# 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

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.

## Clubs
### Current clubs

The following clubs are competing in the Esiliiga during the 2025 season.
| Club | Position in 2024 | Seasons in Esiliiga | First season of current spell | Titles | Last title |
| Elva$^b$ | 8th | 14 | 2017 | 0 | — |
| FC Tallinn$^{a,b}$ | 5th | 3 | 2023 | 0 | — |
| Flora U21 Tallinn$^{a,b,c}$ | 3rd | 20 | 2006 | 2 | 2015 |
| Levadia U21 Tallinn$^{a,b,c}$ | 6th | 22 | 2004 | 7 | 2013 |
| Nõmme Kalju U21$^{b,c}$ | 2nd in the Esiliiga B | 5 | 2025 | 0 | — |
| Nõmme United$^a$ | 10th in the Premium Liiga | 5 | 2025 | 1 | 2023 |
| Tallinna Kalev U21$^{b,c}$ | 7th | 4 | 2024 | 0 | — |
| Tammeka U21$^{b,c}$ | 1st in the Esiliiga B | 8 | 2025 | 0 | — |
| Viimsi$^{a,b}$ | 2nd | 4 | 2022 | 0 | — |
| Welco$^b$ | 4th | 6 | 2024 | 0 | — |
$^a$ – never been relegated from Esiliiga
$^b$ – never played in Meistriliiga
$^c$ – ineligible for promotion to Meistriliiga

## Champions

| 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 | Vadim Dolinin (Kalev Pärnu) | 21 |
| 1994–95 | Tallinna Dünamo | Tallinna Jalgpallikool | Pena Jõhvi | | |
| 1994–95 | Lelle | Pärnu Tervis | Viljandi Tulevik | | |
| 1995–96 | Norma Tallinn | Vall Tallinn | Tallinna Jalgpallikool | | |
| 1996–97 | Tallinna Dünamo (2) | Tallinna Jalgpallikool | Pärnu | Igor Bratšuk (Olümp Maardu) | 8 |
| 1997–98 | Vall Tallinn | Olümpia Maardu | Dokker Tallinn | Andrei Afanassov (Vall Tallinn) Aleksei Titov (Vall Tallinn) | 13 |
| 1998 | Levadia Maardu | Vigri Tallinn | Lootus Kohtla-Järve | Igor Bratšuk (Levadia Maardu) | 9 |
| 1999 | Kuressaare | Lootus Kohtla-Järve | Vigri Tallinn | Svajūnas Raučkis (Kuressaare) | 27 |
| 2000 | Maardu | Pärnu Tervis | Viljandi | Vladimir Tšelnokov (Maardu) | 26 |
| 2001 | Levadia Pärnu | Valga | S.C. Real Maardu | Andrei Afanassov (S.C. Real Maardu) | 26 |
| 2002 | Valga | Kuressaare | Maardu | Andrei Afanassov (Maardu) | 25 |
| 2003 | Lootus Kohtla-Järve | Pärnu Tervis | M.C. Tallinn | Aleksei Titov (Ajax Lasnamäe) | 29 |
| 2004 | Tartu Tammeka | Levadia II Tallinn | Pärnu Tervis | Oliver Konsa (Tartu Tammeka) | 25 |
| 2005 | Pärnu Vaprus | Levadia II Tallinn | Ajax Lasnamäe | Nikita Andreev (Ajax Lasnamäe) | 29 |
| 2006 | Levadia II Tallinn (2) | Kuressaare | Tallinna Kalev | Kaimar Saag (Levadia II Tallinn) | 37 |
| 2007 | Levadia II Tallinn (3) | Flora II Tallinn | Sillamäe Kalev | Andrus Mitt (Nõmme Kalju) | 24 |
| 2008 | Levadia II Tallinn (4) | Kuressaare | Flora II Tallinn | Sergei Jegorov (TVMK II Tallinn) | 20 |
| 2009 | Levadia II Tallinn (5) | Lootus Kohtla-Järve | Warrior Valga | Tõnis Starkopf (Kiviõli Tamme Auto/Levadia II Tallinn) | 32 |
| 2010 | Levadia II Tallinn (6) | Flora II Tallinn | Ajax Lasnamäe | Tõnis Starkopf (Kiviõli Tamme Auto) | 28 |
| 2011 | Tallinna Kalev | Infonet Tallinn | Kiviõli Tamme Auto | Maksim Rõtškov (Infonet Tallinn) | 40 |
| 2012 | Infonet Tallinn | Flora II Tallinn | Rakvere Tarvas | Manucho (Infonet Tallinn) | 31 |
| 2013 | Levadia II Tallinn (7) | Jõhvi Lokomotiv | Flora II Tallinn | Tõnis Starkopf (Irbis Kiviõli) | 28 |
| 2014 | Flora II Tallinn | Levadia II Tallinn | Pärnu Linnameeskond | Kristen Saarts (Pärnu Linnameeskond/Levadia II Tallinn) | 31 |
| 2015 | Flora II Tallinn (2) | Levadia II Tallinn | Infonet II Tallinn | Eduard Golovljov (Infonet II Tallinn) | 41 |
| 2016 | Viljandi Tulevik | Flora U21 Tallinn | Infonet II Tallinn | Eduard Golovljov (Infonet II Tallinn) | 39 |
| 2017 | Maardu Linnameeskond | Tallinna Kalev | Rakvere Tarvas | Vitali Gussev (Maardu Linnameeskond) | 38 |
| 2018 | Maardu Linnameeskond (2) | Flora U21 Tallinn | Levadia U21 Tallinn | Vitali Gussev (Maardu Linnameeskond) | 43 |
| 2019 | TJK Legion | Flora U21 Tallinn | Pärnu Vaprus | Rejal Alijev (TJK Legion) | 38 |
| 2020 | Pärnu Vaprus (2) | Maardu Linnameeskond | Nõmme United | Kevin Mätas (Nõmme United) | 22 |
| 2021 | Maardu Linnameeskond (3) | Tallinna Kalev | Paide Linnameeskond U21 | Robi Saarma (Nõmme United) | 28 |
| 2022 | Harju JK | Levadia U21 Tallinn | Elva | Egert Õunapuu (Nõmme United) | 36 |
| 2023 | Nõmme United | Viimsi | Flora U21 Tallinn | Egert Õunapuu (Nõmme United) | 32 |
| 2024 | Harju JK (2) | Viimsi | Flora U21 Tallinn | Gregor Lehtmets (Viimsi) | 31 |
* ^ East/North champion
* ^ South/West champion

### Total titles won

| Club | | | | 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 | 4 | 2014, 2015 |
| Pärnu Vaprus | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2005, 2020 |
| Tallinna Dünamo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1994–95, 1996–97 |
| Harju JK | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2022, 2024 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Tallinna Jalgpallikool | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| Viimsi | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 |
* ^ East/North champion
* ^ South/West champion

### All-time Esiliiga table

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 |