Macedonian First Football League
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| Country | Republic of Macedonia |
|---|---|
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | 2. MFL |
| Domestic cup(s) | Macedonian Football Cup |
| International cup(s) |
UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League |
| Current champions |
Vardar (9th title) (2015–16) |
| Most championships |
Vardar (9 titles) |
| Website | ffm.mk |
 2016–17
|
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The Macedonian First Football League (Macedonian: Прва македонска Фудбалска Лига, Prva Мakedonska Fudbalska Liga; also called Macedonian First League, 1. MFL and Prva Liga) is the highest professional football competition in the Republic of Macedonia. It is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Macedonian football league system and has been operating for about twenty years since the 1992–1993 season. It is organized by the Football Federation of Macedonia (FFM).
The championship titles won before 1992 are officially recognized by the Macedonian League as domestic regional cups.
Throughout the 1. MFL history, the number of clubs competing at the top level has been gradually decreased. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history:
The league has 10 teams, and each team plays the other sides four times, for a total of 36 matches each.
Due to the UEFA Ranking coefficients ranking (shown below); The winner of the league enters into the Qualifying Rounds of the Champions League, while the second and third placed teams are entered into the Qualifying Rounds of the Europa League along with the winner of the Macedonian Cup. At the end of the season, the bottom 2 teams are relegated to the Macedonian Second League while the 9th and 10th placed teams enter a play-off with the 3rd and 4th placed teams of the Macedonian Second League.
UEFA Country Ranking for league participation in 2014–15 European football season (Previous year rank in italics)
In 1923 the first national Yugoslav Football Championship was held, and regional championships were also played. The clubs of the Vardarska Banovina, territorially similar to present day Macedonia, played within the Belgrade Football Subassociation League until 1927, when a separate Skoplje Football Subassociation League was formed. 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, and then in 1938–39, when it was played in a normal league system with Gragjanski finishing 10th out of 12 teams. 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. The clubs from the Skopje Subassociation aimed to qualify to the Serbian League, however only Gragjanski managed to participate, in 1939–40 (5th place) and 1940–41 (8th place).
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