Macedonian First Football League
| 180px | |
| Country | Republic of Macedonia |
|---|---|
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | 2. MFL |
| Domestic cup(s) | Macedonian Football Cup |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League |
| Current champions | Vardar (8th title) (2014–15) |
| Most championships | Vardar (8 titles) |
| Website | ffm.mk |
 2015–16 |
|
The Macedonian First Football League (Macedonian: Прва македонска Фудбалска Лига, Prva Мakedonska Fudbalska Liga; also called Macedonian First League, 1. MFL and Prva Liga) is the highest professional football competition in the Republic of Macedonia. It is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Macedonian football league system and has been operating for about twenty years since the 1992–1993 season. It is organized by the Football Federation of Macedonia (FFM).
The championship titles won before 1992 are officially recognized by the Macedonian League as domestic regional cups.[1]
Contents
Format
Throughout the 1. MFL history, the number of clubs competing at the top level has been gradually decreased. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history:
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The league has 10 teams, and each team plays the other sides four times, for a total of 36 matches each.[2]
Due to the UEFA Ranking coefficients ranking (shown below); The winner of the league enters into the Qualifying Rounds of the Champions League, while the second and third placed teams are entered into the Qualifying Rounds of the Europa League along with the winner of the Macedonian Cup. At the end of the season, the bottom 2 teams are relegated to the Macedonian Second League while the 9th and 10th placed teams enter a play-off with the 3rd and 4th placed teams of the Macedonian Second League.
UEFA Rankings
UEFA Country Ranking for league participation in 2014–15 European football season (Previous year rank in italics) [3][4]
- 37
(35) 
Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina - 38
(46) 
Liechtenstein Football Cup - 39 (42)
Macedonian First League - 40 (43)
League of Ireland Premier Division - 41 (39)
Montenegrin First League
History
In 1923 it was organised the first edition of leagues in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia where, beside the top-level national Yugoslav Football Championship, regional championships were also played. The clubs of the Vardarska Banovina, territorially similar to present day Macedonia, played within the Belgrade Football Subassociation League until 1927,[5] when a separate Skoplje Football Subassociation League was formed.[6] The champions of Subassociation Leagues were granted a place in the qualifiers to the Yugoslav Championship, a top national level. Gragjanski Skopje became the only club to menage to participate in the national league, first in 1935–36 when the championship was played in a cup system,[7] and in 1938–39, when it was played in normal league system with Gragjanski finishing 10th out of 12 teams.[8] In 1939 the Yugoslav league system was changed, with the creation of separate Serbian and Croato-Slovenian Leagues which will serve as qualifying leagues for the final phase of the Yugoslav Championship.[9] The clubs from the Skopje Subassociation played their qualifications to the Serbian League, however only Gragjanski managed to participate, and it did it in both occasions, in 1939–40 (5th place)[10] and 1940–41 (8th place).[11]
List of seasons
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In 1992 the Macedonian Republic League, joined by the Macedonian clubs that played in the Yugoslav First and Second League, formed the Macedonian First Football League, the first time Macedonia had its own top-level national championship. The following table provides a summary of seasons and the top scorers since independence:[12][13]
- Key
| † | League champions also won the Macedonian Football Cup, i.e. they completed a domestic Double. |
Performance
The performance of various clubs is shown in the following table:[14][15]
By club
Note: Bold indicates clubs currently playing in the top division.
| Club | Titles | Runners-up | Third place | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vardar Skopje | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2003, 2012, 2013, 2015 |
| Rabotnički Skopje | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2005, 2006, 2008, 2014 |
| Sileks Kratovo | 3 | 5 | – | 1996, 1997, 1998 |
| Sloga Jugomagnat Skopje | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1999, 2000, 2001 |
| Pobeda Prilep | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2004, 2007 |
| Makedonija Skopje | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2010 |
| Renova Čepčište | 1 | – | 2 | 2009 |
| Shkëndija Tetovo | 1 | – | 2 | 2011 |
| Metalurg Skopje | – | 3 | 2 | – |
| Milano Kumanovo | – | 2 | – | – |
| Belasica Strumica | – | 2 | – | – |
| Horizont Turnovo | – | 1 | 1 | – |
| Balkan Skopje | – | – | 2 | – |
| Cementarnica Skopje | – | – | 1 | – |
| Pelister Bitola | – | – | 1 | – |
Current teams (2015–2016)
| Club |
Finishing position in season 2014–15[16] |
|---|---|
| Bregalnica Štip | 7th |
| Metalurg | 6th |
| Mladost Carev Dvor | 2nd in Second League[17] |
| Rabotnički | 2nd |
| Renova | 4th |
| Shkendija | 3rd |
| Sileks | 5th |
| Shkupi | 1st in Second League[17] |
| Turnovo | 8th |
| Vardar | 1st |
References
- ↑ http://ffm.com.mk/istorijanaffm (Macedonian)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Sijić, pag. 135
- ↑ Milorad Sijić: "Football in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia", pag. 142 (Serbian)
- ↑ Sijić, pag. 99–100
- ↑ Sijić, pag. 111–116
- ↑ Sijić, pag. 117
- ↑ Sijić, pag. 120–121
- ↑ Sijić, pag. 129
- ↑ http://www.rsssf.com/tablesf/fyromchamp.html
- ↑ http://www.rsssf.com/tablesf/fyromtops.html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://uk.soccerway.com/national/macedonia-fyr/first-league/c65/archive/?ICID=PL_3N_06
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Articles with Macedonian-language external links
- Articles with Serbian-language external links
- Use dmy dates from February 2013
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles containing Macedonian-language text
- Articles with hCards
- Macedonian First Football League
- Sports leagues established in 1992
- 1992 establishments in the Republic of Macedonia
- Football competitions in the Republic of Macedonia
- Top level football leagues in Europe
