Wikipedia

Faroe Islands Premier League

The Faroe Islands Premier League (also known as Betri deildin menn for sponsorship reasons) 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.

Faroe Islands Premier League
Founded1942; 82 years ago (1942)
(as Meistaradeildin)
CountryFaroe Islands
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams10
Level on pyramid1
Relegation to1. deild
Domestic cup(s)Faroe Islands Cup
Faroe Islands Super Cup
International cup(s)UEFA Champions League
UEFA Conference League
Current championsKÍ Klaksvík (21st title)
(2023)
Most championshipsHB Tórshavn (24 titles)
Most appearancesFróði Benjaminsen (503)
Top goalscorerKlæmint Olsen (226)
TV partnersTelevarpið
Websitefsf.fo/betri-deildin-menn
Current: 2024 Faroe Islands Premier League

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

All teams in the league have semi-professional status, though some clubs are able to sign players and staff on a full-time basis.

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

History edit

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, and since 2018 Betri deildin menn.

Competition format edit

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 edit

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 edit

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 edit

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2024 Faroe Islands Premier League teams
Main article: 2024 Faroe Islands Premier League
Club[7] Position
in 2023 		City
07 Vestur 5th Anthony Alger
B36 4th Tórshavn
B68 7th Toftir
EB/Streymur 6th Streymnes
HB 3rd Tórshavn
ÍF 8th Fuglafjørður
KÍ 1st Klaksvík
NSÍ 2nd (promoted) Runavík
Skála 1st (promoted) Skála
Vikingur 2nd Norðragøta

List of seasons edit

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
1942 KÍ TB not available
1943 TB MB
1944 No tournament due to lack of footballs during the British occupation of the Faroe Islands.[10]
1945 KÍ (2) SÍ not available
1946 B36 VB
1947 SÍ KÍ
1948 B36 (2) HB
1949 TB (2) HB
1950 B36 (3) TB
1951 TB (3) KÍ
1952 KÍ (3) TB
1953 KÍ (4) HB
1954 KÍ (5) HB
1955 HB TB
1956 KÍ (6) TB
1957 KÍ (7) VB
1958 KÍ (8) HB
1959 B36 (4) KÍ
1960 HB (2) B36
1961 KÍ (9) B36
1962 B36 (5) KÍ
1963 HB (3) KÍ
1964 HB (4) B36
1965 HB (5) B36
1966 KÍ (10) HB
1967 KÍ (11) HB
1968 KÍ (12) B36
1969 KÍ (13) HB
1970 KÍ (14) HB
1971 HB (6) KÍ   Heri Nolsøe (HB) 20
1972 KÍ (15) HB   Heri Nolsøe (HB) 16
1973 HB (7) KÍ   John Eysturoy (HB) 13
1974 HB (8) KÍ   Johan Johannesen (HB) 10
1975 HB (9) KÍ   Johan Johannesen (HB) 8
1976 TB (4) HB   Heri Nolsøe (HB) 14
1977 TB (5) HB   Dave R. Jones (ÍF) 12
1978 HB (10) TB   Ásmund Nolsøe (TB) 9
1979 ÍF TB   Meinhardt Dalbú (ÍF) 17
1980 TB (6) HB   Sveinbjørn Danielsson (TB) 15
1981 HB (11) TB   Suni Jacobsen (HB) 12
1982 HB (12) TB   Henrik Thomsen (TB) 7
1983 GÍ HB   Petur Hans Hansen (B68) 10
1984 B68 TB   Aksel Højgaard (B68)
  Erling Jacobsen (HB) 		10
1985 B68 (2) HB   Símun Petur Justinussen (GÍ) 10
1986 GÍ (2) HB   Jesper Wiemer (B68) 13
1987 TB (7) HB   Símun Petur Justinussen (GÍ)
  Egill Steinþórsson (TB) 		10
1988 HB (13) B68   Jógvan Petersen (B68) 9
1989 B71 HB   Egill Steinþórsson (VB) 16
1990 HB (14) B36   Jón Pauli Olsen (VB) 10
1991 KÍ (16) B36   Símun Petur Justinussen (GÍ) 15
1992 B68 (3) GÍ   Símun Petur Justinussen (GÍ) 14
1993 GÍ (3) HB   Uni Arge (HB) 11
1994 GÍ (4) HB   John Petersen (GÍ) 21
1995 GÍ (5) HB   Súni Fríði Johannesen (B68) 24
1996 GÍ (6) KÍ   Kurt Mørkøre (KÍ) 20
1997 B36 (6) HB   Uni Arge (HB) 24
1998 HB (15) KÍ   Jákup á Borg (B36) 20
1999 KÍ (17) GÍ   Jákup á Borg (B36) 17
2000 VB HB   Súni Fríði Johannesen (B68) 16
2001 B36 (7) GÍ   Helgi Petersen (GÍ) 19
2002 HB (16) NSÍ   Andrew av Fløtum (HB) 18
2003 HB (17) B36   Hjalgrím Elttør (KÍ) 13
2004 HB (18) B36   Sonni Petersen (EB/Streymur) 13
2005 B36 (8) Skála   Christian Høgni Jacobsen (NSÍ) 18
2006 HB (19) EB/Streymur   Christian Høgni Jacobsen (NSÍ) 18
2007 NSÍ EB/Streymur   Amed Davy Sylla (B36) 18
2008 EB/Streymur HB   Arnbjørn Hansen (EB/Streymur) 20
2009 HB (20) EB/Streymur   Finnur Justinussen (Víkingur) 19
2010 HB (21) EB/Streymur   Arnbjørn Hansen (EB/Streymur)
  Christian Høgni Jacobsen (NSÍ) 		22
2011 B36 (9) EB/Streymur   Finnur Justinussen (Víkingur) 21
2012 EB/Streymur (2) ÍF   Clayton Soares (ÍF)
  Páll Klettskarð (KÍ) 		22
2013 HB (22) ÍF   Klæmint Olsen (NSÍ) 21
2014 B36 (10) HB   Klæmint Olsen (NSÍ) 22
2015 B36 (11) NSÍ   Klæmint Olsen (NSÍ) 21
2016 Víkingur KÍ   Klæmint Olsen (NSÍ) 23
2017 Víkingur (2) KÍ   Adeshina Lawal (Víkingur) 17
2018 HB (23) NSÍ   Adrian Justinussen (HB) 20
2019 KÍ (18) B36   Klæmint Olsen (NSÍ) 26
2020 HB (24) NSÍ   Klæmint Olsen (NSÍ)
  Uroš Stojanov (ÍF) 		17
2021 KÍ (19) HB   Mikkel Dahl (HB) 27
2022 KÍ (20) Víkingur   Sølvi Vatnhamar (Víkingur) 20
2023 KÍ (21) Víkingur   Sølvi Vatnhamar (Víkingur) 21

Performance by club edit

[11]

Club Location Titles Runners-up
HB Tórshavn 24 26
KÍ Klaksvík 21 13
B36 Tórshavn 11 10
TB Tvøroyri 7 10
GÍ [a] Norðragøta 6 3
B68 Toftir 3 1
EB/Streymur Eiði / Streymnes 2 5
Víkingur Norðragøta / Leirvík 2 2
NSÍ Runavík 1 4
VB Vágur 1 2
ÍF Fuglafjørður 1 2
SÍ Sørvágur 1 1
B71 Sandur 1 0
MB Miðvágur 0 1
Skála Skála 0 1

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

Notes edit

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

References edit

  1. ^ "Country coefficients". UEFA. Archived from the original on 2019-12-04. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  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. ^ a b "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.

External links edit

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