The 2016–17 Macedonian First League was the 25th season of the Macedonian First Football League, the highest football league of Macedonia. The fixtures were announced on 25 July 2016.[1] It began on 7 August 2016 and ended on 31 May 2017 with a winter break which began on 4 December 2016 and ended on 19 February 2017. From that season the format was changed which will each team be played the other sides four times on home-away basis, for a total of 36 matches each instead of play-off and play-out after 27th round.[2]
| Season | 2016–17 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 7 August 2016 – 31 May 2017 |
| Champions | Vardar 10th Macedonian title 11th domestic title |
| Relegated | Bregalnica Makedonija G.P. |
| Champions League | Vardar |
| Europa League | Shkëndija Rabotnički Pelister |
| Matches played | 180 |
| Goals scored | 457 (2.54 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Besart Ibraimi (20 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Vardar 6–0 Makedonija G.P. (7 May 2017) |
| Biggest away win | Makedonija G.P. 0–5 Vardar (18 March 2017) |
| Highest scoring | Renova 4–4 Shkëndija (28 May 2017) Makedonija G.P. 5–3 Bregalnica (28 May 2017) Bregalnica 6–2 Rabotnichki (31 May 2017) |
| Longest winning run | 7 games Vardar |
| Longest unbeaten run | 14 games Vardar |
| Longest winless run | 17 games Bregalnica |
| Longest losing run | 6 games Makedonija G.P. |
← 2015–16 2017–18 → | |
The league will be contested by 10 teams. Vardar are the defending champions, having won their ninth title in 2015–16.
Promotion and relegation edit
Promoted from 2015–16 Second League
Relegated to 2016–17 Second League
|
Promoted from 2016–17 Second League
Relegated to 2017–18 Second League
|
1 Mladost Carev Dvor was declined their participation from the Second League due to financial problems.[2]
Participating teams edit
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bregalnica | Shtip | Gradski stadion Shtip | 4,000 |
| Makedonija G.P. | Skopje | Stadion Gjorche Petrov | 3,000 |
| Pelister | Bitola | Stadion Tumbe Kafe | 8,000 |
| Pobeda | Prilep | Stadion Goce Delchev | 15,000 |
| Rabotnički | Skopje | Philip II Arena | 33,460 |
| Renova | Djepchishte | City Stadium Tetovo | 15,000 |
| Shkëndija | Tetovo | City Stadium Tetovo | 15,000 |
| Shkupi | Skopje | Chair Stadium | 6,000 |
| Sileks | Kratovo | Stadion Sileks | 1,800 |
| Vardar | Skopje | Philip II Arena | 33,460 |
Personnel and kits edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bregalnica |  Nikola Kuzmanov
|
Goran Zdravkov
|
Sportika | Gogov Hotel |
| Makedonija G.P. | Bobi Stojkoski
|
Kristijan Stojkoski
|
Adidas | Livinn |
| Pobeda | Zoran Shterjovski
|
Blagoja Gesoski
|
Jako | Krali Marko/Vitaminka |
| Pelister |   Naci Şensoy
|
Goran Pashovski
|
Givova | ZK Pelagonija |
| Rabotnički | Viktor Trenevski
|
Dushko Trajchevski
|
Zeus | |
| Renova | Qatip Osmani
|
Fisnik Nuhi
|
Jako | Renova |
| Shkëndija | Erhan Salimi (interim)
|
Ferhan Hasani
|
Macron | Ecolog |
| Shkupi | Ardijan Nuhiji
|
Suat Zendeli
|
Nike | S&P |
| Sileks | Zhikica Tasevski
|
Marjan Mickov
|
Legea | |
| Vardar | Goce Sedloski
|
Boban Grncharov
|
Hummel | Zdravje |
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vardar (C) | 36 | 25 | 8 | 3 | 75 | 24 | +51 | 83 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Shkëndija | 36 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 71 | 39 | +32 | 70 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[a] |
| 3 | Rabotnički | 36 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 54 | |
| 4 | Pelister | 36 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 44 | 35 | +9 | 52 | |
| 5 | Renova | 36 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 42 | 37 | +5 | 52 | |
| 6 | Sileks | 36 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 47 | |
| 7 | Pobeda | 36 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 34 | 50 | −16 | 41 | |
| 8 | Shkupi (O) | 36 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 27 | 39 | −12 | 37 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
| 9 | Bregalnica (R) | 36 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 39 | 69 | −30 | 24 | Relegation to the Macedonian Second League |
| 10 | Makedonija G.P. (R) | 36 | 4 | 11 | 21 | 35 | 80 | −45 | 23 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 7) Head-to-head goals scored; 8) Draw; 9) Play-off. (Note: Criteria 2, 3 and 8 is only used if not deciding Champion, teams for UEFA competitions or relegation).[3]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Pelister qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2016–17 Macedonian Football Cup.
Results edit
Each team plays home-and-away against every other team in the league twice, for a total of 36 matches each.
Positions by round edit
The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.
| Leader and qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round | |
| Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round | |
| Qualification for the Relegation play-offs | |
| Relegation to the Macedonian Second League |
Relegation play-offs edit
First leg edit
Second leg edit
Shkupi won 7–2 on aggregate.
Season statistics edit
Top scorers edit
- As of 31 May 2017
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Besart Ibraimi
|
Shkëndija | 20 |
| 2 |  Igor Nedeljković
|
Sileks | 13 |
| 3 | Ferhan Hasani
|
Shkëndija | 12 |
| Alen Jasharoski
|
Makedonija G.P. | ||
| 5 | Dejan Blazhevski
|
Vardar | 11 |
 Lucas Cardoso
|
Pelister | ||
| Stojancho Velinov
|
Bregalnica & Renova | ||
| Goran Zdravkov
|
Bregalnica | ||
| 9 | Jonathan Boareto
|
Vardar | 10 |
| 10 |  Damir Kojašević
|
Vardar | 9 |
| Juan Felipe
|
Vardar |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "РАСПОРЕД на натпревари од Прва македонска фудбалска лига, сезона 2016-2017" (PDF). FFM.mk. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Draw for new season to take place on Monday". MacedonianFootball.com. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ^ "First League 2016/2017 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
External links edit
- Football Federation of Macedonia (in Macedonian)
- MacedonianFootball.com (in Macedonian and English)