The First League of Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Прва савезна лига / Prva savezna liga) was the top
football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed following the
breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
in 1992, effectively succeeding the
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First Federal Football League (Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...
. The league was renamed the Serbia and Montenegro SuperLiga prior to its
final 2005–06 season.
From 1993 to 1998, the league abandoned the traditional single-league structure, which was used in the first season, and the division was split into two groups; Group A (known as IA) for the top-seeded teams and Group B (IB) for the other teams. Until 1995–96, the bottom four teams of the IA group were replaced with the top four teams of IB after the first half of the season, once all teams have played each other in their respective group twice. From 1996–97, the system of replacing teams in each group mid-season was scrapped and was only applied at the end of the season. As a consequence, all teams in each group played each other three times a season, playing each other once at home and once away at least. This two-group format was abandoned after the 1997–98 season and the league reverted to the single-league structure.
The republics of
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
and
Montenegro
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remained united as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, political reform in the country saw it renamed to Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. After Montenegro gained independence in June 2006, the league ceased to exist and has been succeeded by the
Serbian SuperLiga and the
Montenegrin First League.
History
The league just followed the seasons from the
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First Federal Football League (Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...
and for long it didn't even consider itself separated from it. For instance, in 1992 there was no inaugural season, all that happened was that clubs from the republics that proclaimed independence left the league, and their places were replaced by teams from Serbia and Montenegro which were next in line. The organiser, the
Football Association of Yugoslavia kept same president and same people in charge of the competition. The same FA was running the
Yugoslav national team that qualified for the
1992 UEFA European Championship, however, with the start of the
Yugoslav Wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
and the responsibility put only on Serbia and Montenegro, it is this two republics, which formed the FR Yugoslavia, that suffered the economic sanctions that banned both national team and clubs, from participating in international competitions. Some clubs such as
FK Borac Banja Luka
Fudbalski klub Borac Banja Luka (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Бopaц Бања Лука, ) is a Bosnian professional association football club, based in the city of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the major part of t ...
showed solidarity by staying within Yugoslav league system, despite being part of a territory belonging to a republic that declared independence, and got it recognised.
Champions
Seasons
See also
*
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First Federal Football League (Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...
*
Serbian SuperLiga
*
Montenegrin First League
*
List of Serbian football champions
*
List of football clubs in Serbia
This is a list of football clubs located in Serbia and the leagues and divisions they play in 2011–12 season, as well as some other notable football clubs that play in the Serbian football league system.
Super League (Top tier)
*2021/22 sea ...
*
List of football clubs in Montenegro
External links
Union of First Federal League Clubs - Meridian SuperLiga
{{Football in Montenegro
Sports leagues established in 1992
Sports leagues disestablished in 2006
Defunct football leagues in Serbia
Defunct football leagues in Montenegro
Football in Serbia and Montenegro
Serb
1992 establishments in Serbia
1992 establishments in Montenegro
2006 disestablishments in Serbia and Montenegro