Liga III

Liga III, also known as Liga 3, is the third most important league in Romania’s football pyramid. The league was launched in 1936 under the name Divizia C, which was changed in 2006 to Liga III. The Romanian Football Federation created this league to become a bridge between amateur and professional football, as it is composed by many teams from different regions.

The federation has set a limit for the number of teams playing in this category, which stands at one hundred, divided into ten groups. The format requires all teams to play against each other twice, before the top four in each group make it to the playoff round. The playoff round will also see a round robin format between the clubs that qualify, and the two best clubs in each playoff make it to the final round, where they will face a team from a different region in a two-leg tie to secure promotion.

As for the remaining six teams in each group, they all enter a relegation playoff under the same round robin format. The two worst teams in each group are automatically relegated, while a third enters a promotion playoff against a team from Liga IV.

Teams from this league also earn access to the Cupa Romaniei and, in the event of any of them winning that match, they are also given the chance to play the Supercupa Romaniei.