The Macedonian football champions (Macedonian: Македонски Фудбалски Шампион, Championship: Шампионат, single: "Шампион", plural: Шампиони) are the annual winners of Macedonian First Football League, North Macedonia's premier annual football league competition. The title has been contested since 1929 in varying forms of competition.
In 1923 it was organised the first edition of leagues in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia where, beside the top-level national Yugoslav Football Championship, regional championships were also played. The clubs of the Vardarska Banovina, territorially similar to present day Macedonia, played within the Belgrade Football Subassociation League until 1927,[1] when a separate Skoplje Football Subassociation League was formed.[2] The champions of Subassociation Leagues were granted a place in the qualifiers to the Yugoslav Championship, a top national level. Gragjanski Skopje became the only club to menage to participate in the national league, first in 1935–36 when the championship was played in a cup system,[3] and in 1938–39, when it was played in normal league system with Gragjanski finishing 10th out of 12 teams.[4] In 1939 the Yugoslav league system was changed, with the creation of separate Serbian and Croato-Slovenian Leagues which will serve as qualifying leagues for the final phase of the Yugoslav Championship.[5] The clubs from the Skopje Subassociation played their qualifications to the Serbian League, however only Gragjanski managed to participate, and it did it in both occasions, in 1939–40 (5th place)[6] and 1940–41 (8th place).[7] That became the last season before the beginning of the Second World War in which the region Vardarska Banovina was invaded by Axis allies Albania and Bulgaria.
During the war period, 1941 to 1945, the region became part of Bulgaria, and most of the clubs were incorporated into the Bulgarian league system. Four seasons were played, in which FK Makedonija, a club from Skopje formed by the Bulgarian authorities by merging the previously existing clubs Gragjanski, SSK Skopje and ŽSK into one, became the most prominent.
After the liberation of Yugoslavia and the creation of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia within the socialist Yugoslavia, Macedonian clubs participated in the Yugoslav League system that consisted of two or three, depending on time period, national leagues. Below the national leagues, the Republic Leagues were created in each one of the 6 Yugoslav Socialist Republics. The Republic League of SR Macedonia was played between 1945 and 1992, and the top placed teams had access to the Yugoslav national leagues. The most successful clubs from this period were FK Vardar, FK Rabotnički and FK Pobeda, which only don´t count more regional titles because they usually competed in higher national leagues. In 1992 Macedonia declared independence and formed its own league system.
The clubs from the territory of Vardarska Banovina (belonging to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) had a league organised by the Skoplje Football Subassociation. The winner had direct access to the Yugoslav Championship.[8]
During WWII the region was occupied by Bulgarian Axis forces. The clubs from the region were incorporated into the Bulgarian league system.
In the period between 1945 and 1992 the clubs from SR Macedonia (part of SFR Yugoslavia) competed in the Macedonian Republic League that was part of the Yugoslav league system and corresponded to a 3rd or 4th (depending on period) national tier. Mostly without the presence of the major clubs that competed at national level (in particular Vardar Skopje).
In 1992 the Macedonian Republic League, joined by the Macedonian clubs that played in the Yugoslav First and Second League, formed the Macedonian First Football League, the first time Macedonia had its own top-level national championship.
The following table lists the performance of each club describing winners of the Championship
| Club | Titles | Runners-up | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vardar Skopje | 11 | 2 | 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20 |
| Shkupi (FK Sloga Jugomagnat 1927–2009) | 4 | 4 | 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2021–22 |
| Rabotnički Skopje | 4 | 3 | 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2013–14 |
| Shkendija | 4 | 2 | 2010–11, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21 |
| Sileks Kratovo | 3 | 5 | 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98 |
| Pobeda Prilep | 2 | 2 | 2003–04, 2006–07 |
| Makedonija Gjorce Petrov | 1 | 1 | 2008–09 |
| Renova Djepchishte | 1 | – | 2009–10 |
| Struga | 1 | – | 2022–23 |
| Metalurg Skopje | – | 3 | – |
| Milano Kumanovo | – | 2 | – |
| Belasica Strumica | – | 2 | – |
| Horizont Turnovo | – | 1 | – |
The following table lists the Macedonian football champions by city
| City | Titles | Winning Clubs |
|---|---|---|
| Skopje | 20 | Vardar (11), Sloga Jugomagnat / Shkupi (4), Rabotnichki (3), Makedonija G.P. (1) |
| Tetovo | 4 | Shkëndija (4) |
| Kratovo | 3 | Sileks (3) |
| Prilep | 2 | Pobeda (2) |
| Džepčište | 1 | Renova (1) |
| Struga | 1 | Struga (1) |
