Malian Première Division
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Malian Première Division (French: Première division malienne) is the top division of football in Mali. Having been created in 1966, it is governed by the Malian Football Federation. The league has been professional since 2004. The official name is Ligue 1 Orange Mali for sponsorship reasons.
Founded | 1966 |
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Country | Mali |
Confederation | CAF |
Number of teams | 18 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Domestic cup(s) | Malian Cup Super Coupe National du Mali |
International cup(s) | Champions League Confederation Cup |
Current champions | Real Bamako (2022–23) |
Most championships | Stade Malien & Djoliba AC (23) |
Current: 2023–24 Malian Première Division |
The season usually runs from December to late August. The league currently consists of twenty clubs split into two pools and features a round-robin home-and-away schedule within each pool. The top two in each pool qualify for the Championship Play-Off (Carré d'As), which involves a round-robin between the four teams. The winners of the play-off are crowned champions and qualify for the CAF Champions League.
In the 2017 season, the competition started in early January, but in the 6th round, the government dissolved the football association on 9 March and the remaining matches of the round were abandoned. The league did not take place in 2018 but resumed for the 2019-20 season.