Faroe Islands Premier League

Last updated
Faroe Islands Premier League
Betri deildin logo (fair use).png
Founded1942;82 years ago (1942)
(as Meistaradeildin)
Country Faroe Islands
Confederation UEFA
Number of teams10
Level on pyramid1
Relegation to 1. deild
Domestic cup(s) Faroe Islands Cup
Faroe Islands Super Cup
International cup(s) UEFA Champions League
UEFA Conference League
Current champions KÍ Klaksvík (21st title)
(2023)
Most championships HB Tórshavn (24 titles)
Most appearances Fróði Benjaminsen (503)
Top goalscorer Klæmint Olsen (226)
TV partnersTelevarpið
Website fsf.fo/betri-deildin-menn
Current: 2023 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.

Contents

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

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

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

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

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

Faroe Islands location map.svg
Red pog.svg
B68
Blue pog.svg
Tórshavn
Red pog.svg
AB
Red pog.svg
TransparentPlaceholder.png
Tórshavn teams
Red pog.svg B36
Red pog.svg HB
Locations of the 2020 teams
Club [7] Position
in 2021
City
07 Vestur Sørvágur
AB Argir
B36 Tórshavn
B68 Toftir
EB/Streymur Streymnes
HB Tórshavn
Klaksvík
NSÍ Runavík
Skála Skála
Vikingur Norðragøta

List of seasons

Bold indicates teams who also won the Faroe Islands Cup that season, an achievement known as the double. [8]

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

Performance by club

[11]

ClubLocationTitlesRunners-up
HB Tórshavn 2426
Klaksvík 2113
B36 Tórshavn 1110
TB Tvøroyri 710
[lower-alpha 1] Norðragøta 63
B68 Toftir 31
EB/Streymur Eiði / Streymnes 25
Víkingur Norðragøta / Leirvík 22
NSÍ Runavík 14
VB Vágur 12
ÍF Fuglafjørður 12
Sørvágur 11
B71 Sandur 10
MB Miðvágur 01
Skála Skála 01

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

Notes

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

Related Research Articles

1. deild is the second tier league of football in the Faroe Islands. It was founded in 1943. The league is organised by the Faroe Islands Football Association. It was originally the top level of Faroe Islands football but was replaced by the Faroe Islands Premier League in 2005.

2009 Faroe Islands Premier League, also known as Vodafonedeildin for sponsoring reasons, was the sixty-seventh season of top-tier football on the Faroe Islands. It began on 4 April 2009 and ended on 3 October 2009. EB/Streymur were the defending champions. The league was won by HB Tórshavn.

The 2008 season of the Faroe Islands Premier League was the 66th season of the Faroese top-tier football since its establishment. It started on 29 March 2008 with a match between B36 Tórshavn and ÍF Fuglafjørður. The match was won by B36 with 4–0. The last games were played on 25 October 2008. NSÍ Runavík were the defending champions.

The Faroe Islands Premier League kvinnur is the top level women's football league of the Faroe Islands. It was called 1. deild kvinnur until 2018, when the Faroese top tier in the women's football for the first time was named after a sponsor. The new name was Betri Deildin kvinnur and is a deal for five years, from 2018 until the end of the 2022 season.

3. deild menn is the fourth tier of football in the Faroe Islands. The majority of teams participating in the league are C or D sides of other Faroese clubs. At the end of the season two teams are promoted to 2. deild. There is no relegation from the league, as 3. deild is the lowest league in the Faroese football ladder.

2011 Faroe Islands Premier League, also known as Vodafonedeildin for sponsorship reasons is the sixty-ninth season of top-tier football on the Faroe Islands. It began on 9 April 2011 and ended on 22 October 2011. HB Tórshavn are the defending champions, having won their 21st league championship in the previous season.

2012 Faroe Islands Premier League was the seventieth season of top-tier football on the Faroe Islands. For sponsorship reasons, it was known as Effodeildin. The season began on 24 March 2012 with a match between B36 Tórshavn and FC Suðuroy, and ended on 6 October 2012. EB/Streymur won their second league title. B36 Tórshavn were the defending champions.

2013 Faroe Islands Premier League was the seventy-first season of top-tier football on the Faroe Islands. For sponsorship reasons, it is known as Effodeildin. EB/Streymur were the defending champions.

2014 Faroe Islands Premier League was the seventy-second season of top-tier football on the Faroe Islands. For sponsorship reasons, it was known as Effodeildin. Havnar Bóltfelag were the defending champions.

2015 Faroe Islands Premier League was the 73rd season of top-tier football on the Faroe Islands. For sponsorship reasons, it was known as Effodeildin. B36 Tórshavn were the defending champions, having won their tenth Faroese title last season.

2016 Faroe Islands Premier League was the 74th season of top-tier football on the Faroe Islands. For sponsorship reasons, it was known as Effodeildin. B36 Tórshavn were the defending champions, having won their eleventh Faroese title in 2015.

The 2017 Faroe Islands Premier League was the 75th season of top-tier football in the Faroe Islands. Víkingur Gøta successfully defended their first Faroese title from the previous season. The season began on 12 March 2017 and ended on 20 October 2017.

The 2018 Faroe Islands Premier League was the 76th season of top-tier football in the Faroe Islands. Víkingur Gøta were the defending champions, having won their second Faroese title in the previous season. The season started in 11 March and ended on 27 October.

The 2018 Faroe Islands Cup was the 64th edition of Faroe Islands domestic football cup. The competition started on 25 April and ended with the final on 25 August. NSÍ were the defending champions, having won their third cup title the previous year, but were upset in the first round by eventual semifinalists AB, becoming the first defending champion since 1992 to be knocked out in the first stage.

The 2019 Faroe Islands Premier League was the 77th season of top-tier football in the Faroe Islands and the 15th under the current format.

The 2019 1. deild kvinnur was the 35th season of women's league football in the Faroe Islands. EB/Streymur/Skála were the defending champions, having won their 2nd title the previous season. The season started on 9 March and ended on 28 September.

The 2020 Faroe Islands Premier League was the 78th season of top-tier football in the Faroe Islands, and the 16th under the current format.

The 2020 1. deild kvinnur was the 36th season of women's league football in the Faroe Islands. KÍ Klaksvík were the defending champions, having won their 18th title the previous season. The season started on 24 May and ended on 17 October. KÍ Klaksvík once again won the championship.

Jensa K. Tórolvsdóttir is a Faroese football midfielder who currently plays for Víkingur Gøta. Since 2020, she has represented the Faroe Islands women's national football team at senior international level.

Poul Kallsberg is a Faroese professional footballer who plays for Víkingur Gøta.

References

  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. 1 2 "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 (27 August 2020). "Faroe Islands 2020". RSSSF . Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  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.