Phase 2 of the C-League set to start this weekend

Phase 2 of the C-League is set to start this weekend, and to put it mildly it is a bit complicated. Khmer Nights are here to explain how the championship and relegation battles will be decided in the 2021 Cambodian metfone C-League season.

To read what it is like to watch football in Cambodia click here

What was phase 1 of the season

OK, so there are 13 teams in the metfone C-League, unlucky for some as they say. This means that phase 1 of the competition involved each team playing each other once, either home, or away. Now this is where the complicated part starts.

The top 8 clubs qualify for the championship “play-offs”, while the bottom 5 qualify for the religion “play-offs”, except they will be done on a league basis – more on that later.

The top placed team in the league ended up being Phnom Penh Crown, who narrowly led at the top by goal difference from Visakha FC.  At the bottom of the pile were sorry National Police, one point above Solito Angkor FC.

To read about the Siem Reap derby click here.

Phase 2 of the C-League – The Championship Round

And the qualifiers were, in order of points the following eight! Very little separating the top four, but with Kirivong Sok Sen Chey FC narrowly scraping in by goal difference.

  1. Phnom Penh Crown FC      – 28
  2. Viaskha FC – 28
  3. Naga World FC – 25
  4. Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng  -25
  5. FC Boeung Ket FC – 24
  6. Angkor Tiger FC – 21
  7. Tiffy Army FC – 19
  8. Kirivong Sok Sen Chey FC – 13

These top 8 will now play each other in a round robin format, so once more against each other, with the top team being crowned champions.

Points are carried from the first round, but no matter how badly they do no team can come below 8th.

Phase 2of the C-League – The Relegation Round

As stated Asia Euro United were unlucky to end up in the group, having a great bunch of players, a good stadium and can be fairly confident of staying up. EDC FC, a Khmer Nights favourite have been really unlucky in many matches this season, although the recent brawl in the 3-0 home loss to Tiffy Army surely did them no favours.

9.  Asia Euro United – 13

10.  Electricite Du Cambodge FC 7

11.  Prey Veng 6

12.  Saltily Angkor FC 5

13.  National Police FC 4

Just to make things that bit more complicated the relegation round consists of the aforementioned five clubs, with no participation from the C-League 2, as, well it never got finished.

Teams will also carry points from the previous round, but while also playing each other once will thus play less games than the top teams. The bottom team will be relegated.

Phase 2 of the C-League – will any C-League 2 teams be promoted?

 Phase 2 of the C-League
Phase 2 of the C-League

This is hard to say, because no one has said it! The Hun Sen Cup acts as a qualifier for C-League 2, this has not been announced to finish, nor finished, so maybe no team will be promoted. If they do just relegate one team it will mean that at least the Cambodian Premier League will have a nice even 12 teams, hurrah!

Why such a strange format?

The theory is that the best of the best play the best of the best, while the relegation clubs all have something to play for. In essence every game should be more “exciting”. This begs the question, why do the plagues not do this format right? Well they tried it in Scotland and it was a bit rubbish, so they got rid of it.

And now the fun starts!

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Leon Havana
Author: Leon Havana

A trained chef and sports aficionado with extensive experience across South America and Asia. Leon’s culinary creations celebrate local flavors, while his love for sports like football and boxing connects him with local communities.