Esiliiga

Esiliiga
Founded1992; 32 years ago (1992)
Country Estonia
ConfederationUEFA
DivisionsEsiliiga
Number of clubs10
Level on pyramid2
Promotion toMeistriliiga
Relegation toEsiliiga B
Domestic cup(s)Estonian Cup
Current championsNõmme United (1st title)
(2023)
Most championshipsLevadia II Tallinn
(7 titles)
WebsiteOfficial website
Current: 2024 Esiliiga

The Esiliiga is the second division in the Estonian football league system. The Esiliiga is ranked below the Meistriliiga and above the Esiliiga B.

As in most countries with low temperatures in winter time, the season starts in March and ends in November. The league features several reserve teams of Meistriliiga clubs. According to the rules set by the Estonian Football Association, reserve teams are ineligible for promotion to the Meistriliiga, but can play in the Estonian Cup.

Competition format

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During the season, the teams play each of the other four times, twice at home and twice away. This makes for a total of 36 games played each season. The teams gain three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a defeat. Promotion and relegation between divisions is a central feature of the league. At the end of the season, clubs at the top of their division win promotion to the next higher division, while those at the bottom will be relegated to the next lower one. At the end of a season, the top Esiliiga club gains promotion to the Meistriliiga. This is providing that the Esiliiga club meets the licensing criteria of the Meistriliiga. Reserve teams in Estonia play in the same league system as the senior team, however, they must play at least one level below their main side, and are thus ineligible for promotion to the Meistriliiga. Two bottom end clubs of Esiliiga are relegated to the Esiliiga B, and two top clubs of Esiliiga B are promoted to the Esiliiga. The two-legged play-offs for the Meistriliiga spot are contested between the ninth placed (second bottom) club in the Meistriliiga and the second in the Esiliiga, and the two-legged play-offs for the Esiliiga spot are contested between the eighth placed (third bottom) club in the Esiliiga and the third in the Esiliiga B.[1]

Clubs

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Current clubs

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The following clubs are competing in the Esiliiga during the 2024 season.

Club Position
in 2023 		Seasons in
Esiliiga 		First season of
current spell 		Titles Last title
Elvab 8th 12 2017 0 —
FC Tallinna,b 6th 1 2023 0 —
Flora U21 Tallinna,b,c 3rd 18 2006 2 2015
Harjua 10th in the Premium Liiga 1 2024 1 2022
Levadia U21 Tallinna,b,c 4th 20 2004 7 2013
Paide Linnameeskond U21a,b,c 7th 3 2021 0 —
Tabasalua,b 5th 1 2023 0 —
Tallinna Kalev U21b,c 2nd in the Esiliiga B 2 2024 0 —
Tartu Welcob 1st in the Esiliiga B 4 2024 0 —
Viimsia,b 2nd 2 2022 0 —

a – never been relegated from Esiliiga
b – never played in Meistriliiga
c – ineligible for promotion to Meistriliiga

Champions

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Season Champions Runners-up Third place Top goalscorer Goals
1992 Kreenholm Narva Tempo Tallinn Valga Lokomotiiv
1992–93 Pärnu Tervis Tallinna Sadam Kreenholm Narva
1993–94 Pärnu JK/Kalev Vall Tallinn Pena Jõhvi Estonia Vadim Dolinin (Kalev Pärnu) 21
1994–95 Tallinna Dünamo[A] Tallinna Jalgpallikool Pena Jõhvi
Lelle[B] Pärnu Tervis Viljandi Tulevik
1995–96 Norma Tallinn Vall Tallinn Tallinna Jalgpallikool
1996–97 Tallinna Dünamo (2) Tallinna Jalgpallikool Pärnu Estonia Igor Bratšuk (Olümp Maardu) 8
1997–98 Vall Tallinn Olümpia Maardu Dokker Tallinn Estonia Andrei Afanassov (Vall Tallinn)
Estonia Aleksei Titov (Vall Tallinn)		 13
1998 Levadia Maardu Vigri Tallinn Lootus Kohtla-Järve Estonia Igor Bratšuk (Levadia Maardu) 9
1999 Kuressaare Lootus Kohtla-Järve Vigri Tallinn Lithuania Svajūnas Raučkis (Kuressaare) 27
2000 Maardu Pärnu Tervis Viljandi Estonia Vladimir Tšelnokov (Maardu) 26
2001 Levadia Pärnu Valga S.C. Real Maardu Estonia Andrei Afanassov (S.C. Real Maardu) 26
2002 Valga Kuressaare Maardu Estonia Andrei Afanassov (Maardu) 25
2003 Lootus Kohtla-Järve Pärnu Tervis M.C. Tallinn Estonia Aleksei Titov (Ajax Lasnamäe) 29
2004 Tartu Tammeka Levadia II Tallinn Pärnu Tervis Estonia Oliver Konsa (Tartu Tammeka) 25
2005 Pärnu Vaprus Levadia II Tallinn Ajax Lasnamäe Russia Nikita Andreev (Ajax Lasnamäe) 29
2006 Levadia II Tallinn (2) Kuressaare Tallinna Kalev Estonia Kaimar Saag (Levadia II Tallinn) 37
2007 Levadia II Tallinn (3) Flora II Tallinn Sillamäe Kalev Estonia Andrus Mitt (Nõmme Kalju) 24
2008 Levadia II Tallinn (4) Kuressaare Flora II Tallinn Estonia Sergei Jegorov (TVMK II Tallinn) 20
2009 Levadia II Tallinn (5) Lootus Kohtla-Järve Warrior Valga Estonia Tõnis Starkopf (Kiviõli Tamme Auto/Levadia II Tallinn) 32
2010 Levadia II Tallinn (6) Flora II Tallinn Ajax Lasnamäe Estonia Tõnis Starkopf (Kiviõli Tamme Auto) 28
2011 Tallinna Kalev Infonet Tallinn Kiviõli Tamme Auto Estonia Maksim Rõtškov (Infonet Tallinn) 40
2012 Infonet Tallinn Flora II Tallinn Rakvere Tarvas Ivory Coast Manucho (Infonet Tallinn) 31
2013 Levadia II Tallinn (7) Jõhvi Lokomotiv Flora II Tallinn Estonia Tõnis Starkopf (Irbis Kiviõli) 28
2014 Flora II Tallinn Levadia II Tallinn Pärnu Linnameeskond Estonia Kristen Saarts (Pärnu Linnameeskond/Levadia II Tallinn) 31
2015 Flora II Tallinn (2) Levadia II Tallinn Infonet II Tallinn Estonia Eduard Golovljov (Infonet II Tallinn) 41
2016 Viljandi Tulevik Flora U21 Tallinn Infonet II Tallinn Estonia Eduard Golovljov (Infonet II Tallinn) 39
2017 Maardu Linnameeskond Tallinna Kalev Rakvere Tarvas Estonia Vitali Gussev (Maardu Linnameeskond) 38
2018 Maardu Linnameeskond (2) Flora U21 Tallinn Levadia U21 Tallinn Estonia Vitali Gussev (Maardu Linnameeskond) 43
2019 TJK Legion Flora U21 Tallinn Pärnu Vaprus Estonia Rejal Alijev (TJK Legion) 38
2020 Pärnu Vaprus (2) Maardu Linnameeskond Nõmme United Estonia Kevin Mätas (Nõmme United) 22
2021 Maardu Linnameeskond (3) Tallinna Kalev Paide Linnameeskond U21 Estonia Robi Saarma (Nõmme United) 28
2022 Harju JK Laagri Levadia U21 Tallinn Elva Estonia Egert Õunapuu (Nõmme United) 36
2023 Nõmme United Viimsi Flora U21 Tallinn Estonia Egert Õunapuu (Nõmme United) 32
  1. ^
    East/North champion
  2. ^
    South/West champion

Total titles won

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Club 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Winning seasons
Levadia U21 Tallinn 7 5 1 2000, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013
Maardu Linnameeskond 3 1 0 2017, 2018, 2021
Flora U21 Tallinn 2 6 3 2014, 2015
Pärnu Vaprus 2 0 1 2005, 2020
Tallinna Dünamo 2 0 0 1994–95[A], 1996–97
Pärnu Tervis 1 3 1 1992–93
Kuressaare 1 3 0 1999
Järve Kohtla-Järve 1 2 1 2003
Tallinna Kalev 1 2 1 2011
Vall Tallinn 1 2 0 1997–98
Valga Warrior 1 1 1 2002
Infonet Tallinn 1 1 0 2012
Kreenholm Narva 1 0 1 1992
Pärnu 1 0 1 1993–94
Viljandi Tulevik 1 0 1 2016
Nõmme United 1 0 1 2023
Lelle 1 0 0 1994–95[B]
Norma Tallinn 1 0 0 1995–96
Levadia Tallinn 1 0 0 1998
Levadia Pärnu 1 0 0 2001
Tartu Tammeka 1 0 0 2004
TJK Legion 1 0 0 2019
Harju JK 1 0 0 2022
Tallinna Jalgpallikool 0 2 1
Vigri Tallinn 0 1 1
Tempo Tallinn 0 1 0
Tallinna Sadam 0 1 0
Olümpia Maardu 0 1 0
Jõhvi Lokomotiv 0 1 0
Viimsi 0 1 0
Pena Jõhvi 0 0 2
Maardu 0 0 2
Ajax Lasnamäe 0 0 2
Infonet II Tallinn 0 0 2
Rakvere Tarvas 0 0 2
Valga Lokomotiiv 0 0 1
Dokker Tallinn 0 0 1
Viljandi 0 0 1
M.C. Tallinn 0 0 1
Sillamäe Kalev 0 0 1
Kiviõli Irbis 0 0 1
Pärnu Linnameeskond 0 0 1
Paide Linnameeskond U21 0 0 1
Elva 0 0 1
  1. ^
    East/North champion
  2. ^
    South/West champion

All-time Esiliiga table

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The table is a cumulative record of all match results, points and goals of every team that has played in the Esiliiga since its inception in 1992. The table that follows is accurate as of the end of the 2021 season. Teams in bold played in the Esiliiga 2021 season. Numbers in bold are the record (highest) numbers in each column.

In this ranking 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw, and 0 for a loss. Promotion matches and relegation matches involving clubs of higher or lower leagues are not counted.

The table is sorted by all-time points.

Pos.
Club
Seasons
Titles
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
PPG
1 FCI Levadia U21 20 7 688 386 120 182 1722 885 +837 1278 1.86
2 FC Flora U21 13 2 563 302 101 160 1195 706 +489 1007 1.79
3 JK Tallinna Kalev 8 1 282 147 54 81 614 431 +183 495 1.76
4 Rakvere JK Tarvas 10 0 360 132 64 164 556 731 -175 460 1.28
5 FC Kuressaare 9 1 278 136 41 99 568 482 +86 449 1.62
6 Kiviõli FC Irbis 8 0 288 110 51 124 556 542 +14 381 1.32
7 Maardu Linnameeskond 5 3 170 112 20 38 468 235 +233 356 2.09
8 FC Elva 10 0 331 99 45 187 437 706 -269 342 1.03
9 Kohtla-Järve FC Lootus 7 1 214 97 27 90 411 400 +11 318 1.49
10 Lasnamäe FC Ajax 6 0 200 93 37 70 449 311 +138 316 1.58
11 Pärnu JK Vaprus 6 2 204 92 38 74 400 343 +57 314 1.54
12 Tartu JK Tammeka U21 7 0 242 86 49 107 385 447 -62 307 1.27
13 Viljandi JK Tulevik 7 1 166 90 30 56 320 250 +70 300 1.81
14 Pärnu KEK 8 1 188 86 23 77 416 370 +46 281 1.49
15 FC Valga 8 1 164 79 14 61 304 276 +28 251 1.53
16 Tallinna FC TVMK II 5 0 172 63 23 86 302 363 -61 212 1.23
17 Valga FC Warrior 6 0 200 61 29 110 285 438 -153 212 1.06
18 Tartu FC Santos 5 0 216 59 27 94 290 388 -98 204 0.94
19 Tallinna JK Legion 4 1 144 60 21 63 291 296 -5 201 1.40
20 Tallinna JK Dünamo 7 2 144 58 19 67 276 319 -43 193 1.34
21 JK Sillamäe Kalev 7 0 162 56 24 74 232 303 -71 192 1.19
22 Vändra JK Vaprus 5 0 174 52 30 92 259 375 -116 186 1.07
23 FCI Tallinn U21 3 0 108 51 12 45 266 214 +52 165 1.53
24 Tartu JK Merkuur 6 0 122 49 18 55 199 238 -39 165 1.35
25 Nõmme Kalju FC U21 4 0 144 48 21 75 218 293 -75 165 1.15
26 Pärnu JK 6 1 122 44 21 49 224 227 -3 153 1.25
27 FCI Tallinn 2 1 72 45 16 11 195 80 +115 151 2.10
28 FC Puuma 4 0 144 37 28 79 208 372 -164 139 0.97
29 Pärnu Linnameeskond 3 0 108 37 23 49 207 213 -6 134 1.24
30 Tallinna Jalgpalliklubi 4 0 120 34 22 64 164 300 -136 124 1.03
31 FC M.C. Tallinn 3 0 84 34 17 33 167 189 -22 119 1.42
32 Tallinna JK Vall 4 1 58 36 7 15 171 80 +91 115 1.98
33 Maardu FK Olümpia 5 1 78 33 16 29 158 152 +6 115 1.47
34 Tartu SK 10 2 0 72 32 12 28 123 125 -2 108 1.50
35 Viljandi JK Tulevik U21 3 0 108 28 24 56 139 215 -76 108 1.00
36 Nõmme Kalju FC 2 0 72 31 14 27 145 149 -4 107 1.49
37 Tartu JK Tammeka 3 1 84 29 18 37 165 199 -34 105 1.25
38 Tartu JK Welco 4 0 138 27 24 87 143 345 -202 105 0.76
39 Tallinna Jalgpallikool 5 0 72 31 10 31 117 141 -24 103 1.43
40 FC Nõmme United 2 0 62 28 12 22 155 110 +44 96 1.55
41 Maardu S.C. Real 2 0 56 27 13 16 144 102 +42 94 1.68
42 Jõhvi FC Lokomotiiv 2 0 72 26 13 33 115 121 -6 91 1.26
43 Tartu KSK Vigri 2 0 42 26 9 7 98 40 +58 87 2.07
44 Narva Kreenholm 4 1 58 25 10 23 120 125 -5 85 1.47
45 Kiviõli JK Irbis 4 0 58 23 8 27 99 117 -18 77 1.33
46 Kohtla-Järve JK Järve 3 0 102 21 13 68 106 270 -164 76 0.75
47 Kohtla-Järve JK Pena 3 0 46 22 7 17 95 85 +10 73 1.59
48 JK Tallinna Kalev U21 2 0 72 18 13 41 75 134 -59 67 0.93
49 Paide Linnameeskond U21 1 0 30 17 3 10 85 56 +29 54 1.80
50 Paide Linnameeskond 1 0 36 14 12 10 58 44 +14 54 1.50
51 Pärnu FC Levadia 1 1 28 15 7 6 67 39 +28 52 1.86
52 Tallinna FC Norma 2 1 28 15 2 11 77 44 +33 47 1.68
53 Viimsi JK 1 0 28 12 4 12 43 50 -7 40 1.43
54 FC Viljandi 1 0 28 12 4 12 31 46 -15 40 1.43
55 JK Tallinna Sadam 1 0 16 12 2 2 52 14 +38 38 2.38
56 Paide KEK 2 0 28 10 6 12 56 64 -8 36 1.29
57 Keila JK 1 0 36 10 5 21 41 88 -47 35 0.97
58 Lelle SK 1 0 36 11 1 24 49 100 -51 34 0.94
59 FC Kuressaare II 1 0 28 8 3 17 35 79 -44 27 0.96
60 Kehra JK Paber 1 0 20 7 3 10 33 47 -14 24 1.20
61 Kallaste JK Peipsi Kalur 2 0 28 7 3 18 36 75 -39 24 0.86
62 Tallinna JK Metallist 1 0 12 7 0 5 30 25 +5 21 1.75
63 Tallinna JK Dokker 1 0 14 6 3 5 30 26 +4 21 1.50
64 Tallinna JK Tempo 1 0 12 6 1 5 29 26 +3 19 1.58
65 Tallinna FC Arsenal 1 0 14 5 0 9 26 31 -5 15 1.07
66 Tartu JK Merkuur-Juunior 1 0 36 3 5 28 27 97 -70 14 0.39
67 Põltsamaa JK Sport 1 0 10 1 0 9 6 27 -21 3 0.30
68 Tartu FC DAG 1 0 14 0 1 3 12 67 -55 1 0.07

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Esiliiga tutvustus" (in Estonian). Estonian Football Association. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
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