The Football Superleague of Kosovo (), officially known as the ALBI MALL Superleague of Kosovo () for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the men's football league system in Kosovo. It is organised by the Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK) and, as of the 2024–25 season, is contested by ten clubs playing a 36-match schedule in which each club meets every other side four times. The two lowest-placed teams are relegated to the Kosovo First League, with two clubs promoted in their place.
The competition traces its roots to the Kosovo Province League, founded in 1945 as a regional division within the Yugoslav football pyramid, and to the parallel Independent League of Kosovo, which Kosovar Albanians organised outside state structures between 1991 and the Kosovo War of 1998–99. After 1999 the FFK re-established a unified national championship under the current Superliga name.
Kosovo was admitted to UEFA and FIFA in May 2016, enabling Superleague clubs to enter European competitions. Since then, the Superleague champions have qualified for the preliminary and qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League, while other high-placed clubs and the domestic cup winners enter the UEFA Europa Conference League. Prishtina are the most successful club with 11 league titles, while Drita won their fifth championship in 2025–26.
During the 2010s, the Football Superleague of Kosovo gained increased international visibility following Kosovo's admission into UEFA and FIFA in 2016. Participation in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying rounds provided clubs from Kosovo with greater financial opportunities and international exposure, while also accelerating improvements in stadium infrastructure and licensing standards across the league.
History Early organised football Before World War II, clubs from the territory of present-day Kosovo took part in regional competitions organised by the Belgrade Football Subassociation within the Football Association of Yugoslavia. During the period of Italian and later German occupation, when most of Kosovo was attached to the Albanian Kingdom, local teams were integrated into 1942 Albanian National Championship.
Kosovo Province League In 1945, following Kosovo's reintegration into socialist Yugoslavia, the Kosovo Province League () was established as a regional division within the Yugoslav football league system. It brought together leading Kosovar clubs that were not competing at federal level, and its champions could progress into the all-Yugoslav tiers. Throughout the socialist period the standard and structure of the league fluctuated, with Kosovar teams occasionally reaching the Yugoslav First or Second Leagues but most clubs remaining at provincial level.
Independent League of Kosovo In 1991, amid rising ethnic tensions and the removal of Kosovar Albanians from public institutions, the FFK began organising a parallel, unrecognised competition known as the Independent League of Kosovo (). In the summer of that year, after Kosovar clubs were effectively pushed out of the Yugoslav league system, local officials reconstituted the Football Federation of Kosovo as an independent body under president Agim Bytyçi and launched the first separate Republic of Kosova championship. Eight of the ten fixtures in the opening round, played on 13–14 September 1991, went ahead on schedule despite difficult conditions, with the remaining matches completed later.
Matches in the Independent League were often staged on school pitches and improvised village grounds, as Albanian clubs had been denied access to municipal stadiums, and were seen by participants as a way of maintaining sporting life and national identity under conditions of repression. The league operated until the escalation of the Kosovo War in 1998–99, when regular competition became impossible. In 2011 the FFK marked two decades of these parallel structures by publishing the volume Futbolli 1991–2011: 20 vjet mëvetësim, which documents the independent championships and related activities.
Post-war Superleague After the end of the conflict, the FFK re-established a unified league structure in 1999, with the top division taking the name Superliga e Kosovës. Serbian clubs from northern municipalities continued to participate in the Serbian football system, while the Superleague became the de facto national championship recognised by the FFK.
In the 2000s and early 2010s, Prishtina, Feronikeli and Drenica were among the leading clubs, with Drita and Gjilani also emerging as title contenders. League champions could not enter UEFA competitions until Kosovo was admitted as a member association in 2016.
Following UEFA and FIFA recognition, Kosovar teams began appearing regularly in European qualifiers. In June 2018, Drita defeated Santa Coloma in the Champions League preliminary round, recording the first victory by a Kosovan club in the competition. In 2022–23, Ballkani became the first Kosovar side to reach the group stage of a UEFA tournament, qualifying for the Europa Conference League group phase.
Competition format The Superleague currently consists of ten clubs. Each club plays every other side four times—twice at home and twice away—for a total of 36 matches per team and 180 matches in the season. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss. League positions are determined by total points, then goal difference and goals scored.
The bottom two teams in the final table are relegated directly to the Kosovo First League, while the champions and runners-up of that division are promoted to the Superleague. Depending on the competition regulations in a given season, an additional promotion/relegation play-off has sometimes been held between a Superleague club and a high-placed First League team.
Clubs (2026–27) The leаgue consists of ten teams: the top eight teаms from the previous season, and two teams promoted from the Kosovo First League. Drita enters the season as defending champions.
The promoted teаms are the 2024–25 Kosovo First League winners Vushtrria, who return to the top tier after their last relegation in 2021, and First League runners-up Feronikeli, who only spend one season in the second tier. They replaced the 2025–26 Kosovo Superleague bottom two teams Ferizaj and Prishtina e Re.
Seasons in Superleague There are 37 teams that have taken part in the Football Superleague of Kosovo since 1999. Prishtina is the only team that has played in every season since 1999. As of 2025/26 season; teams in bold are part of current season. 26 seasons: Prishtina 23 seasons: Drenica 22 seasons: Trepça '89, Drita 21 seasons: Besa 20 seasons: Gjilani 17 seasons: Ferizaj 16 seasons: Liria 15 seasons: Vëllaznimi, Flamurtari 14 seasons: Vushtrria, Llapi 12 seasons: Feronikeli 74 10 seasons: Trepça 9 seasons: Besiana, KEK, Ballkani 8 seasons: Hysi, Kosova VR Prishtinë 6 seasons: Dukagjini 5 seasons: Hajvalia 4 seasons: Malisheva 3 seasons: 2 Korriku, Istogu, Fushë Kosova 2 seasons: Shqiponja, Besëlidhja 1 season: Lepenci, Ulpiana, Vllaznia Pozheran, Uniteti, Kika, Getoari, Vëllazëria, Rahoveci, Suhareka, Prishtina e Re
Superleague clubs in European competitions
Since Kosovo joined UEFA in 2016, the Superleague champions have entered the preliminary and qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League, while league runners-up and domestic cup winners qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League. Clubs must obtain a UEFA licence from the FFK to participate in European competitions.
Drita's preliminary-round win over Santa Coloma in 2018 was the first Champions League victory for a Kosovan side. In 2022 Ballkani reached the Europa Conference League group stage, the first time a team from Kosovo progressed to the main phase of a UEFA club competition, and repeated the achievement in subsequent seasons. Their performances, together with qualifying rounds reached by clubs such as Drita, Prishtina and Feronikeli, have helped improve Kosovo's position in the UEFA association coefficient rankings.
Champions This is a list of winners of Football Superleague of Kosovo since 1945.
SeasonClubLocationKosovo Province League1945JedinstvoPristina19461947TrepçaMitrovica1947–48ProleteriPristina1948–49TrepçaMitrovica19501951KosovaPristina1952TrepçaMitrovica1953Not played due to change of league system1953–54PrishtinaPristina1954–55TrepçaMitrovica1955–56RudariStantërg1956–57RudnikuHajvalia1957–58RudariStantërg1958–59PrishtinaPristina1959–60RudariStantërg1960–61PrishtinaPristina1961–62BudućnostPeja1962–63DritaGjilan1963–64SllogaLipjan1964–651965–66BudućnostPeja1966–67ObiliqObiliq1967–68VëllaznimiGjakova1968–691969–701970–711971–72ObiliqObiliq1972–73Fushë KosovaKosovo Polje1973–74VëllaznimiGjakova1974–75LiriaPrizren1975–76RHMK ObiliqObiliq1976–77PrishtinaPristina1977–78BudućnostPeja1978–79PrishtinaPristina1979–80VëllaznimiGjakova1980–81LiriaPrizren1981–82VëllaznimiGjakova1982–83KNI Ramiz SadikuPristina1983–84LiriaPrizren1984–85Crvena ZvezdaGjilan1985–86VëllaznimiGjakova1986–87LiriaPrizren1987–88Crvena ZvezdaGjilan1988–89BudućnostPeja1989–90VëllaznimiGjakova1990–91Fushë KosovaKosovo Polje
SeasonClubLocationIndependent League of Kosovo1991–92PrishtinaPristina1992–93TrepçaMitrovica1993–94DukagjiniKlina1994–95LiriaPrizren1995–96PrishtinaPristina1996–971997–98Competition not held due to Kosovo War1998–99Football Superleague of Kosovo1999–2000PrishtinaPristina2000–012001–02BesianaPodujevë2002–03DritaGjilan2003–04PrishtinaPristina2004–05BesaPeja2005–062006–072007–08PrishtinaPristina2008–092009–10TrepçaMitrovica2010–11HysiPodujevë2011–12PrishtinaPristina2012–132013–14VushtrriaVushtrri2014–15FeronikeliDrenas2015–162016–17Trepça'89Mitrovica2017–18DritaGjilan2018–19FeronikeliDrenas2019–20DritaGjilan2020–21PrishtinaPristina2021–22BallkaniSuva Reka2022–232023–242024–25DritaGjilan2025–26
Most titles The titles won by clubs are shown in the following table:
ClubTitlesWinning yearsPrishtina 111991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2020–21KF Drita 52002–03, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2024–25, 2025–26KF Besa41997–98, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07Ballkani32021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24Feronikeli32014–15, 2015–16, 2018–19Trepça21992–93, 2009–10Fushë Kosova11990–91KF Dukagjini11993–94Liria11994–95Besiana12001–02Hysi12010–11Kosova Vushtrri12013–14
Top scorers by season Season Player Club Goals2014–15 Prishtina 182015–16 Besa Pejë 122016–17 Otto John Trepça '89 272017–18 Otto JohnTrepça '8917 Mirlind DakuLlapi2018–19 Feronikeli 212019–20 Ballkani 192020–21 Ballkani 312021–22 Gjilani 212022–23 Ballkani 212023–24 Llapi 262024–25 Suhareka 212025–26 Drenica 19
Media and sponsorship From the late 2000s the league has usually carried the name of a title sponsor. The competition’s official designation since 1999 has been Superliga e Futbollit të Kosovës (Football Superleague of Kosovo), but for sponsorship reasons it has been marketed at different times as the: NamePeriodNotesAlbanianEnglishRaiffeisen Superliga e KosovësRaiffeisen Superleague of Kosovo2008–2016Sponsored by Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo, a subsidiaryof the Raiffeisen Bank International.Vala Superliga e KosovësVala Superleague of Kosovo2016–2018Sponsored by Kosovo Telecom.IPKO Superliga e KosovësIPKO Superleague of Kosovo2018–2020Sponsored by IPKO.BKT Superliga e KosovësBKT Superleague of Kosovo2021–2022Sponsored by Banka Kombëtare Tregtare.ALBI MALL Superliga e KosovësALBI MALL Superleague of Kosovo2022–presentSponsored by Albi Mall, a subsidiary of the Albi Commerce.
Television rights to the Superleague are held by cable operator ArtMotion via ArtSport and free-to-air channel Klan Kosova under an agreement signed with the FFK in 2023. Matches are broadcast live or in delayed coverage across the two networks, while public broadcaster RTK has shown highlight programmes.
Notes and references Notes
References
External links
League summary – Soccerway