ||||
| 1993–94 | Cetatea Târgu Neamț | Poiana Câmpina | Dacia Pitești | Unirea Dej | ||||
| 1994–95 | Foresta Fălticeni | Oțelul Târgoviște | Minerul Motru | Minaur Zlatna | ||||
| Other promoted teams: Electro Mecon Onești (I), Dunărea Călărași (II), ARO Câmpulung (III), Olimpia Satu Mare (IV). | ||||||||
| 1995–96 | Petrolul Moinești | Danubiana București | Precizia Săcele | CFR Cluj-Napoca | ||||
| 1996–97 | Nitramonia Făgăraș | Midia Năvodari | Vega Deva | UM Timișoara | ||||
Divizia C (1997–2006)
| Season | Seria I | Seria II | Seria III | Seria IV | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | Laminorul Roman | Cimentul Fieni | Rulmentul Alexandria | Bihor Oradea | ||||
| Other promoted teams: Chimica Târnăveni (I), Drobeta-Turnu Severin (III) | ||||||||
| 1998–99 | Diplomatic Focșani | Callatis Mangalia | Electro Bere Craiova | UM Timișoara | ||||
| Other promoted teams: Juventus București (II), Flacăra Râmnicu Vâlcea (III) | ||||||||
| Season | Seria I | Seria II | Seria III | Seria IV | Seria V | Seria VI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–00 | Apemin Borsec | Hondor Agigea | Fulgerul Bragadiru | Cetate Deva | Pandurii Târgu Jiu | Baia Mare |
| Season | Seria I | Seria II | Seria III | Seria IV | Seria V | Seria VI | Seria VII | Seria VIII |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Petrolul Moinești | Dacia Unirea Brăila | Inter Gaz București | Electromagnetica București | Inter Pitești | Minaur Zlatna | IS Câmpia Turzii | Universitatea Cluj |
| 2001–02 | Politehnica Unirea Iași | Gloria Buzău | Medgidia | Rulmentul Alexandria | Minerul Motru | Corvinul Hunedoara | Metrom Brașov | CFR Cluj-Napoca |
| 2002–03 | Petrolul Moinești | Unirea Urziceni | Juventus București | Dacia Mioveni | Rarora Râmnicu Vâlcea | Jiul Petroșani | Oltul Sfântu Gheorghe | Armătura Zalău |
| Other promoted teams: Laminorul Roman (I), FC Vaslui (I), Poiana Câmpina (II), Callatis Mangalia (III), Electrica Constanța (III), Chindia Târgoviște (IV), Building Vânju Mare (V), Certej (VI), ACU Arad (VI), Precizia Săcele (VII), Tricotaje Ineu (VIII), Oașul Negrești (VIII). | ||||||||
| Season | Seria I | Seria II | Seria III | Seria IV | Seria V | Seria VI | Seria VII | Seria VIII | Seria IX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | Botoșani | Dunărea Galați | Otopeni | Ghimbav | Oltul Slatina | Politehnica Timișoara | Unirea Sânnicolau Mare | Unirea Dej | FC Sibiu |
| 2004–05 | Cetatea Suceava | Portul Constanța | Dunărea Giurgiu | Poiana Câmpina | Râmnicu Vâlcea | CFR Timișoara | Minerul Lupeni | Forex Brașov | Gloria Bistrița II |
| 2005–06 | Politehnica Iași II | Delta Tulcea | Snagov | Chimia Brazi | Building Vânju Mare | Oltchim Râmnicu Vâlcea | Auxerre Lugoj | Baia Mare | Ghimbav |
| Other promoted teams: Ghimbav were not eligible for promotion, runners-up Tractorul Brașov promoted. | |||||||||