Competition | Soccer-tainment

Besta deild karla

FIFA Region

UEFA

Season

2026

Location

Iceland

Abbreviation

ISL1

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map of participating teams

Summary

The Besta deild karla (ISL1) is the top professional division in the Iceland football system. At the end of the 2026 season, the ISL1 teams listed below qualify for the following non-league play:

2027 - 2028 UEFA Champions League - 1st Qualifying Round:
- 1st place 2026 ISL1 team
2027 - 2028 UEFA Europa Conference League - 2nd Qualifying Round:
- 2nd place 2026 ISL1 team
2027 - 2028 UEFA Europa Conference League - 1st Qualifying Round:
- 3rd place 2026 ISL1 team

The winner of the 2026 Icelandic Cup (Mjólkurbikarinn), typically an ISL1 team, also receives a berth in the 1st Qualifying Round of the 2027 - 2028 UEFA Europa League.

Leagues Pyramid - Iceland

Abbrev	League	# of Teams
ISL1	Besta deild karla	12
ISL2	1. deild karla	12
ISL3	2. deild karla	12
ISL4	3. deild karla	12
ISL5	4. deild karla	11

Competition Structure

Season			# of Teams
5 Apr 2025 - 1 Nov 2025			12: ISL1 (10), ISL2 (2)

Season Format

The 2026 ISL1 is split into 2 phases. In the 1st Phase, each ISL1 teams plays Home-Away matches with the other 11 ISL1 teams twice, for a total of 22 regular season matches. In the 2nd phase, the 1st Phase teams ranked 1-6 play in the Championship Round. and the teams ranked 7-12 play in the Relegation Round. In each round, each team plays the other 5 teams in their group once for 27 total matches per team. Table ranking ties are broken by (1) goal difference, (2) total goals scored, (3) head-to-head points, (4) head-to-head goal difference, (5) head-to-head goals scored, (6) head-to-head away goals scored, (7) a playoff (only to decide the champion), then (8) a draw.

Playoffs

Not applicable.

Relegation

At the end of the 2026 ISL1 season, the 5th and 6th place ISL1 Relegation Round teams will be relegated to the ISL2, and the 1st and 2nd place ISL2 teams will be promoted to the 2027 ISL1.

More Info...

Regular Season

		League							Home						Road
POS		MP	W - D - L	PTS	CPTS	GF	GA	GD	MP	W - D - L	PTS	GF	GA	GD	MP	W - D - L	PTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Víkingur Reykjavík FC	20	16 -3-1	51	-	64	18	46	10	8 -2-0	26	33	8	25	10	8 -1-1	25	31	10	21
2	Fram Reykjavík	21	13 -5-3	44	-	54	40	14	11	6 -3-2	21	31	24	7	10	7 -2-1	23	23	16	7
3	KR Reykjavíkur	20	13 -4-3	43	-	72	45	27	10	8 -2-0	26	40	20	20	10	5 -2-3	17	32	25	7
4	Breiðablik UBK	20	8 -6-6	30	-	42	37	5	10	6 -1-3	19	25	19	6	10	2 -5-3	11	17	18	-1
5	Keflavík ÍF	21	8 -4-9	28	-	32	36	-4	10	5 -3-2	18	17	11	6	11	3 -1-7	10	15	25	-10
6	ÍA Akranes	21	7 -6-8	27	-	36	40	-4	10	3 -4-3	13	16	14	2	11	4 -2-5	14	20	26	-6
7	Knattspyrnufélagið Valur	21	7 -3-11	24	-	37	44	-7	11	3 -3-5	12	22	27	-5	10	4 -0-6	12	15	17	-2
8	Stjarnan FC	20	7 -3-10	24	-	38	48	-10	10	4 -1-5	13	21	22	-1	10	3 -2-5	11	17	26	-9
9	FH Hafnarfjarðar	21	4 -9-8	21	-	27	38	-11	11	2 -5-4	11	15	17	-2	10	2 -4-4	10	12	21	-9
10	ÍBV	20	4 -5-11	17	-	30	42	-12	10	3 -2-5	11	17	20	-3	10	1 -3-6	6	13	22	-9
11	KA Akureyri	21	4 -5-12	17	-	33	47	-14	10	2 -1-7	7	14	20	-6	11	2 -4-5	10	19	27	-8
12	þor Akureyri	20	4 -3-13	15	-	20	50	-30	10	3 -1-6	10	12	20	-8	10	1 -2-7	5	8	30	-22
Championship Round Relegation Round