The Macedonian First Football League (), 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
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: 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.
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 2026–27 European football season (Previous year rank in italics)
49 (52) Cymru Premier 50 (46) Erovnuli Liga 51 (50) Macedonian First League 52 (49) Belarusian Premier League 53 (51) Primera Divisió
Current teams (2026–27)
ClubPositionin 2025–26Arsimi 6thBashkimi 7thBregalnica Štip1st in 2. MFLSileks4thShkëndija 2ndShkëndija Haraçinë 77 3rd in 2. MFLSkopje 2nd in 2. MFLStruga 3rdTikvesh 5thVardar 1st
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.Milorad Sijić: "Football in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia" , pag. 142 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
Most titles
The titles won by clubs since independence are shown in the following table:
ClubTitlesRunners-upWinning yearsVardar Skopje 1221992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2025–26Shkendija542010–11, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2024–25 Rabotnički Skopje432004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2013–14Sileks Kratovo361995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98Sloga J.341998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01Pobeda Prilep222003–04, 2006–07Struga202022–23, 2023–24Makedonija Gjorce Petrov112008–09Renova Djepchishte102009–10Shkupi102021–22Metalurg Skopje-3Milano Kumanovo-2Belasica Strumica-2
References
External links Macedonian First League season standings and results at UEFA.com Tables of the previous seasons at MacedonianFootball.com Football Federation of Macedonia