I'm stealing this from a post in a Facebook group. I don't think I've seen it mentioned in the forum.
"If a team wins a trophy (cup, champions league, super league) it levels up (and loses 20%) regardless of its final league position."
Combine that with the current lack of tokens from associations for teams that finish 9th or below in their league and the only reason left to tank is to take a break or have your name up in lights in the top 100 list.