Dhivehi League consists of 3 rounds of teams that play a round robin format, which means that each team plays each other twice; once at home and once as visitor. In the 3rd round only the top 6 teams will play while the lower 2 teams will be relegated.
Every year, 8 teams compete in this high-profile competition, the top level in Maldives.
Dhivehi League qualification methods:
Zone 1–8 consists of the Atolls and the two finalists of Zone 1–8 Final Tournament and the top 2 teams of Zone 9 Qualification (Malé League, First Division) participate in Dhivehi League along with the 4 best-finishers in the Dhivehi League of the previous year. Finalists of the Second Division will get the chance to promote to the first division after a qualification round with the lowest ranked two teams of the Dhivehi League.
On 22 December 2014:
The FAM normalisation committee formed by FIFA has decided to rebrand Dhivehi League as Dhivehi Premier League.
FAM have decided to play two rounds in the league from 2015, instead of three rounds, the bottom team will relegate to the second division automatically and the champion of the second division will qualify for the league while runner-up of second division and second last placed team of the premier league will play a play-off match to secure a spot on the top league.