Country Serbia and Montenegro Founded 1992 Number of teams 16 | Confederation UEFA Folded 2006 Level on pyramid 1 | |
The First League of Serbia and Montenegro (Serbian: Prva savezna liga; Прва савезна лига) was the top football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, effectively succeeding the Yugoslav First League.
From 1993 to 1998, the league abandoned the traditional single-league structure, which was used in the first season, and the division was split into two groups; Group A (known as IA) for the top-seeded teams and Group B (IB) for the other teams. Until 1995–96, the bottom four teams of the IA group were replaced with the top four teams of IB after the first half of the season, once all teams have played each other in their respective group twice. From 1996–97, the system of replacing teams in each group mid-season was scrapped and was only applied at the end of the season. As a consequence, all teams in each group played each other three times a season, playing each other once at home and once away at least. This two-group format was abandoned after the 1997–98 season and the league reverted to the single-league structure.
The republics of Serbia and Montenegro remained united as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, political reform in the country saw it renamed to Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. After Montenegro gained independence in June 2006, the league ceased to exist and has been succeeded by the Serbian SuperLiga and the First League of Montenegro.