berths. Italy In 2004–05, Italy's professional league introduced a promotion playoff to its second tier of football, Serie B. It operates almost identically to the system currently used in England. The top two clubs in Serie B earn automatic promotion to Serie A with the next four clubs entering a playoff to determine who wins the third promotion place, as long as fewer than 10 points separate the third and fourth-placed teams (which often occurs). Like the English playoffs, the Italian playoffs employ two-legged semi-finals, with the higher finisher in the league table earning home advantage in the second leg. If the teams are level on aggregate after full-time of the second leg, away goals are not used, but extra time is used. Unlike England, the Italian playoff final is two-legged, again with the higher finisher earning home advantage in the second leg. In both rounds, if the tie is level on aggregate after extra time in the second leg, the team that finished higher in the league standings wins. In 2003–04, Italy's football league used a two-legged test match to determine one spot in the top level of its system, Serie A. Some leagues in continental Europe combine automatic promotion/relegation with test matches. For example, in the Netherlands, only one club is automatically relegated from its top level, the Eredivisie, each season, with the winner of the second-flight being promoted. The next two lower-placed teams enter a promotion/relegation mini-league with high-placed teams from the Dutch First Division Japan J.League in Japan used a test match series between the third-from-bottom team in J1 and third-place team in J2 (see J. League promotion/relegation Series) from 2004 to 2008. The promotion/relegation Series concept dates as far back as 1965 and the first season of the Japan Soccer League. The J.League Championship was held in J.League Division 1 from the inaugural season in 1993 to the 2004 season, and in the J1 League for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, as a post-season tournament to determine the annual champion. Promotion/relegation Series occurred with the 2012–2016 seasons of J. League Division 2/J2 League, conditional on the top two J3 League (JFL teams from 2012 to 2013) fulfilling J. League club criteria. In turn, J2 implemented a promotion playoff to J1 on the style of England for the 3rd to 6th clubs. The Japan Football League, the current Japanese 4th division, uses the promotion/relegation Series only