Football Superleague of Kosovo

The Football Superleague of Kosovo (Albanian: Superliga e Futbollit të Kosovës), also known as the ALBI MALL Superleague of Kosovo (Albanian: ALBI MALL Superliga e Kosovës) for sponsorship reasons with Albi Mall, is the top level of the Kosovar football league system. The Superleague is organized by the Football Federation of Kosovo and the division currently has a 10-team format. The clubs play each other four times during the season for a 36-match schedule. At the end of the season, the bottom two teams in the division are relegated to the second tier, First Football League of Kosovo.

Football Superleague of Kosovo

Organising body	FFK Competitions Commission
Founded	1945; 79 years ago (1945) as Kosovo Province League 1991; 33 years ago (1991) as Independent League of Kosovo
First season	1945 as Kosovo Province League 1991–92 as Independent League of Kosovo
Country	Kosovo
Confederation	UEFA
Number of teams	10
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	First Football League of Kosovo
Domestic cup(s)	Kosovar Cup Kosovar Supercup
International cup(s)	UEFA Champions League UEFA Conference League
Current champions	Ballkani (3rd title) (2023–24)
Most championships	Prishtina (11 titles)
Most appearances	Artan Latifi (493)
TV partners	ArtMotion, Klan Kosova
Website	Official website
Current: 2024–25 Football Superleague of Kosovo

The Superleague ran outside FIFA and UEFA until Kosovo was admitted to both organizations, on 3 May 2016.^[1]

History

Prior to World War II, within Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Kosovan clubs competed in the provincial leagues of the Belgrade Football Subassociation. During World War II, between 1941 and 1944, when most of the region became part of the Albanian Kingdom, numerous Kosovan clubs played in the Albanian league system. In 1945, Kosovo was reincorporated to Serbia, and subsequently, into the SFR Yugoslavia. The league has its origins in 1945 when it became one of the subdivisions of the 5th level in the Yugoslav football league system. It gathered the best clubs from the SAP Kosovo except for those clubs competing in higher levels. In 1991, an unrecognised parallel league gathering ethnic Albanian pro-independence clubs was set, and was run till 1999. In the meantime, the best clubs competed in the leagues of FR Yugoslavia. In 1999, after the Kosovo War, a separate Kosovar league system was formed. It included most clubs from Kosovo except those from Serbian-dominated North Kosovo which remained in the Serbian football league system. Since 2000, the competition has been running continuously, and by 2017, after Kosovo gained membership in FIFA and UEFA, began acting as the national league of Kosovo, providing clubs for international tournaments.

Names

Name		Period	Notes
Albanian	English
Liga e Provincës së Kosovës	Kosovo Province League	1945–1991	Part of the Yugoslav football league system.[upper-alpha 1]
Liga e Pavarur e Kosovës	Independent League of Kosovo	1991–1999	Unrecognised competition parallel to Serbian league system.
Superliga e Futbollit të Kosovës	Football Superleague of Kosovo	1999–present	The official name, even though from 2008 for sponsorship reasons the name changes.
Raiffeisen Superliga e Kosovës	Raiffeisen Superleague of Kosovo	2008–2016	Sponsored by Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo, a subsidiary of the Raiffeisen Bank International.
Vala Superliga e Kosovës	Vala Superleague of Kosovo	2016–2018	Sponsored by Kosovo Telecom.[2]
IPKO Superliga e Kosovës	IPKO Superleague of Kosovo	2018–2020	Sponsored by IPKO.[3]
BKT Superliga e Kosovës	BKT Superleague of Kosovo	2021–2022	Sponsored by Banka Kombëtare Tregtare.[4]
ALBI MALL Superliga e Kosovës	ALBI MALL Superleague of Kosovo	2022–present	Sponsored by Albi Mall, a subsidiary of the Albi Commerce.[5]

Previous winners

This is a list of winners of Football Superleague of Kosovo since 1945.^[6]

Season Club Location Kosovo Province League[upper-alpha 1] 1945 Jedinstvo Pristina 1946 1947 Trepça Mitrovica 1947–48 Proleteri Pristina 1948–49 Trepça Mitrovica 1950 1951 Kosova Pristina 1952 Trepça Mitrovica 1953 Not played due to change of league system 1953–54 Prishtina Pristina 1954–55 Trepça Mitrovica 1955–56 Rudari Stantërg 1956–57 Rudniku Hajvalia 1957–58 Rudari Stantërg 1958–59 Prishtina Pristina 1959–60 Rudari Stantërg 1960–61 Prishtina Pristina 1961–62 Budućnost Peja 1962–63 Drita Gjilan 1963–64 Slloga Lipjan 1964–65 1965–66 Budućnost Peja 1966–67 Obiliq Obiliq 1967–68 Vëllaznimi Gjakova 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 Obiliq Obiliq 1972–73 Fushë Kosova Kosovo Polje 1973–74 Vëllaznimi Gjakova 1974–75 Liria Prizren 1975–76 RHMK Obiliq Obiliq 1976–77 Prishtina Pristina 1977–78 Budućnost Peja 1978–79 Prishtina Pristina 1979–80 Vëllaznimi Gjakova 1980–81 Liria Prizren 1981–82 Vëllaznimi Gjakova 1982–83 KNI Ramiz Sadiku Pristina 1983–84 Liria Prizren 1984–85 Crvena Zvezda Gjilan 1985–86 Vëllaznimi Gjakova 1986–87 Liria Prizren 1987–88 Crvena Zvezda Gjilan 1988–89 Budućnost Peja 1989–90 Vëllaznimi Gjakova 1990–91 Fushë Kosova Kosovo Polje

Season Club Location Independent League of Kosovo[upper-alpha 2] 1991–92 Prishtina Prishtina 1992–93 Trepça Mitrovica 1993–94 Dukagjini Klina 1994–95 Liria Prizren 1995–96 Prishtina Prishtina 1996–97 1997–98 Competition not held due to Kosovo War 1998–99 Football Superleague of Kosovo 1999–2000 Prishtina Prishtina 2000–01 2001–02 Besiana Podujevë 2002–03 Drita Gjilan 2003–04 Prishtina Prishtina 2004–05 Besa Peja 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 Prishtina Prishtina 2008–09 2009–10 Trepça Mitrovica 2010–11 Hysi Podujevë 2011–12 Prishtina Prishtina 2012–13 2013–14 Vushtrria Vushtrri 2014–15 Feronikeli Drenas 2015–16 2016–17 Trepça'89 Mitrovica 2017–18 Drita Gjilan 2018–19 Feronikeli Drenas 2019–20 Drita Gjilan 2020–21 Prishtina Prishtina 2021–22 Ballkani Suva Reka 2022–23 2023–24

Clubs (2024–25)

The leаgue consisted of ten teams – the top eight teаms from the previous season and two teams promoted from the 2023–24 Kosovo First League.

The two directly promoted teаms were Suhareka and Ferizaj, winners of the 2023–24 Kosovo First League groups A and B, respectively.^[7] They replaced the 2023–24 Kosovo Superleague bottom two teams, Liria Prizren and Fushë Kosova.

Dukagjini

Ferizaj

Feronikeli

Gjilan

Llapi

Malisheva

Prishtina

Suharekë

Gjilan clubs:

Drita
Gjilani

Suharekë clubs:

Ballkani
Suhareka

Locations of the 2024–25 Football Superleague of Kosovo teams

Note: Table lists in alphabetical order.

Club	Town	Stadium and capacity		UEFA license[8]
Ballkani	Suharekë	Suhareka City Stadium	1,500
Drita	Gjilan	Gjilan Synthetic Grass Stadium[upper-alpha 4]	1,500
Dukagjini	Klinë	18 June Stadium	3,000
Ferizaj	Ferizaj	Ferizaj Synthetic Grass Stadium	1,500
Feronikeli	Drenas	Rexhep Rexhepi Stadium	2,000
Gjilani	Gjilan	Gjilan Synthetic Grass Stadium[upper-alpha 4]	1,500
Llapi	Podujevë	Zahir Pajaziti Stadium	8,000
Malisheva	Malishevë	Liman Gegaj Stadium	2,000
Prishtina	Prishtinë	Fadil Vokrri Stadium	13,000
Suhareka	Suharekë	Suhareka City Stadium	1,500

Seasons in Football Superleague of Kosovo

There are 36 teams that have taken part in the Football Superleague of Kosovo since 1999. Prishtina is the only team that has played in every season since 1999. As of 2024/25 season; teams in bold are part of current season.

26 seasons: Prishtina 23 seasons: Drenica 22 seasons: Trepça '89, Drita 21 seasons: Besa 20 seasons: Gjilani 17 seasons: Ferizaj 16 seasons: Liria 15 seasons: Vëllaznimi, Flamurtari 14 seasons: Vushtrria, Llapi 12 seasons: Feronikeli

10 seasons: Trepça 9 seasons: Besiana, KEK, Ballkani 8 seasons: Hysi, Kosova Prishtinë 6 seasons: Dukagjini 5 seasons: Hajvalia 4 seasons: Malisheva 3 seasons: 2 Korriku, Istogu, Fushë Kosova 2 seasons: Shqiponja, Beselidhja 1 seasons: Lepenci, Ulpiana, Vllaznia Pozheran, Uniteti, Kika, Getoari, Vëllazëria, Rahoveci, Suhareka

Titles by club

Number of titles since Independent League of Kosovo became the first tier of Kosovar league system.

Club	Wins	Winning Years
Prishtina	11	1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2020–21
Ballkani	3	2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
Drita		2002–03, 2017–18, 2019–20
Feronikeli		2014–15, 2015–16, 2018–19
Besa Pejë		2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07
Trepça	2	1992–93, 2009–10
Trepça '89	1	2016–17
Vushtrria		2013–14
Hysi		2010–11
Besiana		2001–02
Liria Prizren		1994–95
Dukagjini		1993–94

Kosovo football clubs in European competitions

Main article: Kosovo football clubs in European competitions

Active

UEFA Champions League

Performances by clubs

Club	Pld	W	D	L	Win %
Drita	6	3	0	3	050.00
Ballkani	6	2	1	3	033.33
Prishtina	4	2	0	2	050.00
Feronikeli	4	2	1	1	050.00
Trepça '89	2	0	0	2	000.00
Total	22	9	2	11	040.91

Season	Team	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg.
2017–18	Trepça '89	1Q	Víkingur Gøta	1–4	1–2	2–6
2018–19	Drita	PR	FC Santa Coloma	2–0 (a.e.t.)
			Lincoln Red Imps	4–1 (a.e.t.)
		1Q	Malmö	0–3	0–2	0–5
2019–20	Feronikeli	PR	Lincoln Red Imps	1–0
			FC Santa Coloma	2–1
		1Q	The New Saints	0–1	2–2	2–3
2020–21	Drita	PR	Inter d'Escaldes	2–1
			Linfield	0–3 (awarded)
2021–22	Prishtina	PR	Folgore	2–0
			Inter d'Escaldes	2–0
		1Q	Ferencváros	1–3	0–3	1–6
2022–23	Ballkani	1Q	Žalgiris	1–1	0–1 (a.e.t.)	1–2
2023–24		1Q	Ludogorets Razgrad	2–0	0–4	2–4
2024–25		1Q	UE Santa Coloma	1–2 (a.e.t.)	2–1	3–3 (5–6 p)

UEFA Europa League

Performances by clubs

Club	Pld	W	D	L	Win %
Prishtina	9	1	3	5	011.11
Drita	4	1	1	2	025.00
Gjilani	2	1	0	1	050.00
Feronikeli	2	0	0	2	000.00
Llapi	2	0	0	2	000.00
Total	19	3	4	12	015.79

Season	Team	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg.
2017–18	Prishtina	1Q	Norrköping	0–1	0–5	0–6
2018–19		PR	Europa	5–0	1–1	6–1
		1Q	Fola Esch	0–0 (4–5 p)	0–0	0–0 (4–5 p)
	Drita	2Q	F91 Dudelange	1–1	1–2	2–3
2019–20	Prishtina	PR	St Joseph's	1–1	0–2	1–3
	Feronikeli	2Q	Slovan Bratislava	0−2	1−2	1−4
2020–21	Prishtina	PR	Lincoln Red Imps	0–3 (awarded)
	Gjilani		Tre Penne	3–1
		1Q	APOEL	0–2 (a.e.t.)
	Drita	2Q	Sileks	2–0
		3Q	Legia Warsaw	0–2
2021–22 2022–23 2023–24	did not qualify
2024–25	Llapi	1Q	Wisła Kraków	1–2	0–2	1−4

UEFA Europa Conference League

Performances by clubs

Club	Pld	W	D	L	Win %
Ballkani	28	14	4	10	050.00
Drita	16	6	3	7	037.50
Prishtina	4	2	0	2	050.00
Dukagjini	4	2	0	2	050.00
Gjilani	4	1	1	2	025.00
Llapi	6	0	3	3	000.00
Malisheva	2	1	0	1	050.00
Total	62	26	11	25	041.94

Season	Team	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg.
2021–22	Llapi	1Q	Shkupi	1–1	0–2	1–3
	Drita		Dečić	2–1	1–0	3–1
		2Q	Feyenoord	0–0	2–3	2–3
	Prishtina		Connah's Quay Nomads	4–1	2–4	6–5
		3Q	Bodø/Glimt	2–1	0–2	2–3
2022–23	Gjilani	1Q	Liepāja	1–0	1–3	2–3
	Llapi		Budućnost Podgorica	2–2	0–2	2–4
	Drita		Inter Turku	3–0	0–1	3–1
		2Q	Antwerp	0–2	0–0	0–2
	Ballkani		La Fiorita	6–0	4–0	10–0
		3Q	KÍ	3–2	1–2 (a.e.t.)	4–4 (4–3 p)
		PO	Shkupi	1–0	2–1	3–1
		GS	Slavia Prague	0–1	2–3	4th
			CFR Cluj	1–1	0–1
			Sivasspor	1–2	4–3
2023–24	Gjilani	1Q	Progrès Niederkorn	0–2	2–2	2-4
	Dukagjini		Europa	2–1	3–2	5–3
		2Q	Rijeka	0–1	1–6	1–7
	Drita		Viktoria Plzeň	1–2	0–0	1–2
	Ballkani		Larne	3–0	4–1	7–1
		3Q	Lincoln Red Imps	2–0	3–1	5–1
		PO	BATE Borisov	4–1	0–1	4–2
		GS	Dinamo Zagreb	2–0	0–3	4th
			Viktoria Plzeň	0–1	0–1
			Astana	1–2	0–0
2024–25	Malisheva	1Q	Budućnost Podgorica	1–0	0–3	1–3
	Llapi	2Q	Brøndby	2–2	0–6	2–8
	Ballkani		Ħamrun Spartans	0–0	2–0	2–0
		3Q	Larne	0–1	1–0 (a.e.t.)	1–1 (1–4 p)
	Drita	2Q	Breiðablik	1–0	2–1	3–1
		3Q	Auda	3–1 (a.e.t.)	0–1	3–2
		PO	Legia Warsaw	0–2	0–1	0–3

Defunct

Mitropa Cup

Performances by clubs

Club	Pld	W	D	L	Win %
Prishtina	6	2	1	3	033.33
Total	6	2	3	1	033.33

Season	Team	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg.
1983–84	Prishtina	RR	Eisenstadt	3–3	2–4	Runners-up[10]
			Vasas	4–2	1–1
			Teplice	2–0	1–1

Notes and references

Notes

1. It was one of the leagues forming the 4th level of the Yugoslav football league system. The champion would gain promotion to Yugoslav Inter-Republic League East, one of Yugoslav 3rd tiers.
2. Unrecognised competition parallel to Serbian league system.
3. Drita and Gjilani use this stadium together and have named the stadium with different names. Drita and their fans named the stadium as Selami Osmani-Bezi Stadium, while Gjilan and their fans named the stadium as Agim Ramadani Stadium, but officially the stadium is named Gjilan City Stadium.^[9]
4. Drita and Gjilani will play their home matches at the Gjilan Synthetic Grass Stadium, instead of their regular stadium Gjilan City Stadium,^{[upper-alpha 3]} which was under reconstruction.

References

1. "Football Federation of Kosovo joins UEFA". UEFA. 3 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
2. "Vala sponzoron Superligën e Kosovës" [Vala sponsors the Kosovo Super League] (in Albanian). Bota Sot. 18 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
3. "IPKO, sponsor gjeneral i Kombëtares së Kosovës në Futboll dhe i Super Ligës së Kosovës në Futboll" [IPKO, general sponsor of the Kosovo national football team and the Kosovo Superleague in football] (in Albanian). IPKO. 9 August 2018. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
4. "Banka Kombëtare Tregtare sponsor gjeneral i Superligës së Kosovës në futboll" [Banka Kombëtare Tregtare general sponsor of the Kosovo Superleague in football] (in Albanian). Football Superleague of Kosovo. 30 August 2021. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
5. "ALBI MALL sponsor gjeneral i Superligës së Kosovës në futboll" [ALBI MALL general sponsor of the Kosovo Superleague in football] (in Albanian). Football Superleague of Kosovo. 18 August 2022. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
6. "Kosovo - List of Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2023-02-04. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
7. "Ferizaj dhe Suhareka sigurojnë inkuadrimin në Superligën e Kosovës" [Ferizaj and Suhareka secure inclusion in the Kosovo Superleague] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 4 May 2024.
8. "Shtatë klube licencohen për garat evropiane" [Seven clubs are licensed for European competitions] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 2 May 2024.
9. "Çfarë emri duhet të ketë stadiumi i qytetit në Gjilan" [What should be the name of the city stadium in Gjilan]. RajoniPress (in Albanian). 31 January 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
10. "Mitropa Cup 1983/84". RSSSF. Retrieved 5 March 2015.

External links

• Official website (in Albanian and English)
• League summary – Soccerway