Macedonian First Football League
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox football league
| name = Macedonian First Football League
{{nobold|{{lang|mk|Прва македонска фудбалска лига|italic=no}}}}
| image = Macedonian First Football League.png
| pixels = 240px
| founded = {{Start date and age|1927}}
| first = 1992–93
| country = {{flag|North Macedonia}}
| confed = UEFA
| teams = 12
| relegation = 2. MFL
| levels = 1
| domest_cup = Macedonian Football Cup
| confed_cup = UEFA Champions League
UEFA Conference League
| champions = Shkëndija (5th title)
| season = 2024–25
| most_champs = Vardar (11 titles)
| most_appearances =
| top_goalscorer = Besart Ibraimi
(189 goals)
| tv = FFM Youtube
Arena Sport
| sponsor =
| website = {{official URL}}
| current = 2024–25
}}
The Macedonian First Football League ({{langx|mk|Прва македонска фудбалска лига}}), also called Macedonian First League, 1. MFL, and Prva Liga, is the highest professional football competition in Macedonia. It is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Macedonian football league system and has been operating since the 1992–93 season. It is organized by the Football Federation of Macedonia.
Format
File:Prva Мakedonska Fudbalska Liga (emblem).png
Throughout the 1. MFL history, the number of clubs competing at the top level has been gradually decreased until the 2020–21 season. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history:{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}
| width="20"|
|valign="top"|
|
The league has 12 teams, and each team plays the other sides three times, for a total of 33 matches each.{{cite web|url=https://int.soccerway.com/national/macedonia-fyr/first-league/2011-2012/regular-season/|title=First League|work=Soccerway|publisher=Global Sports Media|access-date=19 July 2012|archive-date=12 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212075231/http://int.soccerway.com/national/macedonia-fyr/first-league/2011-2012/regular-season/|url-status=live}}
Due to the UEFA ranking coefficients ranking (shown below), the winners of the league enter the 1st qualifying round of the Champions League, while the second and third placed teams enter the 1st qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League alongside the winner of the Macedonian Football Cup. At the end of the season, the bottom 2 teams are relegated to the Macedonian Second League while the eighth placed team enter a play-off with the winner of the tie between second placed teams of the two groups in the Macedonian Second League.
=UEFA rankings=
UEFA country ranking for league participation in 2021–22 European football season (Previous year rank in italics){{cite web|title=UEFA Country Ranking 2015|url=http://www.xs4all.nl/~kassiesa/bert/uefa/data/method4/crank2015.html|publisher=Bert Kassies|access-date=19 May 2012|archive-date=7 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207211642/http://www.xs4all.nl/~kassiesa/bert/uefa/data/method4/crank2015.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=UEFA Country coefficients 2017/18|url=http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/country/index.html|publisher=UEFA|access-date=24 May 2012|archive-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401010530/http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/uefarankings/country/index.html|url-status=dead}}
- 52 15px (52) {{flagicon|ISL}} Besta-deild karla
- 53 15px (48) {{flagicon|MKD}} Macedonian First League
- 54 15px (53) {{flagicon|MNE}} Montenegrin First League
- 55 15px (55) {{flagicon|SMR}} Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio
Current teams (2024–25)
{{Location map+| Macedonia|float=right|width=400|caption=Location of teams in 2024–25 Macedonian First League|places=
{{Location map~| Macedonia|lat=42 |long=21.433333 |label=Skopje|position=bottom}}
{{Location map~| Macedonia|lat=41.433333 |long=22.633333 |label=AP Brera |position=top}}
{{Location map~| Macedonia|lat=41.865833 |long=20.8875 |label=Besa |position=right}}
{{Location map~| Macedonia|lat=41.8 |long=20.916667 |label=Gostivar |position=bottom}}
{{Location map~| Macedonia|lat=41.031944 |long=21.334722000000056 |label=Pelister |position=bottom}}
{{Location map~| Macedonia|lat=42.061944 |long=22.183333 |label=Sileks |position=top}}
{{Location map~| Macedonia|lat=42 |long=20.966666 |label=Shkëndija |position=top}}
{{Location map~| Macedonia|lat=41.1775 |long=20.678889 |label=Struga |position=right}}
{{Location map~|Republic of Macedonia|lat=41.433333 |long=22 |label=Tikvesh |position=bottom}}
{{Location map~| Macedonia|lat=41.105104 |long=20.812333 |label=Voska S. |position=right}}
{{Location map~ | Macedonia|mark=TransparentPlaceholder.png|lat=42.44 |long=23.2 |label=Skopje clubs:|position=left |outside = 1 }}
{{Location map~ | Macedonia|mark=TransparentPlaceholder.png|lat=42.36 |long=23.2 |label=Rabotnički
Shkupi
Vardar|position=left |outside = 1 }}
}}
| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" | |
| Club{{cite web |title=First League: 2019/2020 |url=https://int.soccerway.com/national/macedonia-fyr/first-league/20192020/regular-season/r53864/ |publisher=Perform |access-date=21 April 2020 |archive-date=24 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424031524/https://int.soccerway.com/national/macedonia-fyr/first-league/20192020/regular-season/r53864/ |url-status=live }} | |
|---|---|
| style="text-align:left;"|AP Brera | 7th |
| style="text-align:left;"|Besa (DD) | bgcolor="#D0F0C0"|1st in 2. MFL |
| style="text-align:left;"|Gostivar | 6th |
| style="text-align:left;"|Pelister | bgcolor="#D0F0C0"|2nd in 2. MFL |
| style="text-align:left;"|Rabotnički | 8th |
| style="text-align:left;"|Sileks | 5th |
| style="text-align:left;"|Shkëndija | 2nd |
| style="text-align:left;"|Shkupi | 3rd |
| style="text-align:left;"|Struga | bgcolor="gold"|1st |
| style="text-align:left;"|Tikvesh | 4th |
| style="text-align:left;"|Vardar | 10th |
| style="text-align:left;"|Voska Sport | 9th |
History
In 1923, the first national Yugoslav Football Championship was held, and regional championships were also played. The clubs of the Vardar Banovina, territorially similar to present day Macedonia, played within the Belgrade Football Subassociation league until 1927,Sijić, pag. 135 when a separate Skoplje Football Subassociation league was formed.[http://www.ofkbeograd.net/index.php?id=199 Milorad Sijić: "Football in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512115722/http://www.ofkbeograd.net/index.php?id=199 |date=12 May 2012 }}, pag. 142 {{in lang|sr}} The champions of the subassociation leagues were granted a place in the qualifiers to the Yugoslav Championship. Gragjanski Skopje became the only Macedonian club to participate in the national league, first in 1935–36 when the championship was played in a cup format,Sijić, pag. 99–100 and then in 1938–39, when it was played in a normal league system with Gragjanski finishing 10th out of 12 teams.Sijić, pag. 111–116 In 1939, the Yugoslav league system was changed, with the creation of separate Serbian and Croato-Slovenian leagues which served as qualifying leagues for the final phase of the Yugoslav Championship.Sijić, pag. 117 The clubs from the Skopje Subassociation aimed to qualify to the Serbian League, however only Gragjanski managed to participate, in 1939–40 (5th place)Sijić, pag. 120–121 and 1940–41 (8th place).Sijić, pag. 129
List of seasons
{{main article|List of Macedonian football champions}}
Most titles
The titles won by clubs since independence are shown in the following table:{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesf/fyromchamp.html|title=Macedonia – List of Champions|last=Karel Stokkermans|date=29 October 2015|access-date=26 November 2015|archive-date=18 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918132544/https://www.rsssf.org/tablesf/fyromchamp.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://int.soccerway.com/national/macedonia-fyr/first-league/c65/archive/?ICID=PL_3N_06|title=Archive – First League – Macedonia – Results, fixtures, tables and news – Soccerway|access-date=20 February 2018|archive-date=9 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709055821/https://int.soccerway.com/national/macedonia-fyr/first-league/c65/archive/?ICID=PL_3N_06|url-status=live}}
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%;" style="font-size:100%;" |
| scope="col" style="width:22%;"|Club
!scope="col" style="width:13%;"|Titles !scope="col" style="width:13%;"|Runners-up !scope="col" style="width:39%;"|Winning years |
|---|
| scope="row"|Vardar Skopje 18x18px
|style="text-align:center"|11 |style="text-align:center"|2 |1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20 |
| scope="row"|Shkendija
|style="text-align:center"|5 |style="text-align:center"|3 |
| scope="row"|Rabotnički Skopje
|style="text-align:center"|4 |style="text-align:center"|3 |
| scope="row"|Sileks Kratovo
|style="text-align:center"|3 |style="text-align:center"|6 |
| scope="row"|Sloga J.
|style="text-align:center"|3 |style="text-align:center"|4 |
| scope="row"|Pobeda Prilep
|style="text-align:center"|2 |style="text-align:center"|2 |
| scope="row"|Struga
|style="text-align:center"|2 |style="text-align:center"|0 |
| scope="row"|Makedonija Gjorce Petrov
|style="text-align:center"|1 |style="text-align:center"|1 |
| scope="row"|Renova Djepchishte
|style="text-align:center"|1 |style="text-align:center"|0 |
| scope="row"|Shkupi
|style="text-align:center"|1 |style="text-align:center"|0 |
| scope="row"|Metalurg Skopje
|style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center"|3
| |
| scope="row"|Milano Kumanovo
|style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center"|2
| |
| scope="row"|Belasica Strumica
|style="text-align:center" |
| style="text-align:center"|2
| |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.uefa.com/nationalassociations/mkd/domestic/league/1044/ Macedonian First League season standings and results] at UEFA.com
- [http://macedonianfootball.com/previous-seasons-1mfl/ Tables of the previous seasons] at MacedonianFootball.com
- [http://ffm.mk Football Federation of Macedonia] {{in lang|mk}}
- {{instagram|mfl.mk}}
{{Macedonian First Football League}}
{{Football in the Republic of Macedonia}}
{{UEFA leagues}}
Category:Sports leagues established in 1992