The Montenegrin Second League ( Montenegrin: ''Druga crnogorska fudbalska liga'' – ''Druga CFL'' – ''2. CFL'') is the second-top football league in

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

. It is headed by the

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 ...

. Second Montenegrin League consists of 10 participants. The top team qualifies for the

First League of Montenegro The First League of Montenegro ( Montenegrin: ''Prva crnogorska fudbalska liga'' — ''Prva CFL'' — ''1. CFL''; ) is the top football league in Montenegro. Founded in 2006, competition is headed by the Football Association of Montenegro. 10 te ...

, the second and third one contest in a playoff match against the 8th and 9th team from the First League, while the bottom-placed two teams are relegated to any of the three third-tier leagues, to be replaced by the two winners of a three-way promotion playoffs, contested by the winners of the three Third League divisions.

History

Before independence

During the existence 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 ...

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

and

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

, from 1947 to 2006, Montenegrin clubs played in federal leagues. Among them, as a second-tier competitions, were

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 ...

(1947–1992), Second League of FR Yugoslavia (1992–2001) and

Second League of Serbia and Montenegro The Second League of Serbia and Montenegro was the second tier of the football league system in Serbia and Montenegro, one level below the First League of Serbia and Montenegro. History Formed in 1992 after the breakup of Yugoslavia, it consiste ...

(2001–2006).
Overall, 25 different Montenegrin teams played in Yugoslav Second League from 1947 to 2006. Most seasons in second-tier spent FK Sutjeska (30), followed by

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 ...

(27) and

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 ...

(24).

After independence

Following Montenegrin independence referendum (2006),

established their own competitions – First League, Second League and Third League.

2006–16

On inaugural season 2006–07, members of Second League became three teams from Serbia and Montenegro Second League previous season and nine from third-tier competition (

Montenegrin Republic League Montenegrin Republic League (Montenegrin: ''Crnogorska republička liga'' / ''Црногорска републичка лига'') was the third tier football league of SFR Yugoslavia. The top clubs were promoted to Yugoslav Second League. Ov ...

).
Winner of the first season was

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� ...

who won the title after the hard struggle with Ibar and Bokelj. Notable game from the season, Ibar – Lovćen (0:1), played in front od 4,000 spectators, finished with crowd disturbances. At the end of the season, Lovćen gained directly promotion to Prva CFL, while Bokelj won the

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

games against Jedinstvo. Ibar didn't succeed to gain promotion to Prva CFL.
Next year, the title and directly promotion to highest rank surprisingly gained FK Jezero, with four points more than Čelik. In the First League playoffs, Čelik didn't succeed against their city rivals from Sutjeska in two games which watched 17,000 spectators overall (0:0, 0:1). But, third-placed FK Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje made success in playoff games against Bokelj (1:0, 0:0) and made a comeback to First League.
Second League winner for season 2008–09 was

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� ...

, while in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

participated

and Mornar. OFK Titograd lost against

FK Dečić FK Dečić (Montenegrin Cyrillic: ФК Дечић, sq, KF Deçiqi) is a Montenegrin football club from Tuzi. Currently, the club is member of the Montenegrin First League. It is a part of Dečić sport society. History Founded during 1926, it ...

, but Mornar made historical success with their first-ever promotion to Prva CFL after the games against

Jezero Jezero (), meaning 'lake' in several Slavic languages, may refer to: Places Earth Bosnia and Herzegovina * Jezero, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Jezero, Bihać * Jezero, Kakanj * Jezero, Kalinovik * Jezero, Konjic Croatia * * * Jezero Klan ...

(2:1, 0:0). During the season 2008–09, Otrant scored 12 goals on the match against Ribnica (12:2), which is the all-time record in Montenegrin Second League.
Title for 2009–10 season won

, who made comeback to First League after two seasons. Second-placed OFK Bar made a surprisingly success in

against

after the penalties and made their first and last promotion to Prva CFL. Third-placed Bratstvo from

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

outskirts lost in playoffs against another team from

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

– Mornar (0:1, 1:2).
Bokelj dominated on season 2010–11, finishing first with 24 points more than second-placed team. After the

playoff games The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

, promotion to First League gained

, too, while Jedinstvo, which won the second-place, remained in Second League after unsuccessful playoff performances against Sutjeska.
Next year, Second League title won Čelik from

Nikšić Nikšić ( cnr, Никшић, italic=no, sr-cyrl, Никшић, italic=no; ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 56,970 located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot ...

, with score of 80 points. Except first-ever promotion to the First League in their history, Čelik made notable success in

2011–12 Montenegrin Cup The 2011–12 Montenegrin Cup was the sixth season of the Montenegrin knockout football tournament. The winner of the tournament received a berth in the first qualifying round Podgorica City Stadium Podgorica City Stadium ( cnr, Stadion pod Goricom) is an all-seater multi-purpose stadium in Podgorica, Montenegro. Although its seating capacity changed over the years due to several renovations, as of 2019 it has 11,050 seats. The stadium is th ...

, Čelik defeated First-League side Rudar – 2:1. Except that, for the first and so far last time in the history, both representatives of Second League won their games in First League payoffs. Second-placed Mornar eliminated

(2:1, 3:0), while third-placed Jedinstvo won against Dečić (0:0, 1:0). So, after the season 2011–12, three teams from Second League moved to First League.
Former elite-member Dečić won the title on season 2012–13 and made a comeback to Prva CFL. Second and third placed Bokelj and Zabjelo lost their games in the playoffs, so only Dečić made a promotion to highest rank. At the beginning of the season, OFK Bar withdraw due to financial difficulties, so the championship had 11 members.
After the edition 2013–14, Bokelj and

became a members of Prva CFL – Bokelj as title winner and Berane after the playoff games. During that season, on game Zabjelo – Zora (5–0), player Bojan Kopitović scored five goals, which is the all-time record in Montenegrin Second League.
On season 2014–15, title race between

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 ...

and Dečić lasted until the end of championship. With two points more than their main opponents, Iskra finished first and made their first-ever promotion to the highest-level competition. But, Dečić gained promotion to Prva CFL too, after the playoff games against former national champions Mogren (2–1; 5–0).
Next year, Jedinstvo became a champion. They won the title race with biggest surprise of championship –

Cetinje Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegr ...

, while the third finished Bratstvo. But, only Jedinstvo gained promotion. Performances of Cetinje and Bratstvo in playoffs were unsuccessful. That season had 11 members, because Mogren withdraw due to financial troubles before the start of competition.

2016–

On season 2016–17, Kom secured a promotion to Prva CFL after seven years spent in lowest-level competitions. Team from

outskirts won the first place, while Ibar and Otrant finished second and third, but without promotion.
Montenegrin Second League 2017–18 finished with success of Mornar who won the first place and direct place in Prva CFL 2018–19. Third-placed

gained promotion after the playoffs against First-League side Kom (1–0; 0–0), while the newcomer in Second League FK Podgorica, who finished second, lost their playoff games. During the same season, last-placed Čelik made few negative-records at that time. Team which once won the Montenegrin Cup and played in UEFA Europe League finished season with only 8 points, 2 wins, 28 losses, longest run without win (20 games) and one of highest loses in the history of Second League ('' Bokelj – Čelik 10–0'').
Next year, four weeks before the end of competition, FK Podgorica secured the title and their first ever promotion to the top flight. At the same time, Kom and Bokelj, as a second and third placed, participated in the playoffs for First League. As a two last placed teams,

Igalo Igalo ( cnr, Игало, sr, Игало) is a small town in the Herceg Novi Municipality of Montenegro. It is accessible via the E65/ E80 north headed to Dubrovnik, Croatia. According to the 2003 Census, it has a population of 3,754. The town adj ...

and

were relegated to

Montenegrin Third League The Third League of Montenegro ( Montenegrin: Treća Crnogorska Liga / Трећа црногорска лига) is the third and lowest-tier football league in Montenegro. It is headed by the regional unions of the Football Association of Monten ...

.
Season 2019–20 was interrupted after 30 weeks, due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

. Therefore, Dečić, who had 10 points more than second-placed

, gained direct promotion to Prva CFL. As Football Association of Montenegro decided, runner-up and third-placed squad at the moment of disruption (Jezero and Bokelj), participated in the playoffs for Prva CFL. While FK Jezero gained promotion to Prva CFL, FK Bokelj was eliminated after the penalties against

. From the other side, two worst-placed teams (

and Otrant) were relegated. That was the first time in the history when FK Lovćen, the oldest Montenegrin club, went to the bottom-tier. Except that, team from

was relegated to

only one year after they played in Prva CFL and in the final game of

Montenegrin Cup The Montenegrin Cup ( Montenegrin and Serbian: ''Kup Crne Gore'') is the national football cup played in Montenegro, established in 2006. The winner of the cup is awarded a spot in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League if they h ...

.
Mornar won the title on season 2020–21 and secured comeback to top-tier after two consecutive seasons in Second League. Second and third placed

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 ...

and

didn't succeed to gain promotion via playoffs, as they were defeated against

and

OFK Petrovac OFK Petrovac is a football club based in Petrovac, Montenegro. They currently compete in the First League of Montenegro. History OFK Petrovac was founded in 1969, under the name ''FK Nafta''. During the first season, they played in the lowest-t ...

. Two last-placed teams – Ibar and Drezga were relegated to Third League, both after two consecutive seasons spent in second-tier. During the season, Mornar made one of the all-time biggest victories in the history of competition, against Drezga (10–0).

Relegation and promotion

At the end of every season, champion of Second League is directly promoted to First League, while last placed member of First League is moving to second-tier competition. Except that, second and third placed teams from Second League are participating in First League playoffs. Their opponents are 8th and 9th team from the First League.
From the other side, two last placed teams are directly relegated to

. At the end of the season, winners of three Third League groups are participating in playoffs for Second League promotion. Two best placed teams from playoffs are gaining promotion to Montenegrin Second League.

Changes in league structure

In period 2006–2018, Montenegrin Second League consisted of 12 participants. From 2018 to 2019 season, the number of participants is reduced to 10, with 36 week-long competition. *Number of teams: ** 2006–07 to 2007–18: 12 ** Since 2018–19: 10

Champions and top goalscorers by season

Champions

From season 2006–07, 12 different clubs won the title in Montenegrin Second League. Jedinstvo,

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 ...

and

are the clubs which had won the title twice.

Top scorers

During the history, the biggest number of goals during the single season scored FK Podgorica's attacker Elie Matuoke (23), during the season 2017–18. Until now, he is the only foreign player to become a topscorer in any of two highest Montenegrin football leagues.

All time tables

Overall

Montenegrin Second League is existing as a competition under the national football association of Montenegro from the season 2006–07. Overall, 31 different clubs participated in the Montenegrin Second League.

FK Ibar FK Ibar is a football club from Rožaje, Montenegro. They currently compete in the Montenegrin Third League. FK Ibar is a part of the Ibar sport society from Rožaje. The club is named after the river Ibar, longest river from Montenegro, wh ...

and FK Jezero are the teams which played the biggest number of seasons in Second League.
Below is the list of all matches and seasons by every single slub in Montenegrin Second League from 2006 until now. For the previous period and Montenegrin clubs which participated in the Yugoslav Second League, see Montenegrin clubs in Yugoslav football competitions (1946–2006). Ssn = Number of seasons; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points;

Participants by season

Records And statistics

Records by seasons

*Most points: ''80'', Čelik, season 2011–12 *Least points: ''8'', Čelik, season 2017–18 *Highest number of wins: ''25'', Čelik, season 2011–12 *Lowest number of wins: ''2'', Ribnica, season 2008–09; Čelik, season 2017–18 *Highest number of losses: ''28'', Čelik, season 2017–18 *Lowest number of losses: ''3'', Čelik, season 2011–12; Dečić, season 2019–20 *Highest number of scored goals: ''75'',

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 ...

, season 2009–10 *Lowest number of scored goals: ''13'',

, season 2017–18 *Highest number of conceded goals: ''94'', Čelik, season 2017–18 *Lowest number of conceded goals: ''11'', Mornar, season 2017–18

Runs

*Longest unbeaten run: ''23 matches'', Čelik, 18.09.2011 – 09.05.2012, season 2011–12 *Longest run without win: ''24 matches'',

, 22.08.2018 – 03.04.2019, season 2018–19 *Longest winning streak: ''10 matches'', Čelik, 13.11.2011 – 15.04.2012, season 2011–12 *Longest losing streak: ''14 matches'', Ribnica, 15.03.2009 – 30.05.2009, season 2008–09 *Longest run without conceded goal: ''13 matches'', Mornar, 07.03.2018 – 16.05.2018, season 2017–18 *Longest run without scored goal: ''7 matches'',

, 14.10.2018 – 02.12.2018, season 2018–19 *Longest run of goalless matches (0:0): ''4 matches'', Mornar, 13.08.2017 – 03.19.2017, season 2017–18

Single game

*Biggest league victory/defeat: 12–2, Otrant vs. Ribnica, ''20.05.2009'',

Ulcinj Ulcinj ( cyrl, Улцињ, ; ) is a town on the southern coast of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 10,707 (2011), the majority being Albanians. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic coa ...

(season 2008–09); 10–0, Bokelj – Čelik, ''08.04.2018'',

Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrativ ...

(season 2017–18); 10–0, Mornar – Drezga, ''12.05.2021'',

(season

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

) *Biggest league victory away: 0–7,

vs. Bratstvo, ''18.11.2012'',

(season

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

), Radnički vs.

, ''22.05.2017'',

, (season 2016–17) *Most goals in a single game: 14, Otrant vs. Ribnica 12–2, ''20.05.2009'',

(season 2008–09) *Player with most goals on a single game: ''5'', Bojan Kopitović ( Zabjelo), Zabjelo vs. Zora 5–0, ''03.11.2013'' (season 2013–14); Aldin Mušović ( Jedinstvo),

vs. Jedinstvo 0–8, ''27.04.2022'' (season 2021–22) *Highest single game attendance: 4,000, Ibar vs.

0:1, ''11.04.2007'',

Rožaje Rožaje ( cnr, Рожаје, bs, Rožaje), ; sq, Rozhajë) is a town in northeastern Montenegro. As of 2011, the city has a population of 9,567 inhabitants. Surrounded by hills to its west and mountains to its east (notably Mount Hajla), the ...

(season 2006–07); Jedinstvo vs.

1:1, ''13.04.2022'',

Bijelo Polje Bijelo Polje ( cnr, Бијело Поље, ) is a town in northeastern Montenegro on the Lim River. It has an urban population of 15,400 (2011 census). It is the administrative, economic, cultural and educational centre of northern Montenegro. B ...

(season 2021–22)

Attendance by season

''M = Number of matches (only matches with spectators counted); H = Highest attendance on one match; CH = Club with highest average attendance; CL = Club with lowest average attendance''

Current clubs (2022–23)

The 2022–23 Montenegrin Second League is the 17th season of second-tier football competition in Montenegro. The season started in August 2022 and will end in May 2023.
The following 10 clubs complete in Second League 2022–23.

Grounds

Since establishing (season 2006–07), Montenegrin Second League matches has been played in 26 different stadiums. Biggest stadium, used by FK Berane and FK Radnički, is Berane City Stadium. Except that, there was only two stadiums with more than 5,000 seats which hosted Second League games – Sveti Petar Cetinjski and Pljevlja City Stadium. Below is the list of stadiums on which played members of Second League from season 2006–07 until now.

Logo and broadcasting

Official logo and equipment

Logo of Montenegrin Second League was presented in 2018, together with the new logos of

Montenegrin First League The First League of Montenegro (Montenegrin language, Montenegrin: ''Prva crnogorska fudbalska liga'' — ''Prva CFL'' — ''1. CFL''; ) is the top association football, football league in Montenegro. Founded in 2006, competition is headed by the ...

and youth leagues.
Official ball of competition is produced under the Derbystar brand, while the official equipment of referees is product of

Legea Legea (stylised as LEGEA) is an Italian sportswear company, founded in 1993 by brothers Giovanni, Emilia and Luigi Acanfora. It is one of the most popular brands among Italian amateur football teams, then expanding to professional clubs. Legea i ...

Broadcasting rights

Since foundation of the competition, official broadcaster of Second Montenegrin League matches is national television of Montenegro –

RTCG Radio and Television of Montenegro ( cnr, Радио и Телевизија Црне Горе, Radio i Televizija Crne Gore; abbr. /RTCG) is the public service broadcaster of Montenegro. A state-owned company with its headquarters in Podgorica, i ...

.
From season 2018–19, broadcaster of matches is cable-network channel MNE Sport TV. Every weekend, one game is broadcast on their channels.http://mnesport.tv/

External links and references

Football Association of Montenegro – Official Site
{{UEFA second leagues 2 Second level football leagues in Europe Sports leagues established in 2006 2006 establishments in Montenegro