2015–16 Liga I facts for kids
| Final positions | |
|---|---|
| Champions | Astra Giurgiu (1st title) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 268 |
| Goals scored | 659 (2.46 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Ioan Hora (19 goals) |
The 2016–17 Liga I was an exciting football season in Romania. It was the 98th time this top football league was played. The season started on July 10, 2015, and finished in May 2016. The team that won the championship was Astra Giurgiu.
Contents
Teams in the League
Fourteen different football clubs played in the 2016–17 Liga I season. Here are the teams that competed:
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How the Season Worked
The Liga I season was split into two main parts: the Regular Season and the Play-offs.
Regular Season Standings
In the Regular Season, all 14 teams played each other twice. This meant each team played 26 matches. After these matches, the teams were split into two groups based on their points.
The top six teams went into the "Championship Round." These teams competed to win the league title and qualify for European competitions.
The other eight teams went into the "Relegation Round." These teams played to avoid being moved down to a lower league.
Here is how the teams finished in the Regular Season:
| Pos. | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Diff. | Points | What happened next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Astra Giurgiu | 26 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 42 | 29 | +13 | 51 | Moved to Championship Round |
| 2 | Dinamo București | 26 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 36 | 24 | +12 | 48 | |
| 3 | Pandurii Târgu Jiu | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 35 | 26 | +9 | 47 | |
| 4 | Viitorul Constanța | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 49 | 30 | +19 | 46 | |
| 5 | Steaua București | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 35 | 25 | +10 | 44 | |
| 6 | Târgu Mureș | 26 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 27 | 21 | +6 | 38 | |
| 7 | Municipal Studențesc Iași | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 22 | 25 | −3 | 37 | Moved to Relegation Round |
| 8 | Universitatea Craiova | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 26 | 27 | −1 | 31 | |
| 9 | CFR Cluj | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 31 | 25 | +6 | 27 | |
| 10 | Botoșani | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 30 | 35 | −5 | 26 | |
| 11 | Poli Timișoara | 26 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 24 | 35 | −11 | 25 | |
| 12 | Voluntari | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 28 | 42 | −14 | 24 | |
| 13 | Concordia Chiajna | 26 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 22 | 46 | −24 | 17 | |
| 14 | Petrolul Ploiești | 26 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 17 | 34 | −17 | 8 |
* CFR Cluj and Petrolul Ploiești had points taken away because they didn't follow certain rules.
Championship Round
In this round, the top six teams played each other again. Their points from the Regular Season were cut in half (and rounded up). This made the competition very close!
The winner of this round became the league champion. The top teams also got spots in big European football tournaments like the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
| Pos. | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Diff. | Points | What happened next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Astra Giurgiu (C) | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 9 | +11 | 48 | Qualified for Champions League |
| 2 | Steaua București | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 8 | +10 | 43 | |
| 3 | Pandurii Târgu Jiu | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 39 | Qualified for Europa League |
| 4 | Dinamo București | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 36 | |
| 5 | Viitorul Constanța | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 21 | −7 | 29 | Qualified for Europa League |
| 6 | Târgu Mureș | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 24 | −16 | 22 |
* Dinamo București could not play in UEFA competitions because of an old rule issue.
Relegation Round
The bottom eight teams also had their Regular Season points cut in half. They played each other to avoid being relegated, which means moving down to a lower league called Liga II.
The teams that finished at the very bottom of this round were sent down to Liga II. The team just above them had to play extra matches (play-offs) to try and stay in Liga I.
| Pos. | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Diff. | Points | What happened next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Municipal Studențesc Iași | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 15 | +2 | 39 | Qualified for Europa League |
| 8 | Universitatea Craiova | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 39 | |
| 9 | Botoșani | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 19 | +10 | 38 | |
| 10 | CFR Cluj | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 13 | +12 | 36 | |
| 11 | Concordia Chiajna | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 13 | +6 | 35 | |
| 12 | Voluntari | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 19 | 20 | −1 | 29 | Moved to Relegation Play-offs |
| 13 | Poli Timișoara | 14 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 36 | −22 | 20 | Relegated to Liga II |
| 14 | Petrolul Ploiești | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 18 |
Relegation Play-offs
The team that finished 12th in the Relegation Round, Voluntari, had to play against a team from the Liga II (second division) to decide who would play in Liga I next season.
Voluntari played against UTA Arad. Voluntari won these matches and got to stay in the Liga I for the next season.
See also
In Spanish: Liga I 2015-16 para niños
