# 2022–23 Macedonian First Football League

The 2022–23 Macedonian First League was the 31st season of the Macedonian First Football League, the highest football league of North Macedonia. It began on 6 August 2022 and ended on 14 May 2023. Shkupi were the defending champions, having won their first title in 2021–22.

## Promotion and relegation

| At the end of the 2021–22 season Promoted from 2021–22 Second League Pobeda (First placed; East) Sileks (First placed; West) Relegated to 2022–23 Second League Borec (11th) Pelister (12th) Renova (5th)$^1$ | At the end of the 2022–23 season Promoted from 2022–23 Second League Voska Sport (winners) Gostivar (runners-up) Vardar (Third placed; won play-off) Relegated to 2023–24 Second League Skopje (10th; lost play-off) Pobeda (11th) |
   $^1$Renova withdrew from the First League due to financial reasons.

## Participating teams

| Akademija Pandev | Bregalnica | Makedonija G.P. | Pobeda | Rabotnički | Shkëndija |
| Blagoj Istatov Stadium UEFA | City Stadium Štip | Ǵorče Petrov Stadium | Goce Delčev Stadium | Toše Proeski Arena UEFA | Tetovo Stadium |
| Capacity: 9,200 | Capacity: 4,000 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 36,460 | Capacity: 15,000 |
| Shkupi | Sileks | Skopje | Struga | Tikvesh |
| Cair Stadium | City Stadium Kratovo | Železarnica Stadium | Gradska Plaža Stadium | City Stadium Kavadarci |
| Capacity: 6,000 | Capacity: 6,000 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 2,500 | Capacity: 7,500 |
| | | File:Железарница Стадион.jpg.jpg | | |

### 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 | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Akademija Pandev | Toni Atanasov (interim) | Bojan Dimoski | Sportika SA | Mozzart |
| Bregalnica | Goran Zdravkov | Daniel Mojsov | Hummel | Superior |
| Makedonija G.P. | Goran Simov | Filip Mishevski | Givova | betinasia, Tesla |
| Pobeda | Blagojche Damevski | Darko Tofiloski | Givona | Gigant, Cevitana, Mermeren Kombinat |
| Rabotnički | Milan Ilievski | Krste Velkoski | Joma | |
| Shkëndija | Qatip Osmani | Ferhan Hasani | Macron | Ecolog |
| Shkupi | Cihat Arslan | Kristijan Naumovski | Reaction | Alagoz Holding |
| Sileks | Gorazd Mihajlov | Daniel Bozhinovski | Jako | Sileks |
| Skopje | Mirsad Jonuz | Filip Duranski | Adidas | |
| Struga | Shpëtim Duro | Bunjamin Shabani | Macron | Trim & Lum |
| Tikvesh | Gjorgji Mojsov | Aleksandar Varelovski | Joma | Klimi.mk, Sinalco |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in the table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Rabotnički | Stojan Ignatov | End of caretaker role | 8 June 2022 | Pre-season | Ljupcho Markovski | 8 June 2022 |
| Skopje | Ljupcho Markovski | Transfer | 8 June 2022 | Pre-season | Slavcho Georgievski | 1 July 2022 |
| Shkupi | Goce Sedloski | Resigned | 31 August 2022 | 5th | Goce Sedloski | 9 September 2022 |
| Akademija Pandev | Gjorche Stojchev | Sacked | 4 September 2022 | 5th | Aleksandar Vasoski | 7 September 2022 |
| Shkëndija | Artim Shaqiri | Sacked | 5 September 2022 | 3rd | Qatip Osmani | 16 September 2022 |
| Tikvesh | Vlatko Kostov | Resigned | 6 September 2022 | 8th | Gjorgji Mojsov | 8 September 2022 |
| Rabotnički | Ljupcho Markovski | Resigned | 12 September 2022 | 10th | Milan Ilievski | 24 September 2022 |
| Bregalnica | Ilčo Gjorgioski | Sacked | 7 December 2022 | 6th | Goran Zdravkov | 21 December 2022 |
| Pobeda | Boban Babunski | Resigned | 4 January 2023 | 9th | Blagojche Damevski | 5 January 2023 |
| Struga | Srgjan Zaharievski | Sacked | 27 February 2023 | 1st | Shpëtim Duro | 1 March 2023 |
| Skopje | Slavcho Georgievski | Sacked | 5 March 2023 | 10th | Mirsad Jonuz | 6 March 2023 |
| Makedonija G.P. | Muharem Bajrami | Sacked | 10 March 2023 | 7th | Goran Simov | 14 March 2023 |
| Shkupi | Goce Sedloski | Sacked | 21 March 2023 | 2nd | Cihat Arslan | 22 March 2023 |
| Akademija Pandev | Aleksandar Vasoski | Sacked | 7 May 2023 | 9th | Toni Atanasov (interim) | 7 May 2023 |
    1.^ Gökhan Bozkaya was originally appointed as Goce Sedloski's replacement, however he was replaced by his predecessor after losses to Bregalnica and Tikvesh.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Struga (C) | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 53 | 19 | +34 | 68 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Shkupi | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 62 | 27 | +35 | 58 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Shkëndija | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 43 | 23 | +20 | 57 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Sileks | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 48 | |
| 5 | Bregalnica | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 33 | 34 | −1 | 41 | |
| 6 | Tikvesh | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 40 | |
| 7 | Makedonija G.P. | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 37 | 33 | +4 | 39 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round |
| 8 | Rabotnički | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 37 | |
| 9 | Akademija Pandev | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 34 | 38 | −4 | 28 | |
| 10 | Skopje (R) | 30 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 17 | 44 | −27 | 22 | Qualification for the Relegation play-off |
| 11 | Pobeda (R) | 30 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 18 | 78 | −60 | 13 | Relegation to the Macedonian Second League |
| — | Renova (D, R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrawn |
* ↑ Makedonija G.P. qualified for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round by winning the 2022–23 Macedonian Football Cup.
* ↑ Renova withdrew their participation prior to the start of the season due to financial problems.

## Results

Every team will play three times against each other team for a total of 30 matches. The first 22 match days will consist of a regular double round-robin schedule. The league standings at this point will then be used to determine the games for the last 11 match days.
| Home \ Away | AKA | BRE | MGP | POB | RAB | SKE | SKU | SIL | SKO | STR | TIK | AKA | BRE | MGP | POB | RAB | SKE | SKU | SIL | SKO | STR | TIK |
| Akademija Pandev | — | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | — | — | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | — | 1–4 |
| Bregalnica | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 4–0 | — | 0–1 | — | — | — | 0–3 | 0–0 |
| Makedonija G.P. | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | — | — | 7–0 | 2–1 | — | — | — | 2–1 | — | — |
| Pobeda | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | — | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–6 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | — | — | — | — | 0–1 | — | 0–6 | 1–5 | 0–4 | — | 1–4 |
| Rabotnički | 0–5 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–4 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 5–4 | — | — | — | 1–2 | — | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | — |
| Shkëndija | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | — | — | — | 0–0 | — | 1–2 | 4–1 |
| Shkupi | 3–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | — | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | — | 3–1 | 2–1 | — | — | 0–1 | — | — |
| Sileks | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | — | 0–2 | — | 3–1 | — | — |
| Skopje | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | — | — | 0–2 | — | — | — | 1–1 | — |
| Struga | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | — | 2–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 | 6–2 | — | — | 2–1 | 3–0 | — | — | 2–0 |
| Tikvesh | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | — | — | 0–1 | — | 1–3 | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | — | — |

### Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.
| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 |
| Struga | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Shkupi | 6 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Shkëndija | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Sileks | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Bregalnica | 3 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Tikvesh | 8 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Makedonija G.P. | 4 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| Rabotnički | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
| Akademija Pandev | 9 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Skopje | 7 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Pobeda | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
* Leader and qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
* Qualification for the Europa Conference League first qualifying round
* Qualification for the Relegation play-off
* Relegation to the Macedonian Second League