History
The Romanian Liga I, also known as the Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal (LPF), is the top professional football league in Romania. It was first established in 1909 and has gone through several changes over the years. In its current format, the league is composed of 16 teams who play each other twice in a round-robin format, with the team finishing with the most points at the end of the season crowned as champions. The league has produced several successful teams, including Steaua București, Dinamo București, and CFR Cluj.
League system
Below the Liga I, there are two other professional leagues in Romania: Liga II and Liga III. Liga II is divided into two divisions, each containing 16 teams, while Liga III is divided into five regional divisions, each containing 16 teams. The winners of Liga II are promoted to Liga I, while the bottom two teams in Liga I are relegated to Liga II. Similarly, the winners of Liga III are promoted to Liga II, while the bottom two teams in Liga II are relegated to Liga III.
Stats
Steaua București is the most successful team in the history of the Liga I, having won the title 26 times. They are followed by Dinamo București with 18 titles and CFR Cluj with 7 titles. The current champions of the Liga I are FCSB (formerly known as Steaua București), who won the title in the 2020-21 season.
Audience
The Liga I is popular among Romanian football fans, with an average attendance of around 7,000 spectators per game. Some of the most well-supported teams in the league include Steaua București, Dinamo București, and Rapid București.
Players
The Liga I has produced several notable players over the years, including Gheorghe Hagi, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest Romanian footballers of all time. Other notable players who have played in the Liga I include Gheorghe Popescu, Cristian Chivu, Adrian Mutu, and Vlad Chiricheș. Currently, some of the top players in the league include Nicolae Stanciu of Slavia Prague, Florin Tănase of FCSB, and Alexandru Mitriță of New York City FC.
