Start a new season
One of the most important tasks for the league admin is to start a new season in his/her league. It can perhaps be seen as a little bit complicated but it is actually not that difficult. It can however be a good idea to spend a little time thinking about what your league should look like. You find the link to "Start a new season" in the left hand menu on the league info page which you reach by choosing the menu alternative "League info" in the fixed left hand menu when logged on to a league. This link will not be visible if your league contains less than 6 teams or if a season is on-going. When a season ends in your league and the season update has taken place the link will be visible again.

When you start a new season in your league you should think about the following points:

Has everyone you want in your league joined it?
You should not start a new season until everybody you want to be in your league has joined and got a team. Once you have started a season no one new can normally join the league until the season ends at that can take months. If you realize you have started the season too early there is nothing you can do about it as it cannot be undone.

How often should league matches be played?
You can choose whether league matches should be played once or twice a week. Think about what the members in your league might prefer. It does not have to take much time to play Xpert Eleven but 2 matches a week might still be too much for some. For most people however 2 matches a week is probably just right. You must also keep in mind that if you choose 2 league matches a week you cannot have a cup tournament in the league. Only if you play 1 league match a week is there room for a cup tournament.

Should everyone play in one big series or should the league be divided into divisions.
If your league contains 12 or more teams you can if you want to have more than one division. The more teams a series contains the longer the season will last. There is no upper limit to the number of teams one series can have but we here at Xpert Eleven recommend about 8 teams per series.

If you have several divisions, what league system should be used
If your league contains 18 teams or more you have to think about what system to use. The alternatives are a straight system (1:1) or a pyramid like system (1:2). In a straight system each division contains one series. In a pyramid system of the 1:2 kind the number of series double for each division, that is the number of series in one division is double that of the division above. There is also a 1:3 pyramid system where the number of series treble for each division but this should only be used in large leagues. If the league admin is a VIP-member and the league contains at least 16 teams you can also choose the CL-system which includes a group stage followed by playoffs.

How many relegation places should there be in a series?
If you choose more than one division you have to decide on how many teams are relegated and promoted. We at Xpert Eleven recommend having at least two teams relegated per series. On the page where you fill in your choices you will se how they affect the number of teams in each series and the length of the season. A recommendation is if "Maximum number of teams/series" differs from "minimum number of teams/series" then try to see that the maximum number is an even number. Otherwise some series will last 4 rounds longer than others. You can of course have it this way but you should be aware of this effect.

What name should be given to the top division?
You can choose to give the top division a special name. If you choose not to it will be given the same name as the league itself.

Inactive teams are deleted at the start of a season
When creating a new season it will only contain active teams so any inactive teams in your league will disappear and be deleted. Therefore it is important to go through the list of members and check that all teams you want to remain in the league are active. This is also a good time to get rid of teams whose owners have stopped logging on. The inactivation of teams is done on the member's page and you can read more about this here.

Starting a new season takes a little extra time
When you have made your choices and entered all the data on the "Start a new season" page you click the "Start season" button. A process is then triggered which creates a new season in your league. There is quite a lot to be carried out especially if your league has lot of teams. It can therefore take a few seconds before all is done. To make it easier for the system it is good if you try to start a season at a time when there is not so much traffic on the site. When the system has created the new season you will be forwarded to the league table page. Now you just have to wait for the first round to begin. You should perhaps inform the other members that a new season has been created and when it will start.

It may seem difficult to be a league admin but the fact is that most things are done automatically. The only major task is starting a new season and the first time you do this you are provided with a ready made suggestion of what your league could look like. You can make your own choices or just accept this suggestion and click the "Start season" button and that's all. The next time you start a season the same settings you used for the last season will be used again unless you decide to change them of course.
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