Montenegrin Republic League (Montenegrin: ''Crnogorska republička liga'' / ''Црногорска републичка лига'') was the third tier football league of

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

. The top clubs were promoted to

Yugoslav Second League Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...

Overview

Founded in spring 1946, Montenegrin Republic League was the oldest football competition in Montenegro after WWII. It existed 60 years, and most of the time it was the third tier of competition (after First League and Second League). In inaugural season (1946) in Montenegrin Republic League played only four clubs – FK Budućnost,

FK Lovćen Fudbalski klub Lovćen is a football club based in Cetinje, Montenegro. It was founded on 20 June 1913. It was named after Mount Lovćen near Cetinje. Lovćen is the oldest football club in Montenegro and one of the oldest in Southeastern Europ ...

, FK Sutjeska and

FK Arsenal FK Arsenal is a Montenegrin professional football club based in the coastal town of Tivat, founded in 1914. Currently, the club is competing in the Montenegrin First League. History Period 1914-1940 Founded in 1914, Arsenal is the second olde ...

.
During its existence, Montenegrin Republic League was organised by

Football Association of Montenegro The Football Association of Montenegro ( Montenegrin: ''Fudbalski savez Crne Gore'', ''FSCG'' / Фудбалски савез Црне Горе, ФСЦГ) is the governing body of football in Montenegro. It is based in the capital, Podgorica. Th ...

.
Number of participants was different – from four (1946) to 18 during the nineties.
Except that, another competition on republic level, which existed from 1946 to 2006 was Montenegrin Republic Cup.

Levels on pyramid

While existed, Montenegrin Republic League was not always been third level of competition. It started as a Montenegrin qualifiers for inaugural season of

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, ...

. During three seasons ( 1946–47,

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh ...

and 1953) it was the second-tier competition in

football system, and during the five years the competition have role of fourth level on pyramid.

Winners and seasons

Champions

During the six decades, 18 different clubs won the champions title in Montenegrin Republic League.
Most titles won

OFK Titograd OFK Titograd (Montenegrin Cyrillic: ОФК Титоград) is a professional football club based in Podgorica, Montenegro. Founded in 1951, they play in the Third League of Montenegro. The team has one league trophy and two Montenegrin Cup t ...

(''12''),

(''9'') and

FK Bokelj FK Bokelj is a Montenegrin professional football club based in the coastal town of Kotor. They currently compete in the Montenegrin Second League. History History of Bokelj started at the second decade of 20th century. The team was founded on ...

(''8''). Except them, eight other teams won more than one champions' title.
Below is a list of champions of Montenegrin Republic League, by number of titles.

Seasons

From 1946 to 2006, there was 61 seasons of Montenegrin Republic League. Below is the list of winners, runners-up and third-placed teams by every single season. In the number of clubs on higher level are counted all Montenegrin teams which played in

or Yugoslav Third League at the time. Double = winner of Montenegrin Republic League and Montenegrin Republic Cup during the same season
Number of Montenegrin clubs which played on higher level (

, Yugoslav Third League)

Records and statistics

All-time records

* Biggest league victory/defeat: 17–1, '' Kom vs. Županica'', season 2001/02; 15–0, ''

Titograd Podgorica ( Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ( Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro f ...

–

Iskra ''Iskra'' ( rus, Искра, , ''the Spark'') was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). History Due to political repression under Tsar Nic ...

'', season 1998/99 * Biggest number of scored goals on single season: 118, ''

'', season 1998/99; 106, '' Mornar'', season 2000/01; 106, '' Kom'', season 2001/02 * Biggest number of conceded goals on single season: 157, ''

Polimlje The Lim (Serbian Cyrillic: Лим, ) is a river that flows through Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and is long.

'', season 2000/01; 123, '' Županica'', season 2001/02; 118, '' Tekstilac'', season 1994/95 * Most wins on single season: 28, '' Mornar'', season 2000/01 * Season without any win: ''

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

'', season 1966/67; '' Tekstilac'', season 1965/66 * Lowest number of defeats on single season: 1, '' Mornar'', season 2000/01; 1, ''

'', season 1986/87; 1, ''

'', season 1978/79; 1, ''

'', season 1974/75; ''

'', season 1966/67; '' Rudar'', season 1966/67; 1, ''

Lovćen Lovćen ( cyrl, Ловћен, ) is a mountain and national park in southwestern Montenegro. It is the inspiration behind the names ''Montenegro'' and ''Crna Gora'', both of which mean "Black Mountain" and refer to the appearance of Mount Lov� ...

'', season 1964/65; 1, ''

'', season 1963/64 * Biggest number of defeats on single season: 27, ''

Polimlje The Lim (Serbian Cyrillic: Лим, ) is a river that flows through Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina and is long.

'', season 2000/01 * Most draws on single season: 15, ''

'', season 1989/90 * Biggest number of minutes without conceded goal: 1197, ''

(goalkeeper: V. Raičević)'', season 1998/99 * Biggest attendance: 10,000, ''

Berane Berane ( cyrl, Беране) is one of the largest towns of northeastern Montenegro and a former administrative centre of the Ivangrad District. The town is located on the Lim river. From 1949 to 1992, it was named Ivangrad ( cyrl, Иванг� ...

–

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label=Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived fr ...

'', season 1982/83 ''Note: Records are counted only for seasons with 10 or more participants
Sources:''

Relegation and promotion

Higher tier

During the most time, higher level of competition was

or Second League of FR Yugoslavia. Exceptions are three seasons when participants of Montenegrin Republic League gained promotion in

or in the qualifiers for the top-flight, and five seasons when members of Republic League went to Yugoslav Third League.

Lower tier

Since 1968, Montenegrin regional league system was founded as official competition of fourth-tier. League was structured through three groups – Central (''Srednja regija''), South (''Južna regija'') and North (''Sjeverna regija'').http://srednjaregija.me/ Winners of each group gained promotion to Montenegrin Republic League. From the other side, since 1968, three worst-placed members of Montenegrin Republic League were relegated to regional system, while the group depended from their geographical position.
Same structure is kept in the competition of Montenegrin Third League since 2006.

References

{{Sport in Montenegro 3 Recurring sporting events established in 1946 1946 establishments in Montenegro