Faroe Islands Premier League

Faroe Islands Premier League
Founded1942 (1942)(as Meistaradeildin)
CountryFaroe Islands
ConfederationUEFA
Number of clubs10
Level on pyramid1
Relegation to1. deild
Domestic cup(s)Faroe Islands CupFaroe Islands Super Cup
International cup(s)UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Conference League
Current championsKÍ (22nd title) (2025)
Most championshipsHB Tórshavn (24 titles)
Most appearancesFróði Benjaminsen (503)
Top scorerKlæmint Olsen (239)
Broadcaster(s)Televarpið
Websitefsf.fo/betri-deildin-menn
Current: 2026 Faroe Islands Premier League

The Faroe Islands Premier League (also known as Meistaradeildin) is the top level of football in the Faroe Islands. It was founded in 1942 as Meistaradeildin, and it is played in current format since 2005, when Premier League replaced 1. deild as the country's top football division. The league is organised by the Faroe Islands Football Association.

It is contested by 10 clubs. At the end of every season, two teams are relegated and two promoted from 1. deild.

As of February 2024, the Faroe Islands Premier League is ranked 38th out of 55 leagues in the UEFA coefficient.[1]

History

The league was founded in 1942,[2] although clubs did not take part in European competitions until 1992,[3] because the Faroe Islands Football Association joined UEFA only in 1990.[4] From 1942 to 1946, the competition was played in a knockout format, and from 1947 onwards in a league format.

Before the creation of the Faroe Islands Football Association in 1979, the league was organized by the Faroe Islands Sports Association. The only time a season was not played was during the British occupation in 1944, when a lack of footballs caused the season to be cancelled.[3]

The league was known by several names; from its foundation in 1942 until 1975, it was known as Meistaradeildin. It changed its name to 1. deild in 1976 and introduced promotion and relegation system.[5] Since 2005 the league has had different sponsored names, being called Formuladeildin from 2005 to 2008, Vodafonedeildin from 2009 to 2012, Effodeildin from 2012 to 2017, Betri deildin menn from 2018 to 2025, and since 2026 Meistaradeildin menn.

Competition format

The league is contested by 10 teams, who play each other three times. A draw is made before the elaboration of the next season's fixtures to decide which teams will have an additional home game. Formerly this was decided based on clubs' performance in the previous season.

Promotion and relegation

At the end of the season, two teams are relegated and two are promoted to and from 1. deild. Like in Spain, the teams are allowed to put their B and C teams in the lower divisions, and there will only be relegation if at least one non-reserve team finish in the 1. deild top three.[6]

In the past, the league used a promotion-relegation playoff between the 9th placed team and the 2nd placed team in 1. deild, played from 1995 until 2005.

European qualification

Currently, the Faroese champion qualify to the UEFA Champions League Preliminary round, while the second placed team enter the UEFA Europa Conference League at the first qualifying round. An additional berth in the Europa Conference League first qualifying round is granted to the Faroe Islands Cup winners. If the winners of that competition have already qualified to a European competition, the berth is given to the third placed team in the league. Since the introduction of Europa Conference League, teams from the Faroe Islands can only qualify directly to the UEFA Europa League by winning the Europa Conference League.

Current teams

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2024 Faroe Islands Premier League teams
Club[7]Positionin 2024City
07 Vestur6thSørvágur
B365thTórshavn
B688thToftir
EB/Streymur7thStreymnes
FC Suðuroy1st (promoted)Vágur
HB3rdTórshavn
KÍ2ndKlaksvík
NSÍ4thRunavík
TB2nd (promoted)Tvøroyri
Vikingur1stNorðragøta

List of seasons

Bold indicates teams who also won the Faroe Islands Cup that season, an achievement known as the double.[8]

Season Champion Runner-up Top scorer (club)[9]Goals
1942KÍTBnot available
1943TBMB
1944 No tournament due to lack of footballs during the British occupation of the Faroe Islands.[10]
1945KÍ (2) SÍnot available
1946B36VB
1947SÍKÍ
1948B36 (2) HB
1949TB (2) HB
1950B36 (3) TB
1951TB (3) KÍ
1952KÍ (3) TB
1953KÍ (4) HB
1954KÍ (5) HB
1955HBTB
1956KÍ (6) TB
1957KÍ (7) VB
1958KÍ (8) HB
1959B36 (4) KÍ
1960HB (2) B36
1961KÍ (9) B36
1962B36 (5) KÍ
1963HB (3) KÍ
1964HB (4) B36
1965HB (5) B36
1966KÍ (10) HB
1967KÍ (11) HB
1968KÍ (12) B36
1969KÍ (13) HB
1970KÍ (14) HB
1971HB (6) KÍFaroe Islands Heri Nolsøe (HB) 20
1972KÍ (15) HBFaroe Islands Heri Nolsøe (HB) 16
1973HB (7) KÍFaroe Islands John Eysturoy (HB) 13
1974HB (8) KÍFaroe Islands Johan Johannesen (HB) 10
1975HB (9) KÍFaroe Islands Johan Johannesen (HB) 8
1976TB (4) HBFaroe Islands Heri Nolsøe (HB) 14
1977TB (5) HBEngland Dave R. Jones (ÍF) 12
1978HB (10) TBFaroe Islands Ásmund Nolsøe (TB) 9
1979ÍFTBFaroe Islands Meinhardt Dalbú (ÍF) 17
1980TB (6) HBIceland Sveinbjørn Danielsson (TB) 15
1981HB (11) TBFaroe Islands Suni Jacobsen (HB) 12
1982HB (12) TBFaroe Islands Henrik Thomsen (TB) 7
1983GÍHBFaroe Islands Petur Hans Hansen (B68) 10
1984B68TBFaroe Islands Aksel Højgaard (B68) Faroe Islands Erling Jacobsen (HB) 10
1985B68 (2) HBFaroe Islands Símun Petur Justinussen (GÍ) 10
1986GÍ (2) HBDenmark Jesper Wiemer (B68) 13
1987TB (7) HBFaroe Islands Símun Petur Justinussen (GÍ)Iceland Egill Steinþórsson (TB) 10
1988HB (13) B68Faroe Islands Jógvan Petersen (B68) 9
1989B71HBIceland Egill Steinþórsson (VB) 16
1990HB (14) B36Faroe IslandsJón Pauli Olsen (VB) 10
1991KÍ (16) B36Faroe Islands Símun Petur Justinussen (GÍ) 15
1992B68 (3) GÍFaroe Islands Símun Petur Justinussen (GÍ) 14
1993GÍ (3) HBFaroe IslandsUni Arge (HB) 11
1994GÍ (4) HBFaroe IslandsJohn Petersen (GÍ) 21
1995GÍ (5) HBFaroe Islands Súni Fríði Johannesen (B68) 24
1996GÍ (6) KÍFaroe IslandsKurt Mørkøre (KÍ) 20
1997B36 (6) HBFaroe IslandsUni Arge (HB) 24
1998HB (15) KÍFaroe IslandsJákup á Borg (B36) 20
1999KÍ (17) GÍFaroe IslandsJákup á Borg (B36) 17
2000VBHBFaroe Islands Súni Fríði Johannesen (B68) 16
2001B36 (7) GÍFaroe Islands Helgi Petersen (GÍ) 19
2002HB (16) NSÍFaroe IslandsAndrew av Fløtum (HB) 18
2003HB (17) B36Faroe IslandsHjalgrím Elttør (KÍ) 13
2004HB (18) B36Faroe Islands Sonni Petersen (EB/Streymur) 13
2005B36 (8) SkálaFaroe IslandsChristian Høgni Jacobsen (NSÍ) 18
2006HB (19) EB/StreymurFaroe IslandsChristian Høgni Jacobsen (NSÍ) 18
2007NSÍEB/StreymurFranceAmed Davy Sylla (B36) 18
2008EB/StreymurHBFaroe IslandsArnbjørn Hansen (EB/Streymur) 20
2009HB (20) EB/StreymurFaroe IslandsFinnur Justinussen (Víkingur) 19
2010HB (21) EB/StreymurFaroe IslandsArnbjørn Hansen (EB/Streymur) Faroe IslandsChristian Høgni Jacobsen (NSÍ) 22
2011B36 (9) EB/StreymurFaroe IslandsFinnur Justinussen (Víkingur) 21
2012EB/Streymur (2) ÍFBrazilClayton Soares (ÍF) Faroe IslandsPáll Klettskarð (KÍ) 22
2013HB (22) ÍFFaroe IslandsKlæmint Olsen (NSÍ) 21
2014B36 (10) HBFaroe IslandsKlæmint Olsen (NSÍ) 22
2015B36 (11) NSÍFaroe IslandsKlæmint Olsen (NSÍ) 21
2016VíkingurKÍFaroe IslandsKlæmint Olsen (NSÍ) 23
2017Víkingur (2) KÍNigeriaAdeshina Lawal (Víkingur) 17
2018HB (23) NSÍFaroe IslandsAdrian Justinussen (HB) 20
2019KÍ (18) B36Faroe IslandsKlæmint Olsen (NSÍ) 26
2020HB (24) NSÍFaroe IslandsKlæmint Olsen (NSÍ) SerbiaUroš Stojanov (ÍF) 17
2021KÍ (19) HBDenmark Mikkel Dahl (HB) 27
2022KÍ (20) VíkingurFaroe IslandsSølvi Vatnhamar (Víkingur) 20
2023KÍ (21) VíkingurFaroe IslandsSølvi Vatnhamar (Víkingur) 21
2024Víkingur (3) KÍFaroe IslandsPáll Klettskarð (KÍ) 23
2025KÍ (22) HBFaroe IslandsKlæmint Olsen (NSÍ) 26

Performance by club

[11]

Club Location Titles Runners-up
HBTórshavn24 27
KÍKlaksvík22 14
B36Tórshavn11 10
TBTvøroyri7 10
GÍ[a]Norðragøta6 3
VíkingurNorðragøta / Leirvík3 2
B68Toftir3 1
EB/StreymurEiði / Streymnes2 5
NSÍRunavík1 4
VBVágur1 2
ÍFFuglafjørður1 2
SÍSørvágur1 1
B71Sandur1 0
MBMiðvágur0 1
SkálaSkála0 1

Clubs in bold are currently playing in the top tier. Clubs in italics are no longer active in adult football.

Notes

  1. ^GÍ merged with LÍF to form Víkingur in 2008.

References

  1. ^"Country coefficients". UEFA. July 2018. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  2. ^Hans Pauli Joensen (9 October 2009). "Season review: Faroe Islands". UEFA. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  3. ^ ab"Introduction to Faroese Soccer". Soccer and Equipment. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  4. ^"Faroese future in safe hands". UEFA. February 2015. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  5. ^Dinant Abbink. "Faroe Islands – List of Second Level Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  6. ^Karel Stokkermans. "Faroe Islands 2018". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  7. ^Denis Polsinelli (1 April 2024). "Faroe Islands 2024". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  8. ^"Menn – Meistarar og steypavinnarar" (in Faroese). Faroe Soccer. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  9. ^"Meistaradeildin – Toppskorarar" (in Faroese). Faroe Soccer. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  10. ^Gerd Heuser and Hans Schöggl. "Faroe Islands – List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  11. ^Gerd Heuser and Hans Schöggl (13 May 2020). "Faroe Islands - List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
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