Serbian Superliga

Infobox football league

pixels = 75
country = Serbia
confed = UEFA
founded = 1992
teams = 12
relegation = Serbian First League
levels = 1
domest_cup = Serbian Cup
confed_cup = Champions League
UEFA Cup
Intertoto Cup
champions = Partizan
most successful club = FK Crvena zvezda (25 titles)
season = 2007–08
website = http://www.yufprvaliga.co.yu
current = Serbian Superliga 2008-09

_sr. Super Liga Srbije ("Serbian Superliga") is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top echelon of the Serbian football league system. In Serbian Cyrillic, the name is spelt Супер Лига Србије. The competition is currently contested by twelve clubs from across Serbia. The Serbian Superliga was formed in 2006 after the secession of Montenegro from Serbia.

Serbian clubs used to compete in the Yugoslav First League. This competition was formed in 1923 and lasted until 2003. After the downfall of SFR Yugoslavia in 1991 a new Yugoslavia would be formed that would be named FR Yugoslavia with Montenegro and Serbia. They kept the name Yugoslavia until 2003 when the country changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro: this union lasted until 2006 when Montenegro gained independence and formed its own league, the Montenegrin First League.

The current Superliga champions are Partizan. UEFA currently ranks the league 21st in Europe. [ [http://www.xs4all.nl/~kassiesa/bert/uefa/data/method3/crank2008.html UEFA Country Ranking 2008] ] The league was known as Meridian Superliga from Fall 2004 until Summer 2008. The league's current official sponsor is Jelen pivo, thus resulting in the league to sometimes be referred to as Jelen Super Liga Srbije.

Format

The Superliga began as a league with a playoff system in an attempt to boost ratings and improve competition. After the first season however, the Superliga changed its format. The 2007-08 season was the first to be played in a more traditional format. The league no longer divided into a playoff and playout group midway through the campaign. Instead, the 12 teams began playing each other three times in a more conventional league format.

The champion of the Superliga begins its UEFA Champions League campaign in the second round of qualifying as a seeded team. The second and third placed teams compete in the qualifying for the UEFA Cup as seeded teams. The second place team however begins in the second round while the third place side joins Serbia's Domestic Cup winner in the first round of qualifying. The fourth placed team is Serbia's representative in the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

The last two teams at the end of the season get relegated to the Second Division known as Prva Liga Telekom Srbija.

The team holding 10th position at the end of the season is not automatically relegated. It plays against the winner from the Prva Liga Telekom Srbija playoff in a two-legged matchup for the right to play in the Superliga.

History

The Superliga was a part of the Yugoslav First League after its creation in 1992 since the country was still known as Yugoslavia. In 2003, Yugoslavia was renamed to Serbia and Montenegro and the football league followed suit. The First League of Serbia and Montenegro contained 16 teams, but the current Superliga has only 12 in an attempt to bring up the level of play. The Football Association of Serbia questioned their decision prior to the 2007-08 season but have decided that there will be no changes in the number of teams.

Recent Seasons

Current clubs

The following twelve clubs are currently competing in the Serbian Superliga.

*Banat, Zrenjanin
*Borac, Čačak
*Čukarički, Belgrade
*Javor, Ivanjica
*Hajduk, Kula
*Jagodina, Jagodina
*Napredak, Kruševac
*OFK Beograd, Belgrade
*Partizan, Belgrade
*Rad, Belgrade
*Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade
*Vojvodina, Novi Sad

ponsorship

The Serbian Superliga currently has three major sponsors.

*Jelen pivo is the league's general sponsor.
*Nike is the league's official ball.
*Western Union is a sponsorship partner.

UEFA Ranking

Current National League Ranking
* 15 flagicon|Czech Republic Gambrinus liga
* 16 flagicon|Switzerland Swiss Super League
* 17 flagicon|Bulgaria TBI A Football Group
* 18 flagicon|Norway Norwegian Premier League
* 19 flagicon|Denmark Danish Superliga
* 20 flagicon|Austria Austrian Bundesliga
* 21 flagicon|Serbia Super Liga Srbije
* 22 flagicon|Israel Israeli Premier League
* 22 flagicon|Sweden Allsvenskan

(see UEFA coefficients full list for more information)

See also

* List of football clubs in Serbia
* Serbia national football team
* Serbian Superliga 2008-09

References

External links

* [http://www.superliga.rs// Official website of the Serbian Superliga]
* [http://www.jelensuperliga.net.ms // Unofficial website of the Serbian Superliga]