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 | 11 | 10 -1-0 | 31 | - | 36 | 6 | 30 | 6 | 5 -1-0 | 16 | 21 | 3 | 18 | 5 | 5 -0-0 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 12 |
| 2 | KR Reykjavíkur | 11 | 8 -1-2 | 25 | - | 38 | 25 | 13 | 6 | 5 -1-0 | 16 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 3 -0-2 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 3 |
| 3 | Fram Reykjavík | 10 | 7 -2-1 | 23 | - | 29 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 -1-0 | 13 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 3 -1-1 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 2 |
| 4 | Breiðablik UBK | 10 | 4 -4-2 | 16 | - | 26 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 3 -1-0 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 1 -3-2 | 6 | 12 | 13 | -1 |
| 5 | ÍA Akranes | 10 | 4 -3-3 | 15 | - | 13 | 16 | -3 | 4 | 1 -2-1 | 5 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 6 | 3 -1-2 | 10 | 8 | 10 | -2 |
| 6 | Knattspyrnufélagið Valur | 11 | 5 -0-6 | 15 | - | 19 | 23 | -4 | 6 | 3 -0-3 | 9 | 11 | 14 | -3 | 5 | 2 -0-3 | 6 | 8 | 9 | -1 |
| 7 | Stjarnan FC | 11 | 3 -2-6 | 11 | - | 22 | 26 | -4 | 7 | 1 -1-5 | 4 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 4 | 2 -1-1 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| 8 | Keflavík ÍF | 10 | 3 -2-5 | 11 | - | 13 | 20 | -7 | 5 | 1 -2-2 | 5 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 5 | 2 -0-3 | 6 | 9 | 14 | -5 |
| 9 | KA Akureyri | 10 | 3 -1-6 | 10 | - | 15 | 19 | -4 | 6 | 1 -0-5 | 3 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 4 | 2 -1-1 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| 10 | ÍBV | 10 | 2 -2-6 | 8 | - | 18 | 24 | -6 | 5 | 1 -1-3 | 4 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 5 | 1 -1-3 | 4 | 8 | 12 | -4 |
| 11 | þor Akureyri | 10 | 2 -0-8 | 6 | - | 8 | 27 | -19 | 5 | 1 -0-4 | 3 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 5 | 1 -0-4 | 3 | 4 | 17 | -13 |
| 12 | FH Hafnarfjarðar | 10 | 1 -2-7 | 5 | - | 14 | 27 | -13 | 3 | 0 -0-3 | 0 | 4 | 7 | -3 | 7 | 1 -2-4 | 5 | 10 | 20 | -10 |
Championship Round Relegation Round | ||||||||||||||||||||
Fixtures
 | KA Akureyri | Kópavogsvöllur; |
 | þor Akureyri | Kaplakrikavöllur |
 | Keflavík ÍF | N1-völlurinn Hlíðarenda |
 | Stjarnan FC | Hásteinsvöllur |
 | Víkingur Reykjavík FC | Lambhagavöllurinn |
 | ÍA Akranes | KR-völlur |
| ÍBV | Kaplakrikavöllur |
| KR Reykjavíkur | HS Orku völlurinn |
| KA Akureyri | Samsung völlurinn |
| Knattspyrnufélagið Valur | &Thorn;órsvöllur |
| Víkingur Reykjavík FC | Kópavogsvöllur; |
| Fram Reykjavík | ELKEM völlurinn |
| KR Reykjavíkur | &Thorn;órsvöllur |
| KA Akureyri | Víkingsvöllur |
| Breiðablik UBK | ELKEM völlurinn |
| Stjarnan FC | Kaplakrikavöllur |
| Knattspyrnufélagið Valur | Hásteinsvöllur |
| Fram Reykjavík | HS Orku völlurinn |
| þor Akureyri | Lambhagavöllurinn |
| ÍA Akranes | Greifavöölurinn |
Results
| 20 | KR Reykjavíkur | Víkingsvöllur |
| 44 | Breiðablik UBK | Samsung völlurinn |
| 10 | Knattspyrnufélagið Valur | ELKEM völlurinn |
| 34 | Fram Reykjavík | Greifavöölurinn |
| 14 | ÍBV | &Thorn;órsvöllur |
| 12 | FH Hafnarfjarðar | HS Orku völlurinn |
| 15 | Víkingur Reykjavík FC | N1-völlurinn Hlíðarenda |
| 61 | Keflavík ÍF | Hásteinsvöllur |
| 13 | Stjarnan FC | &Thorn;órsvöllur |
| 53 | KA Akureyri | KR-völlur |
| 01 | ÍA Akranes | Kaplakrikavöllur |
| 43 | Breiðablik UBK | Lambhagavöllurinn |
| 31 | Knattspyrnufélagið Valur | KR-völlur |
| 13 | Víkingur Reykjavík FC | Samsung völlurinn |
| 63 | KR Reykjavíkur | Kópavogsvöllur; |
| 50 | FH Hafnarfjarðar | Víkingsvöllur |
| 01 | Fram Reykjavík | Samsung völlurinn |
| 10 | þor Akureyri | HS Orku völlurinn |
| 01 | Knattspyrnufélagið Valur | Greifavöölurinn |
| 22 | ÍBV | ELKEM völlurinn |