First League of the Republika Srpska#League champions

Since there were three different football championships in the country, organized on ethnic principles, the "First League of the Republika Srpska" was the top flight in the Republika Srpska before 2002. However, the champions of this League were not recognized by UEFA. In 2002, the top clubs from the Republika Srpska joined the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the First League was kept as one of two second level divisions. It is still run by the Football Association of Republika Srpska, and has ended its boycott of Bosnian football on a federal level.

The league changed format in the 2014–15 season and was split into two stages, the regular season and the playoffs. Each of the 12 competitors in the First League hosts every other team once in the regular season, for a total of 22 matches. A playoff phase is then played from April to May. The point system in the championship playoff is the same as during the regular season, except that each team starts with half of the points they won in the regular season, rounded up to the nearest integer. The points gained by rounding are deducted in the case of a tie. Similar systems are also used in the Belgian First Division A and the Polish Ekstraklasa.

The top six teams from the regular season enter the championship playoff, with the first-placed team winning the First League and teams ranked from 7 to 12 after the regular season enter the relegation playoffs. Each team plays their opponents once. The League champion is promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season, and the bottom clubs are relegated to the Second League of the Republika Srpska (third level). The number of relegated teams depends on how many clubs are entering the league. Those are the winners of the two third level league groups, the winner of the relegation play-off, and Republika Srpska clubs relegated from the Premier League. So, sometimes two clubs get relegated, and sometimes three or even four.

On 12 June 2020, it was confirmed that the league will be expanded from 10 to 16 teams in the 2020–21 season.{{cite web|url=https://www.nezavisne.com/sport/fudbal/Potvrdjeno-prosirenje-Prve-lige-RS-u-fudbalu/604360|title=Potvrđeno proširenje Prve lige RS u fudbalu|date=12 June 2020|access-date=12 June 2020|language=bs|author=Goran Karać|publisher=nezavisne.com}}

On 13 June 2022, it was confirmed that the league will be expanded from 16 to 18 teams in the 2022–23 season.{{cite web|url=https://pravdabl.com/izvrsni-odbor-fsrs-prva-liga-sa-18-klubova-jedinstva-druga-od-seldece-sezone-lopta-krece-6-avgusta/|title=Izvršni odbor FSRS: Prva liga sa 18 klubova, jedinstva Druga od sledeće sezone, lopta kreće 6. avgusta!|date=13 June 2022|access-date=13 June 2022|language=bs|publisher=pravdabl.com}}

Previous champions and winners of the league are:{{cite web|url=http://www.bihsoccer.com/index.php?s=prve_lige_bosne_i_hercegovine|title=Prvaci prve lige Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine|date=2010|access-date=2 April 2011|publisher=bihsoccer.com}}

Since the 2002–03 season, it became a second national level competition. The league champion gets direct promotion to the Bosnian Premier League.

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.fsrs.org/sr-BA/ Football Association of Republika Srpska] {{in lang|sr}}

{{First League of the Republika Srpska}}

{{Football in Bosnia and Herzegovina before 2000}}

{{Football in BiH}}

{{UEFA second leagues}}

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Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1995

Category:1995 establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina