Faroe Islands Premier League


The Faroe Islands Premier League is the top level of football in the Faroe Islands. It was founded in 1942 as Meistaradeildin, and holds the Premier League name since 2005, when it replaced the 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 each season, two teams are relegated and two promoted from 1. deild. All teams in the league have semi-professional status.
As of August 2019, the Faroe Islands Premier League is ranked 53rd out of 55 leagues in the UEFA coefficient.

History

The league was founded in 1942, although clubs did not take part in European competitions until 1992, because the Faroe Islands Football Association joined UEFA only in 1990. 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 wasn't played was during the British occupation in 1944, when a lack of footballs caused the season to be cancelled.
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. Since 2005, it holds the Premier League name.
Sponsorship names
Since 2005 and the league rebranding, four sponsor league names were used:
Formuladeildin
Vodafonedeildin
Effodeildin
Betrideildin
Since 2018, the Faroe Islands Premier League is known as Betri deildin menn, after FSF signed a five year deal with the Faroese bank and insurance company Betri.

Competition format

The league is contested by 10 teams, who play each other thrice. 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.
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 first qualifying round, while the second and third placed teams enter the UEFA Europa League at the Preliminary round. An additional berth in the Europa League preliminary 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 fourth placed team in the league.

Current teams

ClubPosition
in 2019		CityStadium
Argja Bóltfelag7thArgirSkansi Arena
B36 Tórshavn2ndTórshavnGundadalur
EB/Streymur9thStreymnesVið Margáir
Havnar Bóltfelag4thTórshavnGundadalur
Ítróttarfelag Fuglafjarðar10thFuglafjørðurÍ Fløtugerði
Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag1stKlaksvíkVið Djúpumýrar
NSÍ Runavík3rdRunavíkVið Løkin
Skála ÍF6thSkálaUndir Mýruhjalla
Tvøroyrar Bóltfelag8thTvøroyriVið Stórá
Víkingur Gøta5thNorðragøtaSarpugerði

List of seasons

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

Titles by club

ClubLocationTitlesRunners-up
HBTórshavn2325
KÍKlaksvík1813
B36Tórshavn1110
TBTvøroyri710
GÍ Norðragøta63
B68Toftir31
EB/StreymurEiði / Streymnes25
VíkingurNorðragøta / Leirvík20
NSÍRunavík13
VBVágur12
ÍFFuglafjørður12
SÍSørvágur11
B71Sandur10
MBMiðvágur01
SkálaSkála01

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