# 2023–24 Montenegrin First League

The 2023–24 Montenegrin First League (also known as 1.CFL) was the 18th season of the first tier association football in the country of Montenegro. The season began on 23 July 2023 and ended on 25 May 2024.
The winners (Dečić) qualified for the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League first qualifying round. The runners-up (Mornar) and 2023–24 Montenegrin Cup winners (Budućnost) qualified for the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League first qualifying round. The eighth and ninth-placed teams (Jedinstvo and Mladost DG) qualified for the Montenegrin First League play-off, with Jedinstvo winning and retaining their place in the league, and Mladost DG losing and being relegated to the 2024–25 Montenegrin Second League alongside the bottom-placed team (Rudar).

## Teams

The league consisted of ten teams; the top nine teams from the previous season and one team promoted from the Montenegrin Second League. Mladost DG were promoted as champions of the 2022–23 Montenegrin Second League (replacing the bottom-placed 2022–23 Montenegrin First League team Iskra), marking their debut in the Montenegrin First League. Budućnost entered the season as defending champions, having won the league in the previous season.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Arsenal | Tivat | Stadion u Parku | 2,000 |
| Budućnost | Podgorica | Stadion pod Goricom | 15,230 |
| Dečić | Tuzi | Stadion Tuško Polje | 2,000 |
| Jedinstvo | Bijelo Polje | Gradski stadion | 5,000 |
| Jezero | Plav | Stadion Pod Racinom | 2,500 |
| Mladost DG | Podgorica | DG Arena | 4,300 |
| Mornar | Bar | Stadion Topolica | 2,500 |
| Petrovac | Petrovac | Stadion Mitar Mićo Goliš | 1,630 |
| Rudar | Pljevlja | Stadion pod Golubinjom | 5,140 |
| Sutjeska | Nikšić | Stadion kraj Bistrice | 5,214 |

### Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Team | Coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Arsenal | Zoran Tripković | Ćetko Manojlović | Lmp | Porto Montenegro |
| Budućnost | Mladen Milinković | Vasilije Terzić | Adidas | Savana |
| Dečić | Milorad Peković | Jonathan Dreshaj | Seven | Castellana |
| Jedinstvo | Vuko Bogavac | Momčilo Dulović | NAAI | Hotel Splendid |
| Jezero | Ivan Brnović | Edis Redžepagić | Macron | Samont |
| Mladost DG | Marko Šćepanović | Željko Krstović | Luanvi | Lob bet |
| Mornar | Zoran Đurašković | Aleksandar Vujačić | Seven | Municipality of Bar |
| Petrovac | Dušan Ivanović | Zoran Mikijelj | Macron | Municipality of Budva |
| Rudar | Nedeljko Vlahović | Aleksa Golubović | Adidas | Elektroprivreda Crne Gore |
| Sutjeska | Nenad Brnović | Vladan Giljen | Joma | Intersport |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Dečić (C) | 36 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 55 | 27 | +28 | 70 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Mornar | 36 | 17 | 13 | 6 | 45 | 32 | +13 | 64 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Budućnost | 36 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 66 | 43 | +23 | 61 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Sutjeska | 36 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 53 | |
| 5 | Jezero | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 41 | 38 | +3 | 51 | |
| 6 | Petrovac | 36 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 48 | |
| 7 | Arsenal Tivat | 36 | 9 | 15 | 12 | 43 | 58 | −15 | 42 | |
| 8 | Jedinstvo (O) | 36 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 43 | 56 | −13 | 35 | Qualification for the Montenegrin First League play-off |
| 9 | Mladost DG (R) | 36 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 37 | 59 | −22 | 34 | Qualification for the Montenegrin First League play-off |
| 10 | Rudar (R) | 36 | 7 | 6 | 23 | 25 | 54 | −29 | 27 | Relegation to the Montenegrin Second League |
* ↑ Budućnost qualified for the Conference League first qualifying round by winning the 2023–24 Montenegrin Cup.

## Results

Clubs were scheduled to play each other four times for a total of 36 matches each.
| Home \ Away | ARS | BUD | DEČ | JED | JEZ | MDG | MOR | PET | RUD | SUT | ARS | BUD | DEČ | JED | JEZ | MDG | MOR | PET | RUD | SUT |
| Arsenal | — | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 |
| Budućnost | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 6–0 | — | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 |
| Dečić | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| Jedinstvo | 3–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | — | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Jezero | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Mladost DG | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| Mornar | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | — | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Petrovac | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Rudar | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 |
| Sutjeska | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — |

## Montenegrin First League play-off

The eighth and ninth-placed teams (Jedinstvo and Mladost DG) each faced the third and second-placed teams from the 2023–24 Montenegrin Second League (Podgorica and Otrant-Olympic) in two-legged ties for the final two places in the 2024–25 Montenegrin First League.

### Summary

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Otrant-Olympic | 3–2 | Mladost DG | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Podgorica | 1–3 | Jedinstvo | 1–3 | 0–0 |

### Matches
## Statistics
### Top goalscorers

    As of 12 May 2024
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Žarko Korać | Jedinstvo | 16 |
| 2 | Aleksa Maraš | Mladost DG | 14 |
| 3 | Oliver Sarkic | Dečić | 11 |
| 3 | Slobodan Babić | Petrovac | 11 |
| 5 | Boban Đorđević | Arsenal | 10 |
| 6 | Đorđe Despotović | Budućnost | 9 |
| 6 | Bojan Matić | Dečić | 9 |
| 6 | Naoaki Senaga | Jezero | 9 |

## Attendances

| # | Football club | Average attendance |
| 1 | FK Budućnost Podgorica | 1,047 |
| 2 | Jedinstvo | 569 |
| 3 | FK Mornar | 528 |
| 4 | OFK Petrovac | 392 |
| 5 | FK Dečić | 364 |
| 6 | FK Arsenal Tivat | 342 |
| 7 | FK Sutjeska Nikšić | 324 |
| 8 | FK Rudar Pljevlja | 319 |
| 9 | FK Jezero | 244 |
| 10 | Mladost DG | 226 |