One more thing, is there an English website with standings and statistics? If not could someone post a link to the Swedish web page? I should be able to understand that, I'm just having problems finding it.
And can someone explain the format of the playoffs please? I know about the relegation and promotion between the leagues, and I'm reading wikipedia now and it says the top three teams go directly to Kvalserien, and the next four play in a playoff series to determine the fourth team that goes to Kvalserien. So, are there actually playoffs to determine the champion of Allsvenskan? Or just the Kvalserien?
Thanks alot for the info!
PS anyone living in Lund?
The game on Feb 22 is actually the last
home game of the regular season. There is one away game left too.
The game is between the two main favorites for the 7th place. If they are still fighting for that spot, when it's time for the game, then I'm sure it will be a lovely game.
The team that finishes first in Allsvenskan is the champion. It doesn't really mean anything though, nothing people celebrate.
Team 1-3 from Allsvenskan joins team 11-12 form the SEL in Kvalserien (the 10-game qualification league to the SEL). The last spot in Kvalserien is determined by a small playoff between team 4-7 in Allsvenskan.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's team 4 vs 7 and team 5 vs 6 in the first round. The series are best of 3 and the winners go on to the "final" to decide which team gets the last spot in Kvalserien.
The 6 teams in Kvalserien play against each other twice (one home and away against each team), which means a total of 10 games for each team. The best two teams get promoted to the SEL for next season, while the other 4 will play in Allsvenskan next season.
The playoff to Kvalserien and Kvalserien itself can very much be compared with a regular playoff like the one to determine the Swedish champions. The difference though is that you have so much more to lose in Kvalserien than in for example the SEL playoffs.
BTW I actually lived in Lund a couple of years ago, when I studied there.