Scottish play-offs

[liverpoolfoo]

Hi could someone possibly explain how these work? This commig wknd there are 4 play off semi finals up in scotland!! These are as follows

Airdrie who finished 2nd bottom of Div 1 playing Peterhead who finished 4th in Div2

Ayr 2nd in Div 2 v Brechin 3rd in Div2

Cowdenbeath 2nd Div3 v East Stirling 3rd in Div3
Queens Park 2nd bottom Div 1 v Stenhousemuir 4th Div3

Why not play teams in the same league??? I'm totaly confused i've even asked a friend who lives in scotland & he's not sure how it works. Thanks for any help

[paraffin]

I'll tell you how to see the rules:

[SeaJayPea]

Stolen directly from Wikipedia. Not entirely sure that it helps, though.

In the First/Second and Second/Third Division, while the champions are automatically promoted and the bottom team relegated, there are playoffs of the second-bottom teams against the second, third and fourth placed teams from the league below. Home and away ties decide semi-finals and a final, and the overall winner plays in the higher league the following season, with the loser in the lower league.

Got it. There's only one automatic promotion place, and the bottom team gets relegated. So the second promotion place is decided between the three runners-up in the lower league and the 2nd from bottom in the higher one. Meaning that, if the latter wins the overall competition, there is no second promotion and relegation that season, they just keep their slot.

I hope this helps. Talk about making things complicated.

[paraffin]

Google www.scottishfootballleague.com

[mark01]

CJP - This was almost the identical way the playoffs were played in the Football League, back in the 1980s - until it was changed to the current format.

[liverpoolfoo]

Sorry for the delay Guys, & thanks for the help

[SeaJayPea]

Yes, I remember Mark. Wasn't it then between say, 18 and 19 in Div 1 and 2 and 3 in Div 2? Sort of rings bells in this old brain.