Top Division Soccer Leagues In Europe

Whilst those that live in, say, South America might like to claim otherwise, the reality is that Europe remains the centre of the footballing world. From the Premier League to La Liga via the Bundesliga and Serie A, these are the divisions that people watch more than any other.

Obviously those that live outside of Europe are going to watch their own football leagues first and foremost, but it is absolutely true that there are many different countries around the world that pay big money for the rights to broadcast European football, which is why it has to be considered the biggest and best on the planet.

Albania

The Albanian top-flight is known as the Kategoria Superiore and launched unofficially in 1911, taking on its current form 19 years later. The league involves ten teams playing one another, with relegation into and promotion out of the Kategoria e Parë possible. It is part of a wider football league pyramid.

Andorra

Prior to the 1995 launch of the Primera Divisió, teams playing football in Andorra did so in an amateur league without structure or affiliation. There is an odd structure in place, with teams playing each other three times before the league splits. There is a promotion and relegation system with Segona Divisió.

Armenia

Founded in 1992, the Armenian Premier League was launched in the wake of the country’s independence from the USSR. Poorly performing teams are relegated into the Armenian First League.

Austria

The Bundesliga sits at the top of the Austrian football league pyramid, with more than five levels in operation in total in the country. There are hundreds of clubs that play football in Austria, hoping for promotion to the top.

Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijan Premier League first took place in 2007, succeeding the Top Division that had launched in 1992. The overall pyramid incudes four levels, down to the Azerbaijan Regional League, with promotion and relegation taking place between them.

Belarus

When the Belarusian Premier League launched in 1992 it had 17 teams, but has been altered and changed over the years and now has 16. There are three tiers of football in Belarus, with the First League and Second League coming beneath the Premier League.

Belgium

One of the oldest leagues in Europe, the Belgian Pro League was founded in 1895 and is the top level on a pyramid that contains nine levels overall. Teams can be relegated into the Challenger Pro League and then down from there.

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Football in Bosnia and Herzegovina is convoluted to say the least, with numerous different leagues and levels for clubs to play in. The top decision is the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the current format having been in place since 2016.

Bulgaria

When top-flight football was established in Bulgaria it was known as the Bulgarian State Football Championship and was a knockout tournament. It changed to a league format in 1948 and sees teams relegated to the Second Professional Football League and on down to the Regional Amateur Football Groups.

Croatia

The Hrvatska Nogometna Liga, or HNL for short, was formed in 1992 as the Prva Hrvatska Nogometna Liga, but got a rebrand alongside and structural reorganisation alongside the other three top league levels in 2022.

Cyprus

The Cypriot First Division was created in 1934 and is the top of four tiers of football before you hit the Cypriot Regional Levels. There was actually a Cypriot Championship that saw matches played two years earlier, but that was unofficial.

Czech Republic

There are ten levels to the football league system in the Czech Republic, with thousands of teams playing in them. They are all hoping to gain promotion up to the Czech First Division, which can trace its history back to the Czechoslovak League prior to the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

Denmark

Exactly when the Danish Superliga was formed is a matter of some debate, given the fact that it was essentially a rebrand of the Danish First Division that launched in 1945. That remains in existence but is now the second tier of football in a country that boasts ten tiers of the game overall.

England

The Premier League is the top English division with 20 teams.  It was renamed from the First Division in 1992, much like the Danish Superliga, being able to trace its origins back to 1888.  In England there are four professional divisions: Premier League, Championship, League One and League Two, with 92 teams total.  There are 15 levels in the football pyramid that includes countless leagues and divisions.

Estonia

When the Meistriliiga launched, it was semi-professional and allowed amateur clubs to compete. It has been fully professional since the 2020 season. The low temperatures in the winter mean seasons take place between March and November. There are six levels of football in the Estonian league pyramid.

Faroe Islands

Founded as Meistaradeildin in 1942, the Faroe Islands Premier League has been played in its current format since 2005. The deild menn 1, 2 and 3 are the divisions below it, with 3. deild being the lowest and therefore having no relegation.

Finland

There are nine tiers of football played in Finland, with the Veikkausliiga sitting at the top of the pile. It was initially known as the Futisliiga and the Veikkausliiga was one of the founding members of the European Professional Football Leagues association. The top-flight in Finland prior to its launch was the Mestaruussarja, which was in place between 1930 and 1989.

France

France’s Ligue 1 is one of the top divisions in Europe, having been officially founded in 1930 before its rebrand in 2002. It sits at the top of the football league system in France, which has hundreds of leagues in place across the numerous different regions of the country.

Georgia

Between 1927 and 1989, the Erovnuli Liga was held as a regional tournament within the Soviet Union. It launched in 1990 as a division organisation by the Professional Football League of Georgia, switching to a spring-autumn system in 2017. Overall, there are five tiers to Georgian football going down to the Regionuli Liga.

Germany

The top-flight of German football, the Bundesliga, was founded in 1963, with German football played at the amateur level until then. Boasting eight levels and countless leagues, German football drops all the way down to the Landesliga before teams playing in various local divisions.

Gibraltar

The Gibraltar Premier Division was created in 1905, whilst the Gibraltar Second Division was formed four years later. In 2019 the two divisions merged in order to create the Gibraltar Football League, which is the only senior tier of football in existence on the Rock.

Greece

The SEGAS Championship was created in Greece in 1905, then it became the Panhellenic Championship 22 years later. In 1959 that turned into the Alpha Ethniki, whilst the Super League Greece 1 has been the official title since 2006. Greek football goes all the way down to the Hellenic Amateur Divisions.

Hungary

Also referred to as NB1, the Nemzeti Bajnokság I sees 12 teams taking part across the course of a season. Teams can be relegated down to the Megyei Bajnokság II, which is the fifth level of the Hungarian football pyramid.

Iceland

Founded in 1912 as the Icelandic Championship, the Besta deild karla is played in the spring and summer. There are 18 levels to the Icelandic football league pyramid, with 5. deild karla being the lowest and made up of 18 teams divided into two series.

Israel

The Liga Leumit was created in 1955 as the top tier in Israel, but in 1999 the Israeli FA decided to launch another league, which was when the Israeli Premier League was formed. The Liga Leumit still exists, but is now the second tier of five levels of football in the country.

Italy

Serie A is considered to be one of the top leagues in Europe, having been created in 1898 before a change in 1929 made it closer to the current format. There are 20 teams that compete in the division, which sits at the top of nine levels and hundreds of regional and provincial leagues.

Kazakhstan

The official title of the top-flight in Kazakhstan is actually the Kazakhstan Professional Football League, but it is often referred to by most as the Kazakh Premier League. It was set up in 1992 and plays between spring and autumn. Originally called the Top Division, it has 14 teams playing in it and is the top-flight of three levels in the country.

Kosovo

Initially known as the Kosovo Province League when it was launched in 1945, it became the Independent League of Kosovo in 1991 and nowadays is known as the Football Superleague of Kosovo. There are four levels of football in total in Kosovo, with 114 clubs playing games across them.

Latvia

Also known as the Virslīga, the Latvian Higher League was launched in 1927 and has ten teams competing in it. It took over from the Riga Football Cup, which was a knockout competition played in the country between 1910 and 1913 as well as between 1925 and 1936 The Latvian Football Championship was launched in 1922, but reorganised five years later.

Lithuania

Football did exist in Lithuania between 1924 and 1939, but when the invasion of the country by the USSR took place the majority of professionals moved to play in the Russian leagues. It wasn’t until 1991 that the professional top division was reestablished, so there is some debate about the exact origins of it.

Luxembourg

Known as the BGL Ligue until 2011, the Luxembourg National Division had 12 teams in it before expanding to 14 in 2006. Another expansion took place ahead of the 2021-2022 campaign, with 16 teams having played in it since. There are five tiers of the Luxembourg football league system and more than 100 teams playing across them.

Malta

The highest level of professional football in Malta is the Maltese Premier League, in which 12 teams play. It began life in 1909 when it was known as the First Division, taking on its current title in 1980 when the country’s football league got a reshuffle and a rebrand. In total, there are four tiers of football in Malta.

Moldova

The Moldovan Super Liga was formed in 1992 when the country gained independence from the Soviet Union. There are eight teams that compete in the division, with relegation to Liga 1 possible. There are four levels to the Moldovan football league system, which eventually splits into regional leagues.

Montenegro

There were numerous leagues that existed prior to the 2006 launch of the Montenegrin First League, all of which took place when the country was still part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Ten teams compete in it, all looking to avoid relegation into the Montenegrin Second League or worse. There are three divisions in place in the country.

Netherlands

Although the Eredivisie might not be considered to be one of the best divisions in Europe, it has provided both top players and top managers to the English game in the past. Founded in 1956, that was just two years after the launch of professional football in the country. There are ten levels to the football league pyramid in Holland, with thousands of teams taking part.

North Macedonia

Officially known as the Macedonian First Football League but often referred to as the Prva Liga, its originals can be traced back to 1927 and the formation of the Skoplje Football Subassociation. In reality, though, it has been taking place since 1992 and Macedonia’s independence. There are five levels of football on the pyramid, going down to the Macedonian Municipal Leagues.

Northern Ireland

Anyone that knows anything about the island of Ireland won’t be all that surprised to learn that the history of football in Northern Ireland is complicated. What is now known as the NIFL Premiership was founded in 1890 but relaunched in 2008 in its current format. It sits at the top of a football league pyramid with seven levels and around 140 teams playing in it.

Norway

The Norwegian top-flight was formed in 1937 then renamed to become the Norgesserien in 1937. That became the Hovedserien 11 years later, then the 1. divisjon in 1963. In 1990 it was the Tippeligaen and it has been the Eliteserien since 2017, being the top-flight of six levels.

Poland

Contested by 18 teams and operating a system of promotion and relegation with the I Liga, the Ekstraklasa was formed in 1926 and is the top tier of nine levels of the game in Poland.

Portugal

Portugal’s Primeira Liga has been in place since 1934 when it was known as the Campeonato da Liga da Primeira Divisão before being renamed as the Campeonato Nacional da Primeira Divisão in 1938. Its current name has been in place since 1999 and 18 teams have competed in it since the 2014-2015 season.

Republic of Ireland

As with Northern Ireland, there is a touch of confusion and convolution when it comes to football in the Republic of Ireland. The League of Ireland Premier Division is made up of nine teams from the Republic of Ireland and one from Northern Ireland, with relegation to the League of Ireland First Division possible.

Romania

Officially known as the SuperLiga, Liga I has been the top-flight division in Romania since 1909. It sits at the top of the pyramid of football in Romania, with six levels and the same number of leagues in total before clubs begin to play in county leagues.

Russia

League football has been played in Russia pretty much since football began being played there, but the breakup of the Soviet Union means that it has only really been taking place officially since 1992. That was when it was the Top League, relaunching as the Premier League in 2001. It is the top-tier of six levels, which take in hundreds of leagues and thousands of teams.

San Marino

One of the best names in football, the Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio launched in 1985 and initially had two levels. That changed in 1996 when it became the system that is in place now. It is the only league in San Marino.

Scotland

A 2013 merger between the Scottish Football League, which had been in existence since 1890, and the Scottish Premier League, which launched in 1998, created the Scottish Premiership. It is the top-flight of Scottish football, which is based over ten tiers and features nearly 300 football clubs.

Serbia

For many years, Serbian clubs would compete in the Yugoslav First League, then the SuperLiga was formed in 2006 in the wake of the secession of Montenegro from Serbia. The league itself has a play-off system in place, sitting at the top of a footballing pyramid with five levels and numerous divisions.

Slovakia

The Slovak First Football League was launched in 1993 in the wake of dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Zväzové Majstrovstvá Slovenska had existed between 1925 and 1933, with Slovenská liga taking place from 1938 until 1944, but the best Slovak teams played in the Czechoslovak league until it gained independence.

Slovenia

Between 1920 and 1991, the Slovenian Republic League existed as a lower division with the league system in Yugoslavia. It was officially launched in 1991 in the wake of independence and is the top-tier of six in the country. 10 teams compete in it and either one or two are relegated at the end of the season.

Spain

When Spain’s top-flight was launched in 1929 it became the competition that all Spanish teams wanted to win. It sits at the top of the Spanish football league pyramid, which has as many as ten different levels to it. After level six, the 19 regional federations run their own league pyramids.

Sweden

The Allsvenskan operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Superettan and is the top tier of ten that operate in Sweden.

Switzerland

One of the interesting things about the Swiss football league system is that it also welcomes teams from Liechtenstein, on account of the fact that there aren’t enough clubs in that country for its own division.

Turkey

The Turkish Süper Lig launched in 1959 but can trace its history back to the launch of the Turkish Football Championship in 1924. That disbanded in 1951 and became the Turkish Amateur Football Championship on account of the fact that the game became professional at that point. There are six tiers of football in Turkey, going all the way down to the Super Amateur Leagues.

Ukraine

Top-flight football in Ukraine began with the launch of the Vyshcha Liha in 1991, being necessary owing to the discontinuation of the Soviet Football Championship. In 2008 that became the Ukrainska Premier Liha, or Ukrainian Premier League, with 16 teams playing in it. It is the top level of four in the country, with the bottom one being the Ukrainian Amateur Football Championship.

Wales

With both English and Scottish football being seen as more worthy than the Welsh game, it is difficult for clubs in Wales to keep good players. In fact, several Welsh clubs play in the English league anyway. Cymru Premier is the top-flight in Wales, seeing relegation to either Cymru North or Cymru South depending on the location of the relegated club. It is the top of ten levels, which see nearly 1,000 teams play in them.