[nffc]

Re: the split.

Before the SPL was increased from 10 to 12 teams they played each other 4 times.
9x4=36 games played. (cf with EPL (38) and EFL (46))

Of course increasing the number of teams increases the number of games.
> 11x4=44 games. Not as much as the EFL but considered too much considering sides have Euro games, international players and longer cup runs to factor in.
> 11x2=22games. Nowhere near enough.
> 11x3=33 games. Would favour the side playing at home twice so not fair test.
So ... they adopted the Swiss/Croatian system. 3x (33 games) then the league splits in half and the remaining six teams in each half play each other. I believe H/A is allocated on the basis of 2H 2A but i could be wrong.
33 pre-split + 5 post-split = 38

And yes, 7th invariably ends up with more pts than 6th.