Besta deild karla

The Besta deild karla (lit. 'Men's Best Division') is the top level men's football league in Iceland.[2] The competition was founded in 1912 as the Icelandic Championship.[3] Because of the harsh winters in Iceland, it is generally played in the spring and summer (April to September). It is governed by the Football Association of Iceland (KSI) and has 12 teams. By end of season 2022–23, UEFA ranked the league No. 48 in Europe.[4]

This article is about the men's football league. For the women's football league, see Besta deild kvenna.
Besta deild karla
Founded1912 (1912)
CountryIceland
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams12
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toLengjudeildin
Domestic cup(s)Mjólkurbikarinn
League Cup
Super Cup
International cup(s)UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa Conference League
Current championsVíkingur Reykjavík (7th title)
(2023)
Most championshipsKR (27)
Top goalscorerIceland Tryggvi Guðmundsson (131 goals)
TV partnersDomestic:
Stöð 2 Sport[1]
International:
Eleven Sports
OneFootball
Websiteksi.is
Current: 2023 Season

From 27 April 2009 to 2022, the league had an active agreement on the league's name rights with Ölgerðin, the Icelandic franchisee for Pepsi. From the 2019 season to the end of the 2021 season, the league was popularly referred to as Pepsi Max deildin (The Pepsi Max League).[5][6] On 24 February 2022, the league was rebranded as Besta deild karla.[7]

The clubs play each other home and away. At the end of each season, the two teams with the fewest points are relegated to 1. deild karla (First Division), from which two top point teams promote to the higher tier. The winner of the Úrvalsdeild enters the European national competition UEFA Champions League in the second qualifying round. The second, third and fourth placed teams qualify for the UEFA Europa League in the first qualifying round.[8]

An effort by KSI to strengthen Icelandic football had only one team relegated in the 2007 season to the First Division and three clubs promoted to premier division, bringing the top flight to the number of clubs it contains currently.

Championship title counts are: KR with 27, Valur with 23, and ÍA and Fram Reykjavík each with 18. FH has 8 and Víkingur has 7. The 2023 title holder is Víkingur.[9][10]

Current clubs (2024)
Club Location Position
in 2023		 First season in
Besta deild		 Seasons
in
Besta deild		 First season of
current spell in
Besta deild		 Besta deild
titles		 First
Besta deild
title		 Last
Besta deild
title
Breiðablik Kópavogur 4th 1971 39 2006 2 2010 2022
FH Hafnarfjörður 5th 1975 40 2001 8 2004 2016
Fram Reykjavík (Grafarholt) 10th 1912 101 2022 18 1913 1990
Fylkir Reykjavík (Árbær) 8th 1989 26 2023 0 - -
HK Kópavogur 9th 2007 7 2023 0 - -
ÍA Akranes 1st, 1. deild karla 1946 70 2024 18 1951 2001
KA Akureyri 7th 1978 22 2017 1 1989 1989
KR Reykjavík (Vesturbær) 6th 1912 110 1979 27 1912 2019
Stjarnan Garðabær 3rd 1990 22 2009 1 2014 2014
Valur Reykjavík (Hlíðar/Miðborg) 2nd 1915 104 2005 23 1930 2020
Vestri Ísafjörður 4th, 1. deild karla, play-off winner 2024 1 2024 0 - -
Víkingur Reykjavík
(Fossvogur, Háaleiti og Bústaðir)		 1st (champions) 1918 73 2014 7 1920 2023

Source: [11]

History

Championship history

The Icelandic league title has been won in its over 100 years existence by 11 teams. KR has the most titles, with 27. Stjarnan are the latest team to join the list, winning their first title in 2014.

The league has been dominated by teams from the Capital Region which contains nearly two thirds of Iceland's population. Only four teams from outside the GRA have ever won the league: (Keflavík, ÍA, ÍBV, and KA). ÍBV and KA have won four titles amongst themselves, are located more than an hour's drive from Reykjavík, and the teams of the longest distance from the capital to title.

Single Round

Double Round

*There was no competition in 1913 and 1914, and Fram was awarded the title. **In 2020 the competition got cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Valur was awarded the title because they were at the top of the table when the season ended.

Champions by number of titles
TeamTitlesFirst titleLast title
KR2719122019
Valur2319302020
Fram1819131990
ÍA1819512001
FH820042016
Víkingur719202023
Keflavík419641973
ÍBV319791998
Breiðablik220102022
KA119891989
Stjarnan120142014

Season by season records

All-time top scorers
LAST SEASON TOP SCORER'S NAME GOALS CLUB
2013 Iceland Tryggvi Guðmundsson 131 ÍBV, KR, FH, Fylkir
1987 Iceland Ingi Björn Albertsson 126 Valur, FH

Top scorers
SEASON TOP SCORER'S NAME GOALS CLUB
1980 Iceland Matthias Hallgrimsson 15 Valur
1981 Iceland Sigurlás Þorleifsson
Iceland Larus Gudmundsson		 12 ÍBV
Víkingur R.
1982 Iceland Sigurlás Þorleifsson
Iceland Heimir Karlsson		 10 ÍBV
Víkingur R.
1983 Iceland Ingi Björn Albertsson 14 Valur
1984 Iceland Guðmundur Steinsson 10 Fram
1985 Iceland Ómar Torfason 13 Fram
1986 Iceland Gudmundur Torfason 19 Fram
1987 Iceland Petur Ormslev 12 Fram
1988 Iceland Sigurjón Kristjánsson 13 Valur
1989 Iceland Hörður Magnússon 12 FH
1990 Iceland Hörður Magnússon 13 FH
1991 Iceland Hörður Magnússon
Iceland Guðmundur Steinsson		 13 FH
Víkingur R.
1992 Iceland Arnar Gunnlaugsson 15 ÍA
1993 Iceland Þórður Guðjónsson 19 ÍA
1994 Serbia and Montenegro Mihajlo Biberčić 14 ÍA
1995 Iceland Arnar Gunnlaugsson 15 ÍA
1996 Iceland Ríkharður Daðason 14 KR
1997 Iceland Tryggvi Guðmundsson 19 ÍBV
1998 Iceland Steingrímur Jóhannesson 16 ÍBV
1999 Iceland Steingrímur Jóhannesson 12 ÍBV
2000 Iceland Guðmundur Steinarsson
Iceland Andri Sigþórsson		 14 Keflavík
KR
2001 Iceland Hjörtur Hjartarson 15 ÍA
2002 Iceland Grétar Hjartarson 13 Grindavík
2003 Iceland Björgólfur Takefusa 10 Þróttur R.
2004 Iceland Gunnar Heiðar Þorvaldsson 12 ÍBV
2005 Iceland Tryggvi Guðmundsson 16 FH
2006 Iceland Marel Baldvinsson 11 Breiðablik
2007 Iceland Jónas Grani Garðarsson 13 Fram
2008 Iceland Guðmundur Steinarsson 16 Keflavík
2009 Iceland Björgólfur Takefusa 16 KR
2010 Iceland Atli Viðar Björnsson
Iceland Alfreð Finnbogason
Gabon Gilles Mbang Ondo		 14 FH
Breiðablik
Grindavík
2011 Iceland Garðar Jóhannsson 15 Stjarnan
2012 Iceland Atli Guðnason 12 FH
2013 Iceland Atli Viðar Björnsson
Iceland Viðar Örn Kjartansson
England Gary Martin		 13 FH
Fylkir
KR
2014 England Gary Martin 13 KR
2015 Denmark Patrick Pedersen 13 Valur
2016 Iceland Garðar Gunnlaugsson 14 ÍA
2017 Iceland Andri Rúnar Bjarnason 19 Grindavík
2018 Denmark Patrick Pedersen 17 Valur
2019 England Gary Martin 14 Valur/ÍBV
2020 Scotland Steven Lennon 17 FH
2021 Denmark Nikolaj Hansen 16 Víkingur R.
2022 Iceland Nökkvi Þeyr Þórisson
Iceland Guðmundur Magnússon		 17 KA
Fram
2023 Iceland Emil Atlason 17 Stjarnan

Player of the Year
SEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR CLUB
1984 Iceland Bjarni Sigurðsson ÍA
1985 Iceland Guðmundur Þorbjörnsson Valur
1986 Iceland Guðmundur Torfason Fram
1987 Iceland Pétur Ormslev Fram
1988 Iceland Sigurjón Kristjánsson Valur
1989 Iceland Þorvaldur Örlygsson KA
1990 Iceland Sævar Jónsson Valur
1991 Iceland Guðmundur Steinsson Víkingur R.
1992 Iceland Lúkas Kostic ÍA
1993 Iceland Sigurður Jónsson ÍA
1994 Iceland Sigursteinn Gíslason ÍA
1995 Iceland Ólafur Þórðarson ÍA
1996 Iceland Gunnar Oddsson Leiftur
1997 Iceland Tryggvi Guðmundsson ÍBV
1998 Scotland David Winnie KR
1999 Iceland Guðmundur Benediktsson KR
2000 Iceland Hlynur Stefánsson ÍBV
2001 Iceland Gunnlaugur Jónsson ÍA
2002 Iceland Finnur Kolbeinsson Fylkir
2003 Denmark Allan Borgvardt FH
2004 Iceland Heimir Guðjónsson FH
2005 Denmark Allan Borgvardt FH
2006 Iceland Viktor Bjarki Arnarsson Víkingur R.
2007 Iceland Helgi Sigurðsson Valur
2008 Iceland Guðmundur Steinarsson Keflavík
2009 Iceland Atli Guðnason FH
2010 Iceland Alfreð Finnbogason Breiðablik
2011 Iceland Hannes Þór Halldórsson KR
2012 Iceland Atli Guðnason FH
2013 Iceland Björn Daníel Sverrisson FH
2014 Iceland Ingvar Jónsson Stjarnan
2015 Iceland Emil Pálsson FH
2016 Iceland Kristinn Freyr Sigurðsson Valur
2017 Iceland Andri Rúnar Bjarnason Grindavík
2018 Denmark Patrick Pedersen Valur
2019 Iceland Óskar Örn Hauksson KR
2020 Scotland Steven Lennon FH
2021 Denmark Nikolaj Hansen Víkingur R.
2022 Iceland Nökkvi Þeyr Þórisson KA
2023 Iceland Birnir Snær Ingason Víkingur R.

Young Player of the Year

Caps correct as of 8 October 2023

Season Player Club International caps International goals
1984 Iceland Guðni Bergsson Valur 80 1
1985 Iceland Halldór Áskelsson Þór Akureyri 24 4
1986 Iceland Gauti Laxdal Fram 0 0
1987 Iceland Rúnar Kristinsson KR 104 3
1988 Iceland Arnljótur Davíðsson Fram 3 0
1989 Iceland Ólafur Gottskálksson ÍA 9 0
1990 Iceland Steinar Guðgeirsson Fram 1 0
1991 Iceland Arnar Grétarsson Breiðablik 71 2
1992 Iceland Arnar Gunnlaugsson ÍA 32 3
1993 Iceland Þórður Guðjónsson ÍA 58 13
1994 Iceland Eiður Guðjohnsen Valur 88 26
1995 Iceland Tryggvi Guðmundsson ÍBV 42 12
1996 Iceland Bjarni Guðjónsson ÍA 23 1
1997 Iceland Sigurvin Ólafsson ÍBV 7 0
1998 Iceland Ólafur Þór Gunnarsson ÍR 1 0
1999 Iceland Grétar Hjartarson Grindavík 1 0
2000 Iceland Helgi Valur Daníelsson Fylkir 33 0
2001 Iceland Grétar Rafn Steinsson ÍA 46 4
2002 Iceland Gunnar Heiðar Þorvaldsson ÍBV 24 5
2003 Iceland Ólafur Ingi Skúlason Fylkir 36 1
2004 Iceland Emil Hallfreðsson FH 73 1
2005 Iceland Hörður Sveinsson Keflavik 0 0
2006 Iceland Birkir Sævarsson Valur 103 3
2007 Iceland Matthías Vilhjálmsson FH 15 2
2008 Iceland Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson Breiðablik 88 8
2009 Iceland Alfreð Finnbogason Breiðablik 69 17
2010 Iceland Kristinn Steindórsson Breiðablik 3 2
2011 Iceland Þórarinn Ingi Valdimarsson ÍBV 4 0
2012 Iceland Jón Daði Böðvarsson Selfoss 64 4
2013 Iceland Arnór Ingvi Traustason Keflavík 49 5
2014 Iceland Elías Már Ómarsson Keflavík 9 0
2015 Iceland Höskuldur Gunnlaugsson Breiðablik 8 0
2016 Iceland Óttar Magnús Karlsson Víkingur R. 11 2
2017 Iceland Alex Þór Hauksson Stjarnan 4 0
2018 Iceland Willum Þór Willumsson Breiðablik 4 0
2019 Iceland Finnur Tómas Pálmason KR 1 0
2020 Iceland Valgeir Lunddal Friðriksson Valur 8 0
2021 Iceland Kristall Máni Ingason Víkingur R. 4 0
2022 Iceland Ísak Andri Sigurgeirsson Stjarnan 0 0
2023 Iceland Eggert Aron Guðmundsson Stjarnan 0 0

Total seasons in Besta deild by club

A total of 31 teams have played at least one season in the top division. Teams in bold play in 2024 season.

Seasons counted up to and including the 2024 season

Club Location First season in
Besta deild		 Last season in
in
Besta deild		 Seasons
in
Besta deild		 Best result in
Besta deild		 Besta deild
titles		 First
Besta deild
title		 Last
Besta deild
title
Breiðablik Kópavogur 1971 2024 39 1st 2 2010 2022
FH 2 Hafnarfjörður 1975 2024 40 1st 8 2004 2016
Fjölnir Reykjavík (Grafarvogur) 2008 2020 8 4th 0 - -
Fram Reykjavík (Grafarholt) 1912 2024 101 1st 18 1913 1990
Fylkir Reykjavík (Árbær) 1989 2024 26 2nd 0 - -
Grindavík Grindavík 1995 2019 20 3rd 0 - -
Grótta Seltjarnarnes 2020 2020 1 11th 0 - -
Haukar 2 Hafnarfjörður 1979 2010 2 10th 0 - -
HK Kópavogur 2007 2024 7 9th 0 - -
ÍA Akranes 1946 2024 70 1st 18 1951 2001
ÍBA1 Akureyri 1929 1974 20 3rd 0 - -
ÍBH 2 Hafnarfjörður 1957 1961 3 4th 0 - -
ÍBÍ 3 Ísafjörður 1962 1983 3 6th 0 - -
ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar 1912 2023 53 1st 3 1979 1998
ÍR Reykjavík (Breiðholt) 1998 1998 1 10th 0 - -
KA 1 Akureyri 1978 2024 22 1st 1 1989 1989
Keflavík Reykjanesbær (Keflavík) 1958 2023 55 1st 4 1964 1973
KR Reykjavík (Vesturbær) 1912 2024 110 1st 27 1912 2019
Leiftur 4 Ólafsfjörður 1988 2000 7 3rd 0 - -
Leiknir Reykjavík (Breiðholt) 2015 2022 3 8th 0 - -
Selfoss Selfoss 2010 2012 2 11th 0 - -
Skallagrímur Borgarnes 1997 1997 1 9th 0 - -
Stjarnan Garðabær 1990 2024 22 1st 1 2014 2014
Valur Reykjavík (Hlíðar/Miðborg) 1915 2024 104 1st 23 1930 2020
Vestri 3 Ísafjörður 2024 2024 1 - 0 - -
Víðir Garður 1985 1991 4 7th 0 - -
Víkingur Ólafsvík 2013 2017 3 10th 0 - -
Víkingur Reykjavík
(Fossvogur, Háaleiti og Bústaðir)		 1918 2024 73 1st 7 1920 2023
Völsungur Húsavík 1987 1988 2 8th 0 - -
Þór 1 Akureyri 1977 2014 17 3rd 0 - -
Þróttur Reykjavík (Laugardalur) 1953 2016 19 5th 0 - -

1 ÍBA stood for "Sports Association of Akureyri", composed of KA and Þór. Disbanded after the 1974 season with KA and Þór fielding their own teams starting from the 1975 season.
2 ÍBH stood for "Sports Association of Hafnarfjörður", composed of FH and Haukar. Disbanded after the 1963 season with FH and Haukar fielding their own teams starting from the 1964 season.
3 ÍBÍ ran into financial trouble and folded after the 1987 season. Most of the players transferred to BÍ which took over as the main football club in Ísafjörður. BÍ is now known as Vestri.
4 Leiftur ran into financial trouble and eventually merged with KS from Siglufjörður before the 2006 season. The teams were disbanded before the 2010 season in favour of forming a new football club for both towns, the new club being called KF.

See also

References
  1. Stefnt á að sýna alla leiki í Pepsi-deild karla beint - Pepsi-deildin á Stöð 2 Sport til 2021
  2. "Icelandic Premier League – Úrvalsdeild / Pepsi Max deildin (Review)". Fieldo Blog. March 19, 2014. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  3. "Iceland coming in from the cold". UEFA. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  4. UEFA Country Ranking 2023 UEFA rankings for club competitions, accessed on June 18, 2023.
  5. Pepsi-deildin í knattspyrnu 2009 Archived 2015-06-09 at the Wayback Machine KSÍ's official site, accessed on 28 April 2009.
  6. "Pepsi-deildin til næstu þriggja ára". Ölgerðin. Archived from the original on 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  7. Helga Margrét Höskuldsdóttir (24 February 2022). "Nýtt vörumerki með rætur íslenskri knattspyrnusögu". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  8. "Reglugerðir - Knattspyrnusamband Íslands". www.ksi.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  9. "Íslandsmeistarar meistaraflokks karla". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2017-04-30.
  10. "Archive - Úrvalsdeild - Iceland - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  11. Íslandsmót - Pepsi-deild karla - 2021
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