Linafoot Ligue 2
Linafoot Ligue 2, also known as Ligue 2 or for sponsorship reasons Illicocash Ligue 2, is the second-tier football competition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Created in 2012, it is organized by Linafoot under the authority of the Congolese Association Football Federation.
History
Before the creation of Ligue 2, Congolese football was organized through a network of provincial championships. Each province ran its own league, and at the end of the season the best clubs from the provincial competitions advanced to the national qualification phase.In 2012, following the formation of Linafoot Ligue 1, the national federation introduced a promotion system called the Tournoi de la Montée, which brought together the champions of all provincial leagues. The competition was organized into three geographical zones: West, East, and Center–South.
The format remained in place until 2017, when the federation decided to restructure the pyramid and create a true nationwide second division. As a result, in 2018, the provincial champions were incorporated into the newly established Ligue 2, replacing the old promotion tournament. To address the challenges of long distances and reduce travel costs for the teams, the idea of a single national pool was abandoned in favor of a traditional format consisting of three groups divided by zones, West, East, and Center–South, each comprising 10 teams.