# 2016 Esiliiga

The 2016 Esiliiga is the 26th season of the Esiliiga, second-highest Estonian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 25 February 2016 and concluded on 6 November 2016.
Tulevik won the league, finishing with 89 points and were promoted to the Meistriliiga. It was their first Esiliiga title in history.

## Teams
### Stadia

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Flora U21 | Tallinn | A. Le Coq Arena | 10,340 |
| Infonet II | Tallinn | Infonet Lasnamäe Stadium | 400 |
| Järve | Kohtla-Järve | Kohtla-Järve SPK Stadium | 150 |
| Levadia U21 | Tallinn | Maarjamäe Stadium | 30 |
| Maardu Linnameeskond | Maardu | Maardu Stadium | 500 |
| Nõmme Kalju U21 | Tallinn | Hiiu Stadium | 330 |
| Santos | Tartu | Tamme Stadium | 1,750 |
| Tallinna Kalev | Tallinn | Kalev Keskstaadion | 11,500 |
| Tulevik | Viljandi | Viljandi Stadium | 1,068 |
| Vaprus | Vändra | Vändra Stadium | 307 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Flora U21 | Joel Indermitte | Tõnu Paavo | Nike | Tele2 |
| Infonet II | Sergei Bragin | | Joma | Infonet |
| Järve | Aleksei Tikhomirov | Mikhail Kharitanovich | Adidas | Euronics |
| Levadia U21 | Vladimir Vassiljev | | Adidas | Viimsi Keevitus |
| Maardu Linnameeskond | Andrei Borissov | Maksim Krivošein | Adidas | |
| Nõmme Kalju U21 | Zaur Tšilingarašvili | | Adidas | Optibet |
| Santos | Siim Säesk | Taavi Vellemaa | Uhlsport | Värska |
| Tallinna Kalev | Marko Pärnpuu | Ando Hausenberg | Jako | ViisTek Media |
| Tulevik | Aivar Lillevere | Tanel Lang | Joma | Viljandi Aken ja Uks |
| Vaprus | Ranet Lepik | Karel Otto | Macron | Møller Auto Pärnu |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Flora U21 | Jürgen Henn | Signed by Flora | 21 December 2015 | Pre-season | Joel Indermitte | 21 December 2015 |
| Järve | Andrei Škaleta | Mutual consent | 31 December 2015 | Pre-season | Aleksei Tikhomirov | 1 January 2016 |
| Levadia U21 | Argo Arbeiter | Signed by Flora | 13 July 2016 | 5th | Vladimir Vassiljev | 14 July 2016 |

## Results
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Tulevik (C, P) | 36 | 28 | 5 | 3 | 106 | 38 | +68 | 89 | Promotion to Meistriliiga |
| 2 | Flora U21 | 36 | 20 | 8 | 8 | 78 | 47 | +31 | 68 | |
| 3 | Infonet II | 36 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 98 | 81 | +17 | 56 | |
| 4 | Maardu Linnameeskond | 36 | 16 | 6 | 14 | 83 | 75 | +8 | 54 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
| 5 | Levadia U21 | 36 | 15 | 5 | 16 | 81 | 69 | +12 | 50 | |
| 6 | Santos | 36 | 16 | 1 | 19 | 63 | 70 | −7 | 49 | |
| 7 | Tallinna Kalev | 36 | 13 | 6 | 17 | 56 | 58 | −2 | 45 | |
| 8 | Nõmme Kalju U21 (R) | 36 | 12 | 5 | 19 | 62 | 86 | −24 | 41 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
| 9 | Vaprus (R) | 36 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 48 | 96 | −48 | 32 | Relegation to the Esiliiga B |
| 10 | Järve (R) | 36 | 8 | 6 | 22 | 42 | 97 | −55 | 30 | Relegation to the Esiliiga B |
* 1 2 3 4 Reserve teams are ineligible for promotion.

### Result tables
## Play-offs
### Promotion play-offs

Maardu Linnameeskond, who finished 4th, faced Pärnu Linnameeskond, the 9th-placed 2016 Meistriliiga side for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the 2017 Meistriliiga.

#### Second leg

    Pärnu Linnameeskond won 9–4 on aggregate and retained their Meistriliiga spot for the 2017 season.

### Relegation play-offs

Nõmme Kalju U21, who finished 8th, faced Welco, 3rd-placed 2016 Esiliiga B side for a two-legged play-off. The first leg originally ended 3–2 to Nõmme Kalju U21 but they were later ruled to have forfeited the match after fielding an ineligible player Henrik Pürg. According to the rules, the second leg was cancelled and Welco earned entry into the 2017 Esiliiga.

#### Second leg
## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Eduard Golovljov | Infonet II | 39 |
| 2 | Vitali Gussev | Maardu Linnameeskond | 31 |
| 3 | Kristen Kähr | Tulevik | 22 |
| 4 | Peeter Klein | Nõmme Kalju U21 | 20 |
| 5 | Erik Sorga | Flora U21 | 17 |
| 6 | Sander Post | Tulevik | 16 |
| 7 | Alex Meinhard | Santos | 14 |
| 8 | Aleksei Belov | Tallinna Kalev | 13 |
| 8 | Indrek Ilves | Tulevik | 13 |
| 8 | Nikita Koger | Levadia U21 | 13 |
| 8 | Edgar Tur | Infonet II | 13 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Manager of the Month | Manager of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Manager | Club | Player | Club |
| March | Joel Indermitte | Flora U21 | Daniil Savitski | Tallinna Kalev |
| April | Sergei Bragin | Infonet II | Ranet Lepik | Vaprus |
| May | Aivar Lillevere | Tulevik | Nikita Brõlin | Maardu Linnameeskond |
| June/July | Aivar Lillevere | Tulevik | Vitali Gussev | Maardu Linnameeskond |
| August | Zaur Tšilingarašvili | Nõmme Kalju U21 | Peeter Klein | Nõmme Kalju U21 |
| September | Aivar Lillevere | Tulevik | Kristen Kähr | Tulevik |
| October | Aivar Lillevere | Tulevik | Robert Kirss | Nõmme Kalju U21 |

### Esiliiga Player of the Year

Eduard Golovljov was named Esiliiga Player of the Year.