In Association Football, the act of Relegation is where a team is transferred to a league(s) below their current one, based on their performance (or lack thereof) that season.
In leagues such as the Premier League, where money is an increasingly important aspect of the game, teams that are relegated from that league qualify for "parachute payments", a series of payments made over three seasons to soften the financial blow that comes with no longer being in the English top flight.
Relegation may also additionally be decided with play-off(s); the Scottish Premiership in the late nineties had this system, and it was recently re-introduced in the 2013-14 season, albeit in modified form.