Montenegrin First League

Before independence

As a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Montenegrin clubs played in the Montenegrin Football Championship which was formed in 1922.^[2][3][4] Despite the presence of the nationwide Yugoslav Football Championship, Montenegrin teams did not partake in it. Montenegrin Football Championship played until the beginning of World War II.

The most successful teams at that period were SK Crnogorac Cetinje (10 titles), GSK Balšić Podgorica (7), FK Lovćen Cetinje (5), FK Budućnost Podgorica (4) and FK Arsenal Tivat (1). While SK Crnogorac and GSK Balšić played all the seasons, work of FK Budućnost and FK Lovćen was forbidden in 1935, as they were recognized as workers' clubs by Kingdom of Yugoslavia government and forbidden.

After World War II and the formation of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the top league became the Yugoslav First League. Montenegrin teams were allowed to partake in the nationwide league structure, with a Montenegrin Republic League acting as a lower-tier division with promotion and relegation between the Yugoslav league system. The most prominent clubs from Montenegro in this period were FK Budućnost and FK Sutjeska.

FK Budućnost was among the founders of Yugoslav First League and a member of its inaugural season. During the most of SFRY era, FK Budućnost played in First League, while another team from Montenegro in top-tier was FK Sutjeska. Other teams played in Yugoslav Second League or lower ranks. Among them, most successful was FK Lovćen, who played twice in First League qualifiers, but without success at the end of campaigns.

Below is the list of performances of Montenegrin teams in Yugoslav First League from 1946 to 1992, with final placements on every single season.

In 1992 when SFR Yugoslavia dissolved the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed. Serbian and Montenegrin teams played in its national league, although it was still named Yugoslav First League. In 2003, FR Yugoslavia became Serbia and Montenegro and the football league was renamed. Montenegrin clubs played in the First League with Serbian clubs from 1992 to 2006. In that period, representatives of Montenegro in the Yugoslav/Serbia and Montenegro First League were FK Budućnost, FK Sutjeska, FK Rudar, FK Mogren, FK Zeta, FK Kom and FK Jedinstvo.

Below is the list of performances of Montenegrin teams in FR Yugoslavia First League from 1992 to 2006, with final placements on every single season.

For 2004–05, restructuring of the Serbo-Montenegrin football league system saw the dissolution of the national second league, instead being replaced by two regional divisions for both republics of the union with promotion to the still-united First League.

Montenegrin teams which played in European competitions during Yugoslav era were FK Budućnost, FK Sutjeska and FK Zeta.

After independence

In 2006, after the Independence referendum, Montenegro split from Serbia. Following that, Montenegrin First League is founded as top-tier national competition. On inaugural season, members of League became three teams from former First League of Serbia and Montenegro, seven from Second League, and two from Montenegrin Republic League.

Between 2006 and 2017, the league consisted on 12 clubs, which played 33 matches during the season. From the 2017-18 season the number of participants in the Montenegrin First League was reduced to 10, with a 36 week-long competition.

20 clubs have participated in the Montenegrin First League. The most successful are FK Sutjeska with five titles and FK Budućnost five national titles too. FK Rudar and FK Mogren won two titles. Other winners were FK Zeta and OFK Titograd with one title.

2006–16

The first game in Prva CFL was played on 11 August 2006 in Pljevlja. In front of 5,000 spectators, a game between the home side FK Rudar and FK Budućnost, finished with a victory of the away team (0-2). In the fifth minute of that match, Ivan Čarapić (Budućnost) scored the first goal in the history of Prva CFL.

The first champion of the top-tier CFL was Zeta, who won the trophy on the championship's final weekend, after a hard struggle with neighbouring Budućnost. Game between FK Berane and FK Budućnost was not even finished, after the crowd disturbances during the second half.^[5] A third derby between Budućnost and Zeta in Podgorica was attended by 10,000 spectators, which is a record-high attendance in the history of CFL. During the season, many games were disrupted by crowd disturbances^[6] and a match between Zeta and Budućnost in Golubovci was not played, after the decision was made by the home team not to open their stadium following discussion with Football Association of Montenegro.^[7]

Next season started with incidents during the Montenegrin Derby in Nikšić. Budućnost won the title, with the same number of points as Zeta and Mogren. But, Budućnost had the best score against two opponents from the top of the table. This marked the first trophy for the team from Podgorica.^[8] Their manager at that time Branko Babić became the first foreign coach to win the Prva CFL title. With an average attendance of 4,250 for their home games, Budućnost made a Montenegrin First League all-time record.

The title winners for season 2008–09 became Mogren,^[9] the first-ever club from the coastal Montenegro to win the title. The race for the champions' trophy lasted until the final week, when Mogren won an away game against Jedinstvo (2-1). At the end of season, they had four points more than second-placed Budućnost and 11 more than the third-place team - Sutjeska.

A year later Rudar^[10] won the first title in their club's history. They won the trophy after dramatic struggle with Budućnost, and only two points decided the championship race. During that year, Ivan Bošković from Grbalj scored 28 goals, which is the all-time record for one single season. During the last week of season, his team made another record, with the highest victory ever in Montenegrin First League, against Kom (11-0).^[11] During that game, Bošković scored four goals - which is another Prva CFL record, shared with FK Zeta's player Miljan Vlaisavljević and OFK Titograd's player Zoran Petrović.

Mogren became first club to win a second champion trophy in Prva CFL. The team from Budva won the title on season 2010–11, but with equal number of points as second-placed Budućnost: (73).^[12] In the end, head-to-head scores compared, Mogren were victorious over Budućnost (2-1; 2-0; 1-2).

Budućnost won their second trophy in season 2011–12,^[13] whilst also setting records for highest number of points in CFL by single season (80) and highest number of scored goals by season (83). But, the team from Podgorica didn't win the trophy easily - they were followed by Rudar, who trailed by three points at the end of season. Additionally, Budućnost failed to beat Rudar during the season (0-2; 2-2; 1-1)

Sutjeska became the first club to win two consecutive titles of CFL champion - both times with Dragan Radojičić as head coach. The team from Nikšić won the title for seasons 2012–13 and 2013–14. Sutjeska headed to their first title with five points more than Budućnost, but secured the trophy on last week of the season.^[14] During that season, Sutjeska for the first time in the First League played city derbies against Čelik (1-0; 0-3; 0-1), who placed third at the end of competition. Second trophy, Sutjeska won after the dramatic spring half-season and struggle with Lovćen. The title winner was decided a week before the end of season, after a draw between Sutjeska and Lovćen (1-1).^[15] That was the first season on which Budućnost didn't finish in first or second position.

At the end of season 2014–15, Rudar^[16] won the second title in the club's history. The team from Pljevlja won the race against title holders Sutjeska, who finished second. The team at the bottom of the table - Berane at the end of season had only 13 points with 78 goals conceded, which were negative records of Prva CFL at that time. After the relegation playoffs, Mogren were relegated to the Second League. This was the first time in history of Prva CFL that former champions were relegated.

The tenth edition of Prva CFL finished with a shock, as OFK Titograd from Podgorica won their first-ever national title.^[17] During this era, OFK Titograd played under the name Mladost Podgorica. They won the champions' race against city rivals from Budućnost and during the season, OFK Titograd won all three games against them (3-1; 1-0; 2-0). After the last week, OFK Titograd had four points more than the second-placed team.

In the period from 2006 to 2016, FK Budućnost, FK Sutjeska, FK Rudar and FK Mogren won two champion titles, and FK Zeta and OFK Titograd one. During that time, 19 clubs participated in Prva CFL.

Changes in league structure

• Number of teams:
  • 2006–07 to 2016–17: 12
  • Since 2017–18: 10
• Number of teams relegated:
  • 2006–07 to 2016–17: 1 automatic plus the 10th and 11th placed team in the First League played a two-leg relegation matches against the second and third placed team of the Second League.
  • Since 2017–18: 1 automatic plus the 8th and 9th placed team in the First League plays a relegation matches against the second and third placed team of the Second League.

Rivalries

The main rivalry in the Montenegrin First League is between Budućnost and Sutjeska, often called the Montenegrin Derby. The first edition of the derby in official competitions was played at 1932,^[28] and the two clubs have played derbies in the highest-tier competitions of SFR Yugoslavia, FR Yugoslavia and in the Montenegrin First League.

Another traditional rivalry is between FK Budućnost and FK Lovćen Cetinje, because the two clubs have played important games since the 1920s. That rivalry is further fuelled by the fact that Budućnost is the major club from the capital Podgorica, while Lovćen is the main club from the former royal capital, Cetinje.

During the first two seasons of Montenegrin First League, there was a strong rivalry between Budućnost and Zeta. The two clubs from the territory of the Capital Podgorica were the main candidates for the title during the 2006-07 and 2007–08 seasons, and their match from the spring 2007 was attended by more than 10,000 spectators at Podgorica City Stadium. That is the highest attendance in the history of Montenegrin First League.

During the seasons of 2012-13 and 2013–14, there was a big local derby in Nikšić, between Sutjeska and Čelik. At that time, their matches were often attended by more than 7,000 supporters.

In the new period, there was a strong title races between Rudar and Budućnost or Sutjeska and Rudar.

Champions

Since its inception in the 2006–07 season, six clubs have won the title. As of the culmination of the 2020–21 season, Budućnost have won 5 titles, followed by Sutjeska with 4, while Rudar and Mogren each won 2. Only Budućnost and Sutjeska managed to retain their title in the following season; furthermore, Sutjeska managed to do so twice.

Key

Performance by club

Budućnost has won most titles, seven in total; it is the only club which finished as a champion or runner-up more than 10 times. FK Lovćen, FK Mornar and OFK Petrovac have all finished as a runner-up but never won any title.

Players

Appearances

Ivan Novović, with 444 appearances, is the most capped player in the history of the league.

More information Rank, Player ...

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Games	First	Last
1	Ivan Novović	Zeta, OFK Titograd, Dečić, Budućnost	444	2007–08	2023–24
2	Miroje Jovanović	OFK Titograd, Kom, Rudar, Iskra	420	2006–07	2020–21
3	Milan Đurišić	Budućnost, OFK Titograd, Lovćen, Iskra	418	2006–07	2021–22
4	Draško Božović	Budućnost, Mogren, OFK Titograd, Lovćen, Sutjeska, Rudar, Dečić	411	2006–07	2023–24
5	Luka Mirković	Lovćen, OFK Titograd, Budućnost	409	2008–09	2023–24

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As of the end of 2023–24 season.
First = First season in Prva CFL; Last = Last season in Prva CFL
Sources:^{[29][30][31][11][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]}

Goalscorers

Since the foundation of Prva CFL, most goals in competition scored Žarko Korać. Playing for three teams, he scored overall 121 goals. Below is a list of the 5 best all-time goalscorers.

More information Rank, Player ...

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Goals	Games	First	Last
1	Žarko Korać	Zeta, Grbalj, Jedinstvo	121	222	2006–07	2024–25
2	Admir Adrović	Berane, Sutjeska, Budućnost, OFK Titograd, Dečić, Podgorica	110	303	2006–07	2021–22
3	Ivan Vuković	Budućnost, OFK Titograd, Grbalj, Iskra	95	287	2006–07	2021–22
4	Božo Marković	Sutjeska, OFK Titograd, Dečić, Mornar	83	308	2009–10	2023–24
5	Ivan Jablan	Petrovac, Lovćen, Grbalj	76	298	2006–07	2018–19

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As of the end of 2023–24 season.
Clubs = Only Prva CFL teams for which every player scored at least one goal; First = Season of player's first goal in Prva CFL; Last = Season of player's last goal in Prva CFL
Sources:^{[29][30][31][11][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]}

Goalkeepers

From the first edition of Prva CFL, many goalkeepers made runs without conceded goals during the three or more games. Below is the list of three biggest runs from 2006 to 2007 edition until now, classified by minutes without conceded goal.

More information Rank, Goalkeeper ...

Rank	Goalkeeper	Season	Club	Minutes
1	Vladan Giljen	2017–18	Sutjeska	1019
2	Mileta Radulović	2012–13	Grbalj	845
3	Mladen Božović	2006–07	Budućnost	795

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Managers

During the history, 14 managers have won the title of Montenegrin First League champions. Among them, Nikola Rakojević won three titles, while Dragan Radojičić, Mladen Milinković, and Dejan Vukićević each won the league twice.

More information Manager, Club(s) ...

Manager	Club(s)	Wins	Winning years
Nikola Rakojević	OFK Titograd, Sutjeska	3	2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19
Dragan Radojičić	Sutjeska	2	2012–13, 2013–14
Dejan Vukićević	Zeta, Mogren	2	2006–07, 2008–09
Mladen Milinković	Budućnost	2	2019–20, 2020–21
Branko Babić	Budućnost	1	2007–08
Miodrag Radulović	Budućnost	1	2011–12
Miodrag Vukotić	Budućnost	1	2016–17
Nebojša Vignjević	Rudar	1	2009–10
Mirko Marić	Rudar	1	2014–15
Branislav Milačić	Mogren	1	2010–11
Milija Savović	Sutjeska	1	2021–22
Miodrag Džudović	Budućnost	1	2022–23
Milorad Peković	Dečić	1	2023–24
Ivan Brnović	Budućnost	1	2024–25

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Awards

Every year, Football Association of Montenegro is organising awards ceremony for best player and best manager in Montenegrin First League. Best player and manager are chosen by coaches and captains of First League members.

Montenegrin clubs in Yugoslav First League (1946–2006)

In period from 1946 to 2006, Montenegrin clubs played in the First league of SFR Yugoslavia (1946–1992), FR Yugoslavia (1992–2001) and Serbia and Montenegro (2001–2006). Below is the list of all matches and seasons by every single club in the First league from 1946 until 2006.

Prva CFL (2006–present)

Since its inauguration in 2006–07 season, 23 clubs have played in Montenegrin First League. Clubs that played all the seasons are Budućnost, Sutjeska and Petrovac.

Ssn = Number of seasons; First = First season; Last = Last season; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points

Participants by season

Relegation and promotion

At the end of every season, the last placed team are relegated to the Montenegrin Second League, while the winner of Second League is promoted to highest-rank. Additionally, another two teams from First and Second League every season are participating in the playoffs.

Directly promoted and relegated teams

See also: Montenegrin Second League Winners

Below is the list of directly promoted and relegated teams by every single season. Relegated were last-placed teams in First League, while directly promoted teams were the champions of Montenegrin Second League.

More information Year, Directly relegated ...

Year	Directly relegated	Directly promoted
2007	FK Berane	FK Lovćen
2008	FK Mladost Podgorica	FK Jezero
2009	FK Jedinstvo	FK Berane
2010	FK Kom	FK Mladost Podgorica
2011	OFK Bar	FK Bokelj
2012	FK Bokelj	FK Čelik
2013	FK Jedinstvo	FK Dečić
2014	FK Dečić	FK Bokelj
2015	FK Berane	FK Iskra
2016	FK Mornar	FK Jedinstvo
2017	FK Jedinstvo	FK Kom
2018	FK Dečić	FK Mornar
2019	FK Mornar	FK Podgorica
2020	OFK Grbalj	FK Dečić
2021	OFK Titograd	FK Mornar
2022	FK Zeta	FK Jedinstvo
2023	FK Iskra	OFK Mladost DG
2024	FK Rudar	FK Bokelj
2025	FK Otrant	OFK Mladost DG

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Champions

• Highest number of points when becoming a champions: 85 by Budućnost, season 2020–21
• Lowest number of points when becoming a champions: 57 by Budućnost, season 2016–17
• Highest number of games left when becoming a champions: 7 by Budućnost, season 2020–21 (Secured title: 11 April 2021).
• Lowest number of seasons between promotion and titlebe: 4 by Dečić (Promotion: 2020–21; Champions: 2023–24)
• Lowest number of seasons between the title and relegation:: 5 by Mogren (Champions: 2010–11; Relegation: 2014–15); OFK Titograd (Champions: 2015–16; Relegation: 2020–21)

Records by seasons

• Most points: 85, Budućnost, season 2020–21
• Least points: 12, Mornar, season 2018–19
• Highest number of wins: 27, Budućnost, season 2020–21
• Lowest number of wins: 1, Mornar, season 2018–19
• Highest number of draws: 18, Dečić, season 2024-25
• Lowest number of draws: 3, Kom, season 2009–10
• Highest number of losses: 26, Berane, season 2014–15
• Lowest number of losses: 1, Budućnost, season 2006–07
• Highest number of scored goals: 90, Budućnost, season 2024-25
• Lowest number of scored goals: 16, Kom, season 2009–10; OFK Titograd, season 2007–08
• Highest number of conceded goals: 78, Berane, season 2014–15
• Lowest number of conceded goals: 12, Budućnost, season 2006–07
• Player with highest number of scored goals by single season: 28, Ivan BoÅ¡ković, Grbalj, season 2009–10

Runs

• Longest unbeaten run: 23 matches, Budućnost, 22 September 2020 - 20 March 2021, season 2020–21
• Longest run without win: 30 matches, OFK Titograd, 19 May 2007 - 3 May 2008, seasons 2006–07, 2007–08
• Longest winning streak: 10 matches, Budućnost, 17 March 2012 - 9 May 2012, season 2011–12; Budućnost, 31 October 2020 - 17 December 2020, season 2020–21
• Longest losing streak: 12 matches, Mornar, 17 March 2019 - 25 May 2019, season 2018–19
• Longest run without conceded goal: 11 matches, Sutjeska, 16 September 2017 - 6 December 2017, season 2017–18
• Longest run without scored goal: 11 matches, Kom, 30 September 2009 - 7 March 2010, season 2009–10
• Longest run of goalless matches (0-0): 3 matches, Grbalj, 15 September 2012 - 6 October 2012, season 2012–13; Grbalj, 13 October 2012 - 10 November 2012, season 2012–13

Single game

• Biggest league victory/defeat: 11–0, Grbalj vs. Kom, 29 May 2010 (season 2009–10)
• Biggest league victory away: 0–7, Mornar vs. Grbalj, 23 May 2015 (season 2014–15)
• Most goals on a single game: 11, Grbalj vs. Kom 11–0, 29 May 2010 (season 2009–10); Zeta vs. Bokelj 8–3, 17 May 2008 (season 2007–08)
• Player with most goals on a single game: 4, Ivan BoÅ¡ković (Grbalj), Grbalj vs. Kom 11–0, 29 May 2010 (season 2009–10); Miljan Vlaisavljević (Zeta), Zeta vs. Mogren 5–0, 4 April 2015 (season 2014–15); Zoran Petrović (OFK Titograd), OFK Titograd vs. Lovćen 7–2, 27 May 2017 (season 2016–17); Tyrone Conrad (Sutjeska), Sutjeska vs. Jedinstvo 5–0, 1 October 2022 (season 2022–23)^[53]
• Fastest goal: Aleksa MaruÅ¡ić (Sutjeska), 00:16; Titograd vs. Sutjeska 0–4, 03.04.2021 (season 2020–21)
• Oldest top scorer: Ivan Jablan (Lovćen), 39 yrs 143 days; Grbalj vs. Lovćen 3–2, 08.12.2018 (season 2018–19)

Attendance

• Highest average attendance by season: 1,178 (overall: 229,800 / 195 matches), season 2006–07
• Highest single game attendance: 10,000, Budućnost vs. Zeta 1:0, 08.04.2007, Podgorica (season 2006–07)
• Lowest single game attendance: 50, OFK Titograd vs. Grbalj 1:2, 08.12.2007, Podgorica (season 2007–08)
• Highest average home attendance: 4,250 (16 home games), Budućnost during 2007–08 season
• Lowest average home attendance: 206 (18 home games), Mornar during 2018–19 season

History

Montenegrin football clubs have played in four UEFA competitions - the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup) and Intertoto Cup.
Champions of Montenegro have never played in the group-phase of UEFA Champions League, and the most successful in the qualifiers was FK Zeta Golubovci in the 2007–08 season and FK Sutjeska Nikšić in 2019–20.
FK Zeta had the best performances in the UEFA Europa League: reaching the playoffs, and OFK Titograd, FK Budućnost and FK Sutjeska which played in Round 3.
FK Mornar and FK Dečić had the best performances in the UEFA Conference League: reaching the Round 3.
The most successful in the Intertoto Cup was Budućnost, which was among the winners during the 1981 season.
Below is a table with Montenegrin clubs' scores in UEFA competitions.

As of the end of UEFA competitions 2025–26 season.
Except the official UEFA competitions, teams from Montenegro represented SFR Yugoslavia in the Balkans Cup, former regional football competition (1960-1994). Teams from Montenegro which played in Balkans Cup were FK Budućnost Podgorica and FK Sutjeska Nikšić. Biggest success made FK Budućnost, who played in the final 1991, after eliminated Galatasaray SK.

UEFA rankings

UEFA Country Ranking for league participation in 2027–28 European football season (Previous year rank in italics)

• 48 (52) Belarusian Premier League
• 49 (48) Luxembourg National Division
• 50 (47) Montenegrin First League
• 51 (51) Macedonian First Football League
• 52 (50) Erovnuli Liga

Official logo and equipment

Since establishment, the Montenegrin First League has had two official logos.

The first logo was presented in 2006. Rebranding of the league came in 2018, together with the new logos of the Montenegrin Cup, Montenegrin Second League and youth leagues.^[55]

The official ball of the competition is produced under the Derbystar brand, while the official equipment of referees is a product of Legea.

Sponsorships