Maximusian League of Association Football

Maximusian League of Association Football

Abbreviation	MLAF
Predecessor	Maximusian Football Association
Formation	January 11, 1956
Founded at	Perra, Peoria Maximusian Republic
Type	Association football league
Headquarters	Perra
Region	Libertas Omnium Maximus
Membership (2004)	22 teams
Official language	English
Affiliations	UHFA

The Maximusian League of Association Football, commonly known as the Maximusian League, is the preeminent league for professional association football in Libertas Omnium Maximus. The league consists of 22 teams, with each team playing two matches against every other team in the league during seasonal play (double round robin). The top 8 teams from seasonal play progress into a post-season single-elimination tournament, culminating with a championship final (introduced in 1988). The winner of the MLAF Championship game is awarded the Gold Pike Trophy, arguably the most prestigious award in any Maximusian domestic sporting league. The league was founded in 1956, replacing the dysfunctional Maximusian Football Association.

History

Semi-professional football clubs have existed in Libertas Omnium Maximus since at least the 1920s. In 1936, the Maximusian Football Association was formed as a decentralized federation to govern the most prestigious of these smaller, regional leagues, but the MFA was unable to generate meaningful viewership and, by the early 1940s, a mass exodus of players to better funded foreign leagues threatened to sink professional football in the Maximusian Republic. In 1956, the Maximusian League of Association Football was founded in Perra to professionalize the sport and unite disparate regional leagues and tournaments under one organization, originally organized into two tiers of 16 teams each. Initially, the league was much more popular in the nation's north and central regions, but gradually spread south. Although growth for the MLAF was extremely slow during the 1960s, largely due to the massive global conflict which threatened the Maximusian Republic's very existence for a number of years and necessitated the drafting of many football players, the 1970s saw the league finally begin to garner significant popularity. In 1979, a third division with twenty teams was added and, for the first time, the league began heavily recruiting internationally. In 1988, a post-season tournament was added to the league and the size of all three divisions was standardized to 20 teams per division.

The 1990s proved to be a watershed decade for the league. In addition to a number of international wins for MLAF clubs, bringing prestige both to the team and to the league, the Maximusian League successfully brokered a number of lucrative sponsorship deals with some of the largest brands in the nation and internationally. Three years, consecutively, in 1996, 1997, and 1998, the final match of the postseason tournament were the most viewed TV broadcast that year. In 1999, the second and third divisions were expanded to 24 and 22 teams, respectively. In 2004, the Maximusian League was expanded to its current format of 22 teams.

Competition

There are 22 teams in the League, which compete during regular seasonal play (generally September to early May) in a double round robin, playing every other team twice. Teams are ranked based on performance in these matches, with one point being awarded for draws, none for losses, and three for victories. In the event that teams are tied for points, they are distinguished by goal difference, then head-to-head record. At the end of each season, the eight top-ranked teams progress to the IUAirlines Cup, a post season single-elimination tournament. Winners of the IUAirlines Cup are awarded the Golden Pike Trophy, a six-foot long, solid bronze polearm adorned with a quartz spearhead.

At the end of every season, the two lowest ranked teams in the league are relegated to the Contender's League, (officially, Maximusian League of Association Football Division II), and the two highest-ranked teams in the Contender's League are promoted to the MLAF. In the past, relegation does not occur if the size of the league is expanded between seasons, though the league has not increased its size since 2004. Because Contender's League clubs tend to be underfunded compared to established Maximusian League clubs, "bouncing," being promoted to the MLAF and then relegated at the end of the next season, is a frequent occurrence.

International Competitions

The top four teams of the League automatically qualify for the subsequent season's UHFA Elite Championship.

Clubs

Team	City	Ranking (2022-2023)	Titles	Most Recent Title	Mascot
Litudinem FC	Litudinem, Passarelle	4th	8	2019	Dolphins
Iustitia City FC	Iustitia City, Iustitia	2nd	6	2021	Mariners
Saint Augustine FC	Saint Augustine, Saint Augustine	3rd	4	2022	Saints
Perra FC	Perra, Peoria	11th	3	2013	Guardians
Lyne River AC	Holland Vale, Passarelle	8th	3	2020	Storm
Port City FC	Newport, Caporolla	9th	3	2003	Stevedores
Ashford FC	Ashford Downs, Vircetta	1st	3	2023	Rams
Lumeniola FC	East Lumeniola, Hampton	12th	2	1999	East'ies
Burton AC	Burton, Elizabeth	7th	2	2011	Badgers
Chester FC	Chester, Bressel	15th	1	2009	Cleavers
Lumeniola AC	West Lumeniola, Elizabeth	5th	1	2015	West'ies
Brannigan FC	Brannigan, Scapardie	6th	1	2017	Bulls
Redbury FC	Redbury, Hampton	14th	0		Vipers
Papillonea AC	Papillonea, Cennabaile	18th	0		Banners
Broadmoore FC	Broadmoore, Saint Augustine	10th	0		Bears
Jennings FC	Jennings, Bressel	19th	0		Javelins
Red Hill FC	Sablerock, Winfield	16th	0		Militia
Oxbend AC	Oxbend, Newcastle	20th	0		Stampede
Sentinel Island FC	Cape Ashleigh, Sentinel	17th	0		Islanders
Jericho FC	Jericho, Scapardie	13th	0		Swordsmen
Hampton Valley AC	Ceridanna, Hampton	Promoted to League	0		Vines
East Vircetta FC	Troy, Vircetta		0		Cavalry

Champions

With 8 titles, most recently, in 2019, Litudinem FC is the winningest team in league history, followed by now-relegated Millstrath Steel AC, which won 7 titles from 1967 to 1979. Burton AC, which won the league in 1970 and 2011, has the longest gap between titles in league history (41 years).