Liga I
Romanian football league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Liga I (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈliɡa ɨnˈtɨj]; First League), also known as Liga 1 and officially branded as Superliga for sponsorship reasons,[1] is the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Liga II and is administered by the Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal (LPF). Since 2020, the competition has consisted of a 30-match regular season followed by championship play-offs and relegation play-outs.
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| |
| Organising body | Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal (Liga I) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1909 |
| Country | Romania |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of clubs | 16 (since 2020–21) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Liga II |
| Domestic cup(s) | Cupa României Supercupa României |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Conference League |
| Current champions | Universitatea Craiova (5th title)[a] (2025–26) |
| Most championships | Steaua București (20 titles)[b] |
| Most appearances | Ionel Dănciulescu (515) |
| Top scorer | Dudu Georgescu (252) |
| Broadcaster(s) | Digi Sport Arena Sport |
| Website | lpf |
| Current: 2026–27 Liga I | |
Established in 1909, the competition began with the 1909–10 season and is currently ranked 25th in UEFA's league coefficient standings. Until the 2006–07 season, it was known as Divizia A, before being renamed following a trademark dispute.[2]
FCSB is the competition's most successful club with 28 titles, followed by Dinamo București with 18. Other multiple-time champions include CFR Cluj (eight titles), Venus București (seven), Chinezul Timișoara and UTA Arad (six each), Universitatea Craiova (five),[a] Ripensia Timișoara and Petrolul Ploiești (four each), and Rapid București (three).
Competition format
Since 2020, the Liga I has operated with a 16-team format. Each team plays all other teams twice, resulting in 30 matches per club. After this regular season, teams are ranked by total points and split according to their position into either the championship play-offs or the relegation play-outs. At this stage, points are halved, and secondary criteria such as goal difference and goals scored are removed.
The six teams that qualify for the championship play-offs compete in an additional ten matches, while the remaining ten teams in the relegation play-outs face each other once, resulting in nine additional fixtures per team. The winners of the championship play-offs are crowned Liga I champions.
The teams finishing 9th and 10th in the play-out are relegated directly to Liga II, while the 7th- and 8th-placed teams enter a two-legged play-off against the 3rd- and 4th-placed teams from the second division.
Additionally, the 1st- and 2nd-placed teams in the play-out face each other in a single match, with the winner then facing a team from the play-offs (usually the 3rd- or 4th-placed) for a place in European competitions. The winner of this final one-legged match qualifies for the following season's UEFA Conference League.[4]
History
Early championships (1909–1921)
The first official national football competition in Romania was organised in 1909 by the Association of Athletic Societies in Romania (Romanian: Asociațiunea Societăților Atletice din România), the predecessor of the Romanian Football Federation.[5][6] The inaugural championship featured three clubs—Olympia, Colentina, and United—with Olympia București winning the title.[5][7]
Between 1909 and 1921, the competition was contested through regional championships followed by a national play-off to determine the Romanian champions.[5][7] The tournament was suspended between 1916 and 1919 because of World War I.[8]
Divizia A (1921–2006)
The 1921–22 season marked the establishment of a nationwide league system with the creation of Divizia A and Divizia B. The inaugural championship was won by Chinezul Timișoara, which, together with Venus București and later Ripensia Timișoara, dominated the interwar period before the competition was suspended in 1940 due to World War II.[5][9]
Following the resumption of football after the war, the championship was largely dominated by UTA Arad, CCA București and Dinamo București. During the following decades, Dinamo striker Dudu Georgescu became one of the league's most prolific goalscorers, winning the European Golden Shoe in 1975 and 1977, while Rodion Cămătaru and Dorin Mateuț later repeated the feat in 1987 and 1989 respectively.[10][11]
Romanian clubs also enjoyed their greatest European successes during the Divizia A era. Steaua București won the 1985–86 European Cup and reached another final in 1988–89, while Universitatea Craiova and Dinamo București reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively during the 1980s.[6][12][13]
Liga I (2006–present)
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At the beginning of the 2006–07 season, the competition was renamed from Divizia A to Liga I following a trademark dispute over the original name.[2] The change was approved by the Romanian Football Federation, which simultaneously renamed the lower divisions to Liga II and Liga III.[2] The period that followed saw the end of the traditional dominance of Bucharest clubs, as CFR Cluj, Unirea Urziceni and Oțelul Galați won their first national championships between 2008 and 2011.[5]
Romanian clubs also continued to compete regularly in European competitions. CFR Cluj became the first club outside Bucharest to qualify directly for the group stage of the Champions League in the modern era, and later recorded the best group stage performance by a Romanian side after collecting ten points in the 2012–13 season.[14] The 2010s also produced new champions in the form of Astra Giurgiu and Viitorul Constanța, reflecting a broader competitive balance within Romanian football.[15]
Beginning with the 2020–21 season, the league was expanded from 14 to 16 clubs and adopted its current format, consisting of a regular season followed by championship play-offs and relegation play-outs.[16] During this period, CFR Cluj established itself as the dominant force in Romanian football, winning five consecutive league titles and becoming the first Romanian club to reach the group stage of the Europa Conference League.[17]
Clubs
Wins by club
| The clubs currently play in the 2025–26 Liga I. | |
| The clubs are currently playing in the lower leagues. | |
| The teams are disbanded. | |
Sponsorship
On 19 December 1998, SABMiller acquired the naming rights for four and a half seasons, becoming the first sponsor in the history of the competition. The company renamed the competition "Divizia A Ursus" to promote its Ursus beer brand.[18] In 2004, European Drinks & Foods, a Romanian company with approximately $1.3 billion USD in revenue, became the league’s main sponsor, renaming the competition "Divizia A Bürger" to promote its Bürger beer brand.[19]
In May 2008, Realitatea Media acquired the naming rights, resulting in the competition being renamed "Liga I Realitatea" in promotion of Realitatea TV.[20] Later that year, European Drinks & Foods regained the rights and rebranded the league as "Liga I Frutti Fresh", after one of its soft drink brands.[21]
For the 2009–10 season, online betting company Gamebookers purchased the naming rights, renaming the competition "Liga 1 Gamebookers.com".[22] This was followed in July 2010 by Bergenbier, a member of the StarBev Group, which secured the naming rights for four seasons and renamed the competition "Liga I Bergenbier" to promote its beer brand.[23]
From the 2015–16 season, French telecommunications company Orange became the league’s main sponsor after acquiring the naming rights for two years, resulting in the name "Liga 1 Orange".[24] In 2017, online gaming operator Betano became title sponsor for two seasons, followed by national operator Casa Pariurilor, which renamed the competition "Casa Liga 1" for the 2019–20 season. Since 2022, Romanian gambling operator Superbet has served as title sponsor, with the competition adopting the name "Superliga".[25]
Media coverage
In 2004, Telesport, a small television network, acquired the broadcasting rights for $28 million under a four-season contract that ran until the summer of 2008. During this period, Telesport sub-licensed part of the coverage to other Romanian broadcasters, including TVR1, Antena 1, Național TV, and Kanal D.
On 31 March 2008, Antena 1 and RCS & RDS outbid Realitatea Media and Kanal D in a broadcasting rights auction, securing a €102 million deal for three seasons.[26]
In 2011, broadcasting rights were acquired by RCS & RDS for its channels Digi Sport 1, Digi Sport 2, and Digi Sport 3. The network broadcast seven of the nine matches per round, while the remaining two matches were shown by Antena 1 (an Intact Media Group channel) and Dolce Sport, owned by Telekom Romania.
In March 2014, the LPF announced that the broadcasting rights had been sold for a five-year period to a company from the European Union, without disclosing its name.[27] A month later, it was revealed that Look TV and Look Plus had secured the rights to broadcast Liga I and Cupa Ligii matches for the 2014–2019 period.[28]
EA Sports
Records
Players
| Player | Period | Club | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ionel Dănciulescu |
1993–2014 | Electroputere Craiova, Dinamo București, Steaua București | 515 |
| 2 | Dan Nistor |
2010– | Pandurii Târgu Jiu, Dinamo București, CFR Cluj, Universitatea Craiova, Universitatea Cluj | 512 |
| 3 | Costică Ștefănescu |
1968–1988 | Steaua București, Universitatea Craiova, FC Brașov | 490 |
| 4 | Florea Ispir |
1969–1988 | ASA Târgu Mureș | 485 |
| 5 | László Bölöni |
1971–1988 | ASA Târgu Mureș, Steaua București | 484 |
| 6 | Costel Câmpeanu |
1987–2005 | FCM Bacău, Dinamo București, Gloria Bistrița, Progresul București, Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț | 470 |
| 7 | Petre Marin |
1993–2012 | Sportul Studențesc, Național București, Rapid București, Steaua București, Unirea Urziceni, Concordia Chiajna | 468 |
| 8 | Paul Cazan |
1972–1988 | Sportul Studențesc | 465 |
| 9 | Cornel Dinu |
1966–1983 | Dinamo București | 454 |
| 10 |  Mário Camora |
2011– | CFR Cluj | 453 |
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| Player | Period | Club | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mário Camora |
2011– | CFR Cluj | 453 |
| 2 |  Takayuki Seto |
2009–2026 | Astra Giurgiu, Petrolul Ploiești, Argeș Pitești | 362 |
| 3 |  Júnior Morais |
2010–2026 | Astra Giurgiu, FCSB, Rapid București, Metaloglobus București | 320 |
| 4 |  Risto Radunović |
2017– | Astra Giurgiu, FCSB | 269 |
| 5 |  Adnan Aganović |
2013–2025 | FC Brașov, Viitorul Constanța, Steaua București, Sepsi OSK, Unirea Slobozia | 261 |
| 6 | Ricardinho |
2018–2026 | Voluntari, Petrolul Ploiești | 243 |
| 7 |  Ousmane Viera |
2009–2021 | CFR Cluj, Internațional Curtea de Argeș, Pandurii Târgu Jiu, Sepsi OSK, Hermannstadt | 235 |
| 8 |  Vadim Rață |
2021– | Voluntari, FCSB, Universitatea Cluj, Argeș Pitești | 234 |
| 9 | Eric de Oliveira |
2008–2021 | Gaz Metan Mediaș, Pandurii Târgu Jiu, Viitorul Constanța, Voluntari | 222 |
| 10 |  Radoslav Dimitrov |
2015–2024 | Botoșani, Universitatea Craiova, Sepsi OSK, Universitatea Cluj | 216 |
| Player | Period | Club | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric de Oliveira |
2008–2021 | Gaz Metan Mediaș, Pandurii Târgu Jiu, Viitorul Constanța, Voluntari | 66 (Ø 0,29) |
| 2 | Wesley |
2008–2015 | Vaslui, Politehnica Iași | 64 (Ø 0,52) |
| 3 |  Harlem Gnohéré |
2015–2020 | Dinamo București, FCSB | 58 (Ø 0,42) |
| 4 |  Bojan Golubović |
2011–2018 | Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț, Politehnica Iași, Steaua București, Gaz Metan Mediaș, Botoșani | 55 (Ø 0,27) |
| 5 |  Pantelis Kapetanos |
2008–2014 | FCSB, CFR Cluj | 48 (Ø 0,38) |
| 6 | Gabriel Debeljuh |
2019–2026 | Hermannstadt, CFR Cluj, Sepsi OSK | 47 (Ø 0,29) |
| Elvir Koljić |
2018–2026 | Universitatea Craiova, Rapid București | 47 (Ø 0,25) | |
 Adam Nemec |
2016–2024 | Dinamo București, Voluntari | 47 (Ø 0,24) | |
| 9 |  Kehinde Fatai |
2007–2024 | Farul Constanța, Astra Giurgiu, Argeș Pitești, Oțelul Galați | 46 (Ø 0,25) |
| 10 |  Tha'er Bawab |
2010–2019 | Gloria Bistrița, Gaz Metan Mediaș, Universitatea Craiova, Steaua București, Dinamo București, Concordia Chiajna | 42 (Ø 0,20) |
| Player | Age | Match | Season | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolae Dobrin |
14 years, 10 months and 5 days | Știința Cluj - Dinamo Pitești 5–1 | 1961–62 | 1 July 1962 |
| 2 | Alexandru Stoian |
14 years, 10 months and 13 days | FC U Craiova - Farul Constanța 1–2 | 2022–23 | 28 October 2022 |
| 3 | Alexandru Bota |
14 years, 11 months and 13 days | CFR Cluj - Universitatea Cluj 4–0 | 2022–23 | 13 March 2023 |
| 4 | Rareș Lazăr |
15 years, one month and 19 days | Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț - FC Vaslui 2–0 | 2013–14 | 17 May 2014 |
| 5 | Răzvan Popa |
15 years, 2 months and 13 days | Dinamo București - Sportul Studențesc 1–3 | 2011–12 | 17 March 2012 |
| 6 | Codrin Epure |
15 years, 2 months and 21 days | FC Vaslui - Astra Giurgiu 1–4 | 2013–14 | 19 May 2014 |
| 7 | Vasile Chitaru |
15 years, 4 months and 14 days | SC Bacău - Jiul Petroșani 3–0 | 1973–74 | 19 May 1974 |
| 8 | Ștefan Harsanyi |
15 years, 4 months and 22 days | Bihor Oradea - Sportul Studențesc 2–0 | 1982–83 | 2 July 1983 |
| 9 | Dorel Zamfir |
15 years, 5 months and 16 days | FC Constanța - Steaua București 0–1 | 1976–77 | 16 March 1977 |
| 10 | Enes Sali |
15 years, 5 months and 17 days | Farul Constanța - Sepsi OSK 1–0 | 2021–22 | 9 August 2021 |
Managers
| Manager | Period | Matches | Victories | Draws | Losses | Victory percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florin Halagian |
1972–2011 | 878 | 432 | 176 | 270 | 59% |
| 2 | Ilie Oană |
1952–1979 | 572 | 232 | 124 | 216 | 51% |
| 3 | Nicolae Dumitru |
1962–1993 | 558 | 250 | 120 | 188 | 55% |
| 4 | Ion V. Ionescu |
1967–1994 | 496 | 194 | 89 | 213 | 48% |
| 5 | Viorel Hizo |
1990–2013 | 488 | 221 | 85 | 182 | 53% |
| 6 | Ioan Andone |
1994–2017 | 456 | 207 | 80 | 169 | 54% |
| 7 | Florin Marin |
1993–2017 | 456 | 166 | 103 | 187 | 47% |
| 8 | Valentin Stănescu |
1962–1984 | 455 | 206 | 101 | 148 | 56% |
| 9 | Sorin Cârțu |
1989–2013 | 454 | 175 | 114 | 165 | 51% |
| 10 | Angelo Niculescu |
1953–1982 | 445 | 196 | 101 | 148 | 55% |
Referees
| Referee | Period | Matches | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Colțescu |
2003–2026 | 423 |
| 2 | István Kovács |
2008– | 382 |
| 3 | Alexandru Tudor |
1999–2018 | 381 |
| 4 | Cristian Balaj |
2000–2016 | 341 |
| 5 | Radu Petrescu |
2007– | 310 |
| 6 | Ovidiu Hațegan |
2006–2024 | 308 |
| 7 | Sorin Corpodean |
1997–2009 | 268 |
| 8 | Nicolae Rainea |
1964–1984 | 267 |
| 9 | Marcel Bîrsan |
2012– | 261 |
| 10 | Marius Avram |
2007–2020 | 246 |
International competitions
Performance in international competitions
From the quarter-finals onwards.
| Club | Results |
|---|---|
| Steaua București
2 cups and 2 finals |
European Cup/UEFA Champions League (1) + (1):
UEFA Super Cup (1):
Intercontinental Cup (1):
|
| Dinamo București | European Cup/UEFA Champions League:
|
| Universitatea Craiova | European Cup/UEFA Champions League:
|
| Rapid București 1 final | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:
Mitropa Cup: (1)
|
| FCSB | UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League:
|
| Petrolul Ploiești | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
|
| FCM Bacău | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
|
| UTA Arad | UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League:
|
| Victoria București | UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League:
|
| Vaslui 1 cup | UEFA Intertoto Cup (1):
|
| Oțelul Galați 1 cup | UEFA Intertoto Cup (1):
|
| CFR Cluj 1 final | UEFA Intertoto Cup (1):
|
| Farul Constanța 1 final | UEFA Intertoto Cup (1):
|
| Gloria Bistrița 1 final | UEFA Intertoto Cup (1):
|
UEFA ranking
UEFA League Ranking for the period of 2020–2025:
- 23. (18)
Ukrainian Premier League - 24. (24)
Nemzeti Bajnokság I - 25. (26)
Liga I - 26. (22)
Russian Premier League - 27. (29)
Slovak Super Liga
See also
Notes
- Subject to legal challenge: see Steaua București football records dispute