Bosnia & Herzegovina Premier Liga: Who will qualify for the Champions League first qualifying round?

Bosnia and Herzegovina have witnessed the development of their football teams in the international football stage recently. 

What is Bosnia & Herzegovina Premier Liga?

The Bosnia & Herzegovina Premier Liga or also known as the M:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or simply as Liga 12, is the highest tier football competition in Bosnia. It was founded in 2000 with its governing body is the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Bosnia & Herzegovina Premier Liga’s format throughout its history

1992-1996 (War period)

After Yugoslavia split apart in late winter 1992, football clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina cleared out the Yugoslav First League, which folded after the 1991-92 season. In April the same year, the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina connected for enrollment with FIFA and UEFA. In the meantime, due to the flare-up of the Bosnian War in April 1992 no matches occurred within the 1992–93 season. In 1993, Bosnian Croats established the Football Federation of Herzeg Bosnia and the First League of Herzeg-Bosnia.

1996-2000 (The post-war stage)

Since July 1996, the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been recognized for its official membership by FIFA, and their clubs could play in international tournaments.

The foundation of the Premier League

The unification of the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s competitions ultimately ended up with the creation of the Premier League in 2000. The very first season only featured teams from the Federation Of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Until the season 2002-03, clubs from the Republic of Srpska were officially allowed to join the Premier League competition the aforementioned friend clubs.

Along with this highest tier in the Bosnia and Herzegovina football league system, there were two other entity-based leagues, the First League of Republika Srpska and First League of the Federation of BiH. These leagues were considered and pushed to the second-highest tier in the football pyramid in the country.   

The new name from season 2016-17 to 2018-19

During 2016-17 to the 2018-19 seasons, the competition was referred to as “Liga 12”, and the format was changed by reducing the number of participants from 16 to 12. After joining the regular season, the positions of teams will determine if they would continue playing in the play-off or play out matches.

Accordingly, the top six teams in the regular season qualified for the play-off phase that was played over the double round-robin format. The eventual winner also qualified for the Champions League, while the second and third-placed teams joined the Europa League qualification. The bottom six teams took part in the play out stage, with the two worst teams being relegated to the First League of the Federation of BiH and the First League of RS.

Format since 2018-19

Since the 2018-19 season of the Premier League of BiH, there has been a slight change in the operation of the league. After all the 12 teams meet each other in the double round-robin tournament, they play each other three times on home and away venues. So there will be 33 full rounds instead of the prior 22 rounds, plus 10 additional rounds for the playoffs and relegation stage. 

Premier League of BiH triumph moment

Bosnia & Herzegovina Premier Liga squads

The 2021 Premier League of BiH features 12 football teams from this region. They are Borac Banja Luka, Krupa na Vrbasu, Mladost Doboj Kakanj, Olimpik Sarajevo, Radnik Bijeljina, Sarajevo, Sloboda Tuzla, Široki Brijeg, Tuzla City, Velež, Zrinjski, and Željezničar. 

The below table will show where each team locates and its respective football stadium that will host at least one of the matches. 

2021 Bosnia & Herzegovina Premier Liga table

Sarajevo FC

The standing table above has shown us how 12 teams in the Premier League of BiH are ranked in this season. Accordingly, Sarajevo is leading the table with 52 total points. This Bosnian professional football club is located in the capital city of this country. They are also one of the most successful clubs in national football, so this result isn’t a surprise at all. 

Meanwhile, the performances of the top six are generally on equal terms. The sixth-placed team, which is Tuzla City, is currently aggregating 41 points, not too different from the top team. So the competition is reaching matchday 27, which means in the seven upcoming gameweeks, anything can happen and the positions of 12 teams, especially the top six teams can be changed. Therefore, keep yourself updated with the latest information about not only this league but also any other football tournament all over the world at betimate.com.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_League_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina

https://int.soccerway.com/national/bosnia-herzegovina/premier-liga/20202021/regular-season/r58399/tables/