Division (sport)
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A division in sport consists of a group of teams who compete against one another for a divisional title, or other honour.
Divisions are often organised in such a way that teams or players in any given division are comparably adept at their chosen sport, such that matches are exciting. Often this is achieved by ensuring that the victors of one division are promoted to some 'higher' division upon achieving their divisional title, swapping places with the bottom-placed team in that higher league. Variations on this idea exist in the form of playoffs. Sometimes divisions are based on geography--for instance, Major League Baseball's National League has East, West, and Central divisions. In some sports, the geographical divisions bear a very loose relation to actual geography; this is sometimes a source of controversy, as in the National Football League.
A league is such a set of divisions (or can describe an individual division within a league) in which teams can move between differently ranked divisions.
In soccer, each nation has its own football league.