{{Short description|Association football league in the Kingdom of Bahrain}} {{Infobox football league | name = Bahraini Premier League | logo = Bahraini Premier League logo.png | pixels = 300 | country = Bahrain | confed = [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]] | founded = {{Start date and age|1956}} | teams = 12 | relegation = [[Bahraini Second Division]] | levels = 1 | domest_cup = [[Bahraini King's Cup|King's Cup]] <br> [[Khalid Bin Hamad Cup]] <br/> [[Bahraini Super Cup|Super Cup]] | league_cup = [[Bahraini FA Cup|FA Cup]] | confed_cup = [[AFC Champions League Two]] | most successful club = [[Al-Muharraq SC|Al-Muharraq SC]] (36 titles) | champions = [[Al-Muharraq SC| Al-Muharraq]] (36th title) <br /> ([[2025–26 Bahraini Premier League|2025–26]]) | top goalscorer = [[Ismail Abdullatif]] (124) | tv = Bahrain Sports TV | website = | current = [[2025–26 Bahraini Premier League]] }}
The '''Bahraini Premier League''' is the main domestic [[football (soccer)|football]] competition in the [[Monarchy|kingdom]] of [[Bahrain]]. Currently known as the [[Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa|Nasser bin Hamad]] Premier League, the first season was held in 1956–1957. The winners of the domestic championship qualify for the [[AFC Champions League Two]]. The championship is currently contested by 12 clubs.
==Structure== ===Current structure=== 12 clubs currently play a two round robin set of fixtures totaling 22 games in order to determine the league champions. Although games are theoretically to be played on a home and away basis, almost all games are played at the [[Bahrain National Stadium|National Stadium]].
The eleventh and twelfth-placed clubs are relegated with the ninth and tenth entering the relegation play-offs.
===Previous structures=== In earlier seasons, the league has been radically overhauled to feature all the professional clubs of Bahrain. Instances being the [[2008–09 Bahrain Classification Soccer League|2008–09]] and [[2002 Bahraini Classification League|2002]] league seasons. The leagues featuring up to 19 teams would play each other on one occasion with the top 10 teams staying in the Premier League top flight and the bottom sides (from 11 to 19) forming the next seasons Second Division.
Between the seasons of 2002 and 2009, the top four sides of the league would also play in the [[Bahraini Crown Prince Cup|Crown Prince Cup]].
==Clubs (2025–26)== * [[A'Ali SC|A'Ali]] * [[Al-Ahli Club (Manama)|Al-Ahli]] * [[Al Budaiya Club|Al-Budaiya]] * [[Al-Hidd SCC|Al-Hidd]] * [[Al-Khaldiya SC|Al-Khaldiya]] * [[Al-Muharraq SC|Al-Muharraq]] * [[Al-Najma SC (Bahrain)|Al-Najma]] * [[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] * [[Al-Shabab Club (Manama)|Al-Shabab]] * [[Bahrain SC]] * [[Malkiya Club|Malkiya]] * [[Sitra Club|Sitra]]
==Team re-structuring== In 2002, a host of clubs were amalgamated:
* '''Bahrain''' is an amalgamation of Bahrain and Al-Khaleej. * '''Riffa''' is an amalgamation of West Riffa and Zallaq. * '''Al-Najma''' is an amalgamation of Al-Hilal, Al-Qadisiya and Ras Al-Rumman. * '''Al-Sahel''' is an amalgamation of Qalali and Hadd. * '''Al-Tadamun''' is an amalgamation of Boori, Karazkan, Hamla, Reef Union and Damastan. * '''Al-Shabab''' is an amalgamation of Deyya, Sanabis, Jadd Hafs, Naeem, Karrana, Sahla and Karbabad. * '''Al-Ittifaq''' is an amalgamation of Al-Arabi, Maqaba and Bani Jumra.
==List of champions== Champions are:<ref>{{cite web|title=Bahrain - List of Champions |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesb/bahchamp.html |access-date=3 March 2012 |url-status=live |website=[[RSSSF]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218032839/http://www.rsssf.com/tablesb/bahchamp.html |archive-date=18 February 2012 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" ! Years ! Champions |- |[[1956–57 Bahraini Premier League|1956–57]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (1) |- |[[1957–58 Bahraini Premier League|1957–58]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (2) |- |[[1958–59 Bahraini Premier League|1958–59]] |[[Al-Nasr SC (Bahrain)|Al-Nasr SC]] (1) |- |[[1959–60 Bahraini Premier League|1959–60]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (3) |- |[[1960–61 Bahraini Premier League|1960–61]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (4) |- |[[1961–62 Bahraini Premier League|1961–62]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (5) |- |[[1962–63 Bahraini Premier League|1962–63]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (6) |- |[[1963–64 Bahraini Premier League|1963–64]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (7) |- |[[1964–65 Bahraini Premier League|1964–65]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (8) |- |[[1965–66 Bahraini Premier League|1965–66]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (9) |- |[[1966–67 Bahraini Premier League|1966–67]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (10) |- |[[1967–68 Bahraini Premier League|1967–68]] |[[Bahrain Club]] (1) |- |[[1968–69 Bahraini Premier League|1968–69]] |[[Al-Ahli Club (Manama)|Al-Ahli Club]] (1) |- |[[1969–70 Bahraini Premier League|1969–70]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (11) |- |[[1970–71 Bahraini Premier League|1970–71]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (12) |- |[[1971–72 Bahraini Premier League|1971–72]] |[[Al-Ahli Club (Manama)|Al-Ahli Club]] (2) |- |[[1972–73 Bahraini Premier League|1972–73]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (13) |- |[[1973–74 Bahraini Premier League|1973–74]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (14) |- |[[1974–75 Bahraini Premier League|1974–75]] |[[Al-Najma SC (Bahrain)|Al Arabi]] (1) |- |[[1975–76 Bahraini Premier League|1975–76]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (15) |- |[[1976–77 Bahraini Premier League|1976–77]] |[[Al-Ahli Club (Manama)|Al-Ahli Club]] (3) |- |[[1977–78 Bahraini Premier League|1977–78]] |[[Bahrain Club]] (2) |- |[[1978–79 Bahraini Premier League|1978–79]] |[[Al-Hala SC|Al Hala SC]] (1) |- |[[1979–80 Bahraini Premier League|1979–80]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (16) |- |[[1980–81 Bahraini Premier League|1980–81]] |[[Bahrain Club]] (3) |- |[[1981–82 Bahraini Premier League|1981–82]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (1) |- |[[1982–83 Bahraini Premier League|1982–83]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (17) |- |[[1983–84 Bahraini Premier League|1983–84]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (18) |- |[[1984–85 Bahraini Premier League|1984–85]] |[[Bahrain Club]] (4) |- |[[1985–86 Bahraini Premier League|1985–86]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (19) |- |[[1986–87 Bahraini Premier League|1986–87]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (2) |- |[[1987–88 Bahraini Premier League|1987–88]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (20) |- |[[1988–89 Bahraini Premier League|1988–89]] |[[Bahrain Club]] (5) |- |[[1989–90 Bahraini Premier League|1989–90]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (3) |- |[[1990–91 Bahraini Premier League|1990–91]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (21) |- |[[1991–92 Bahraini Premier League|1991–92]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (22) |- |[[1992–93 Bahraini Premier League|1992–93]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (4) |- |[[1993–94 Bahraini Premier League|1993–94]] |[[East Riffa Club|East Riffa]] (1) |- |[[1994–95 Bahraini Premier League|1994–95]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (23) |- |[[1995–96 Bahraini Premier League|1995–96]] |[[Al-Ahli Club (Manama)|Al-Ahli Club]] (4) |- |[[1996–97 Bahraini Premier League|1996–97]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (5) |- |[[1997–98 Bahraini Premier League|1997–98]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (6) |- |[[1998–99 Bahraini Premier League|1998–99]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (24) |- |[[1999–2000 Bahraini Premier League|1999–2000]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (7) |- |[[2000–01 Bahraini Premier League|2000–01]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (25) |- |[[2002 Bahraini Classification League|2002]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (26) |- |[[2002-03 Bahraini Premier League|2002-03]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (8) |- |[[2003-04 Bahraini Premier League|2003-04]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (27) |- |[[2004-05 Bahraini Premier League|2004-05]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (9) |- |[[2005–06 Bahraini Premier League|2005–06]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (28) |- |[[2006–07 Bahraini Premier League|2006–07]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (29) |- |[[2007–08 Bahraini Premier League|2007–08]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (30) |- |[[2008–09 Bahrain Classification Soccer League|2008–09]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (31) |- |[[2009–10 Bahrain First Division League|2009–10]] |[[Al-Ahli Club (Manama)|Al-Ahli Club]] (5) |- |[[2010–11 Bahrain First Division League|2010–11]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (32) |- |[[2011–12 Bahrain First Division League|2011–12]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (10) |- |[[2012–13 Bahrain First Division League|2012–13]] |[[Busaiteen Club]] (1) |- |[[2013–14 Bahrain First Division League|2013–14]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (11) |- |[[2014–15 Bahrain First Division League|2014–15]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (33) |- |[[2015–16 Bahrain First Division League|2015–16]] |[[Hidd SCC|Al Hidd SCC]] (1) |- |[[2016–17 Bahrain First Division League|2016–17]] |[[Malkiya Club]] (1) |- |[[2017–18 Bahraini Premier League|2017–18]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (34) |- |[[2018–19 Bahraini Premier League|2018–19]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (12) |- |[[2019–20 Bahraini Premier League|2019–20]] |[[Hidd SCC|Al Hidd SCC]] (2) |- |[[2020–21 Bahraini Premier League|2020–21]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (13) |- |[[2021–22 Bahraini Premier League|2021–22]] |[[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] (14) |- |[[2022–23 Bahraini Premier League|2022–23]] |[[Al-Khaldiya SC]] (1) |- |[[2023–24 Bahraini Premier League|2023–24]] ||[[Al-Khaldiya SC]] (2) |- |[[2024–25 Bahraini Premier League|2024–25]] ||[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (35) |- |[[2025–26 Bahraini Premier League|2025–26]] ||[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al Muharraq Club]] (36) |- |}
==Total championships== The number of national championships that clubs in Bahrain have attained. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- !Club<br /> !Number of Championships |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[Al-Muharraq SC]]||36 |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[Riffa S.C.|Al-Riffa]] (includes West Riffa)||14 |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[Bahrain SC]]||5 |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[Al-Ahli Club (Manama)|Al-Ahli SC]]||5 |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[Hidd SCC|Al-Hidd]]||2 |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[Al-Khaldiya SC|Al-Khaldiya]]||2 |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[Al-Nasr SC (Bahrain)|Al-Nasr]]||1 |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[Al-Arabi (Bahraini football club)|Al-Arabi]] ([[Al-Najma SC (Bahrain)|Al-Najma SC]] now)||1 |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[Al Hala SC|Al Hala]]||1 |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[East Riffa Club|East Riffa SCC]]||1 |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[Busaiteen Club|Busaiteen]]||1 |- |style="text-align:left;"|[[Malkiya Club|Malkiya SCC]]||1 |}
==Top scorers== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;margin:auto;" ! width="100" | Year ! width="20" | ! width="200" | Best scorers ! width="220" | Team ! width="100" | Goals |- align=center |'''[[2003–04 Bahraini Premier League|2003–04]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Duaij Naser Abdulla]]<br/>[[Yousif Zowaid]] || [[Al-Muharraq SC|Al-Muharraq]] || 14<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=194&scorers=true|title=الدوري البحريني الممتاز|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2004–05 Bahraini Premier League|2004–05]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Salman Isa]] || [[Riffa S.C.|Al-Riffa]] || 15<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=830&scorers=true|title=الدوري البحريني الممتاز|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2005–06 Bahraini Premier League|2005–06]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Jaycee John Okwunwanne]] || [[Al-Ahli Club (Manama)|Al-Ahli]] || 17<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=1446&scorers=true|title=الدوري البحريني الممتاز|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128073339/https://www.kooora.com/?c=1446&scorers=true|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2006–07 Bahraini Premier League|2006–07]]''' | {{flagicon|BRA}} || [[Rico (footballer)|Rico]] || [[Riffa S.C.|Al-Riffa]] ||bgcolor=mistyrose| 25<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=2623&scorers=true|title=الدوري البحريني الممتاز|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2007–08 Bahraini Premier League|2007–08]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Jaycee John Okwunwanne]] || [[Al-Muharraq SC|Al-Muharraq]] || 24<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=3370&scorers=true|title=الدوري البحريني الممتاز|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2008–09 Bahrain Classification Soccer League|2008–09]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Abdulrahman Mubarak]] || [[Riffa S.C.|Al-Riffa]] || 14<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=4035&scorers=true|title=الدوري البحريني الممتاز|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2009–10 Bahrain First Division League|2009–10]]''' | {{flagicon|BRA}} || [[Rico (footballer)|Rico]] || [[Al-Muharraq SC|Al-Muharraq]] || 17<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=4765&scorers=true|title=الدوري البحريني الممتاز|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2010–11 Bahrain First Division League|2010–11]]''' | {{flagicon|BRA}}<br/>{{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Diego Péricles da Silva|Diego Silva]]<br/>[[Abdulrahman Mubarak]] || [[Al-Ahli Club (Manama)|Al-Ahli]]<br/>[[Riffa S.C.|Al-Riffa]] || 13 |- align=center |'''[[2011–12 Bahrain First Division League|2011–12]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Ahmed Al Khattal]] || [[Al Hala SC|Al Hala]] || 14<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=7806&scorers=true|title=دوري الدرجة الأولى البحريني|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2012–13 Bahrain First Division League|2012–13]]''' | {{flagicon|KSA}} || [[Mohammed Al Shamrani]] || [[Manama Club (football)|Manama]] || 10<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=8416&scorers=true|title=دوري VIVA البحرين|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2013–14 Bahrain First Division League|2013–14]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Husain Ali|Pele]] || [[Al-Muharraq SC|Al-Muharraq]] || 4<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=9421&scorers=true|title=دوري الدرجة الأولى البحريني|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2014–15 Bahrain First Division League|2014–15]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Ismail Abdullatif]] || [[Al-Muharraq SC|Al-Muharraq]] || 16<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=10986&scorers=true|title=دوري VIVA البحرين|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2015–16 Bahrain First Division League|2015–16]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Mohamed Al-Romaihi]] || [[Hidd SCC|Al-Hidd]] || 17<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=11504&scorers=true|title=دوري VIVA البحرين|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2016–17 Bahrain First Division League|2016–17]]''' | {{flagicon|BRA}} || [[Everton Nascimento de Mendonça|Everton]] || [[Manama Club (football)|Manama Club]] || 11<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.kooora.com/?c=13187&scorers=true|title=دوري VIVA البحرين|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=15 November 2018}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2017–18 Bahrain First Division League|2017–18]]''' | {{flagicon|NGA}} || [[Uche Agba|Uche]] || [[Al Najma Club]] || 18<ref name="auto"/> |- align=center |'''[[2018–19 Bahraini Premier League|2018–19]]''' | {{flagicon|SEN}} || [[Mahamadou Dramé]] || [[Al Najma Club]] || 14<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goalzz.com/main.aspx?c=16376&scorers=true|title=دوري VIVA البحرين|website=www.kooora.com|access-date=12 October 2020}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2019–20 Bahraini Premier League|2019–20]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Kamil Al Aswad]] || [[Al-Riffa SC|Al-Riffa]] || 14<ref>{{cite web|url=https://int.soccerway.com/national/bahrain/premier-league/20192020/regular-season/r52775/|title=Bahraini Premier League|website=soccerway.com|access-date=12 October 2020}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2020–21 Bahraini Premier League|2020–21]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}} || [[Mahdi Abduljabbar]] || [[Manama Club (football)|Manama Club]] || 12 |- align=center |'''[[2021–22 Bahraini Premier League|2021–22]]''' | {{flagicon|BHR}}|| [[Mahdi Abduljabbar]] ||[[Manama Club (football)|Manama Club]] || 17 |- align=center |'''[[2022–23 Bahraini Premier League|2022–23]]''' |{{Flagicon|BHR}}||[[Mahdi Al-Humaidan]]||[[Al-Khaldiya SC|Al-Khaldiya]]||14<ref>{{cite web|url=https://int.soccerway.com/national/bahrain/premier-league/20202021/regular-season/r60681/|title=Bahraini Premier League|website=soccerway.com|access-date=8 May 2021}}</ref> |- align=center |'''[[2023–24 Bahraini Premier League|2023–24]]''' |{{Flagicon|BRA}}||[[Juninho (footballer, born 1999)|Juninho]]||[[Al-Najma SC (Bahrain)|Al-Najma]]||20<ref>{{cite web|title=Top scorers|url=https://int.soccerway.com/national/bahrain/premier-league/20222023/regular-season/r68785/|publisher=Soccerway|access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref> |- align="center" |'''[[2024–25 Bahraini Premier League|2024–25]]''' |{{flag icon|Brazil}} |[[Juninho (footballer, born 1999)|Juninho]] |[[Al-Muharraq SC|Al-Muharraq]] |15 |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.bfa.bh/ar/front/pages/index Bahrain Premiere League] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910173900/http://www.bfa.bh/ar/front/pages/index |date=2017-09-10 }} {{in lang|ar}} * [http://www.goalzz.com/main.aspx?c=1446 goalzz.com – Bahraini Premiere League] * [https://int.soccerway.com/national/bahrain/premier-league/ Soccerway – Bahrain Premier League] {{Football in Bahrain}} {{Bahraini Premier League}} {{Bahraini Premier League seasons}} {{Bahraini Sport leagues}} {{AFC Leagues}}
[[Category:Bahraini Premier League| ]] [[Category:Football leagues in Bahrain]] [[Category:Top-level domestic association football leagues in Asia]] [[Category:Bahrain Football Association competitions|Premier League]] [[Category:Sports leagues established in 1956]]