Macedonian First Football League

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Macedonian First Football League
Прва македонска фудбалска лига
File:Macedonian First Football League.png
Founded1927; 99 years ago (1927)
First season1992–93
CountryFile:Flag of North Macedonia.svg North Macedonia
ConfederationUEFA
Number of clubs12
Level on pyramid1
Relegation to2. MFL
Domestic cupMacedonian Football Cup
International cup(s)UEFA Champions League
UEFA Conference League
Current championsShkëndija (5th title)
(2024–25)
Most championshipsVardar (11 titles)
Top scorerBesart Ibraimi
(189 goals)
Broadcaster(s)MRT 2
MRT 3
Current: 2025–26 Macedonian First Football League

The Macedonian First Football League (Macedonian: Прва македонска фудбалска лига), also called Macedonian First League, 1. MFL, and Prva Liga, is the highest professional football competition in North 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

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File:Prva Мakedonska Fudbalska Liga (emblem).png
Macedonian First League's former logo

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]

 
  • 18 clubs = 1992–1993
  • 16 clubs = 1993–1995
  • 15 clubs = 1995–1996
  • 14 clubs = 1996–2001
  • 12 clubs = 2001–2014
  • 10 clubs = 2014–2020
  • 12 clubs = 2020–2026
  • 10 clubs = 2026–

The league has 12 teams, and each team plays the other sides three times, for a total of 33 matches each.[1]

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

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UEFA country ranking for league participation in 2026–27 European football season (Previous year rank in italics)[2][3]

Current teams (2025–26)

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class=notpageimage|
Location of teams in 2025–26 Macedonian First League
Club[4] Position
in 2024–25[5]
Arsimi 2nd in 2. MFL
AP Brera 9th
Bashkimi 3rd in 2. MFL
Makedonija G.P. 1st in 2. MFL
Pelister 6th
Rabotnički 3rd
Sileks 2nd
Shkëndija 1st
Shkupi 7th
Struga 4th
Tikvesh 8th
Vardar 5th

History

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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,[6] when a separate Skoplje Football Subassociation league was formed.[7] 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,[8] and then in 1938–39, when it was played in a normal league system with Gragjanski finishing 10th out of 12 teams.[9] 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.[10] The clubs from the Skopje Subassociation aimed to qualify to the Serbian League, however only Gragjanski managed to participate, in 1939–40 (5th place)[11] and 1940–41 (8th place).[12]

List of seasons

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Main article: List of Macedonian football champions

Most titles

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File:FMFL trophy.png
Macedonian First League Trophy

The titles won by clubs since independence are shown in the following table:[13][14]

Club Titles Runners-up Winning years
Vardar Skopje File:Star full.svg 11 2 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20
Shkendija 5 3 2010–11, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2024–25
Rabotnički Skopje 4 3 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2013–14
Sileks Kratovo 3 6 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98
Sloga J. 3 4 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01
Pobeda Prilep 2 2 2003–04, 2006–07
Struga 2 0 2022–23, 2023–24
Makedonija Gjorce Petrov 1 1 2008–09
Renova Djepchishte 1 0 2009–10
Shkupi 1 0 2021–22
Metalurg Skopje - 3
Milano Kumanovo - 2
Belasica Strumica - 2

References

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  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Sijić, pag. 135
  7. ^ Milorad Sijić: "Football in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia" Archived 12 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine, pag. 142 (in Serbian)
  8. ^ Sijić, pag. 99–100
  9. ^ Sijić, pag. 111–116
  10. ^ Sijić, pag. 117
  11. ^ Sijić, pag. 120–121
  12. ^ Sijić, pag. 129
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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