Liga I is one of the most prominent leagues which happens every year in Romania. It stands out as one of the most exciting and competitive football leagues or competitions in Eastern Europe. The competition has its own rich history and a passionate fanbase. In this blog, we are going to learn about its history, teams, upcoming matches and more. 

History And Evolution Of Liga I Games

The Liga I league is a professional association football League in Romania. It is one of the highest levels of the Romanian football league system. The league has 16 clubs and it operates on a system of promotion and relegation. 

The league was founded in the year 1909 as the Romanian Football Championship. Since the beginning of the tournament, it has undergone several transformations. The name Liga I was given to the tournament back in 1990. Before this name, it was called the Romanian Football Championship. This was done to give the league a modern yet professional feel in front of the world.

When the league was started back in the early 1900s, the league had only a handful of teams. But as time passed, the tournament added teams. And, moreover, the level of competition is more intense than ever. 

Format Of Liga I Game

The following is the format for the 2023-2024 Liga I season. As per the sources, it consists of 16 clubs which participated in the league. These clubs play in a regular season where each team plays the others both home and away. The league awards points based on match results: for example, 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss.

After the season, the league got split into two groups one is Champion Group which has top 6 teams who battle for the title European spots. Then comes the Relegation Group, consisting of 10 teams who fight to avoid relegation to Liga II.

Then the teams who qualify for the Liga I automatically qualify for the European Competitions, e.g., UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa Conference League. 

The bottom teams of the league face relegation to Liga II and promotion from Liga II allowing the best-performing teams to move up to Liga I.

How Liga I Works (Season Structure)

In the Regular season 16 teams compete in a double round-robin format, where each team plays every other team twice. After this round, the league splits into two groups which are Championship Group which has top 6 teams. And the other group is Relegation Group which has Bottom 10 teams as we discussed above in the blog.

The Famous Clubs of Liga I

Given below are the list of the most popular teams on the world scale level. Have a look some information about them : 

FCSB (formerly Steaua Bucharest) : It is a Romanian professional football club which has a complex history. The club maintains ties with the Romanian Ministry of National Defence. FCSB has been the face of Romanian football for over a decade. The club has competed in 26 Romanian Championships. Their achievement came in 1986 when they won the European Cup. They are one of the strongest teams or clubs in Romania. 

CFR Cluj : The club is the next prominent team of the league which has won  multiple league titles in the 21st century. They were able to achieve success in both domestic and European tournaments. The team maintains strong discipline and plays with a tactical style. They have made their waves across Europe. They have been consistently qualifying for UEFA competitions.

Universitatea Craiova : It is another notable football club in Romania. The club is known for its royal fanbase and remarkable success in the 1980s. While the club has faced different challenges in recent years, their rich history in the tournament makes it one of the strongest contenders in the Liga I games. 

Viitorul Constanța : Gheorghe Hagi, one of Romania’s legendary former players, founded this team. This has emerged as one of the most exciting clubs in recent times in Romania.  Hagi’s influence is apparent both on and off the pitch, as he has helped foster a new generation of young talent who have been making waves in both Liga I and European football.

Performance Of Liga I Clubs In International Games

Club	Best Achievement
Steaua București	Champions League Winners (1986)Finalists (1989), Super Cup Winners (1986)
Dinamo București	UCL Semi-finalists (1984), CWC Semi-finalists (1990)
Universitatea Craiova	UEFA Cup Semi-finalists (1983)
Rapid București	UEFA Cup Quarter-finalists (2006)
CFR Cluj	Intertoto Cup Finalists (2005), regular UCL/UEL group stages
FCSB (formerly Steaua)	Same as Steaua București
Petrolul Ploiești	Fairs Cup Quarter-finalists (1963)
UTA Arad	UEFA Cup Quarter-finalists (1972)
Victoria București	UEFA Cup Quarter-finalists (1989)
Vaslui	Intertoto Cup Winners (2008)
Oțelul Galați	Intertoto Cup Winners (2007)
Farul Constanța	Intertoto Cup Finalists (2006)
Gloria Bistrița	Intertoto Cup Finalists (2007)

Winning Clubs In Liga I Games Which Are Currently Active

This is the list of the teams that have won the title:

Steaua București/FCSB	28
Dinamo București	18
CFR Cluj	8
Venus București	7
UTA Arad	6
Universitatea Craiova	4
Petrolul Ploiești	4
Ripensia Timișoara	4
Rapid București	3
Farul Constanța	2
Oțelul Galați	1
Club Atletic Oradea	1
CSM Reșița	1

List of Romanian Players Who have participated in Liga I Game From 2006 to 2025

Below is a list of Romanian Players who have participated in the tournament in Liga I Game: 

Player Name	Years Active in Liga I	Clubs Played For	Position
Gheorghe Hagi	N/A (retired in 2001)	Not active in Liga I post-2006	Attacking Midfield
Cosmin Moți	2000–2014, 2020–2023	Dinamo București, Steaua București	Defender
Adrian Mutu	2000–2008	Dinamo București, FCSB, Ajaccio	Forward
Claudiu Keșeru	2006–2022	Steaua București, FCSB, Ludogorets	Forward
Mihăiță Neșu	2006–2010	FC Utrecht, Steaua București	Left Back
Lucian Sânmărtean	2006–2017	Steaua București, Pandurii Târgu Jiu	Attacking Midfield
Răzvan Raț	2006–2017	Shakhtar Donetsk, West Ham, FCSB	Left Back
Bogdan Stancu	2006–2015	Steaua București, Genclerbirligi	Forward
Florin Andone	2010–2016	Viitorul Constanța, Deportivo La Coruña	Forward
Denis Alibec	2013–2023	FCSB, Astra Giurgiu, Viitorul Constanța	Forward
Alexandru Chipciu	2007–2018	Steaua București, Anderlecht	Midfielder
Vlad Chiricheș	2010–2025	Tottenham, Napoli	Defender
Andrei Ivan	2013–2021	Universitatea Craiova, Krasnodar	Forward
Alexandru Maxim	2010–2025	FCSB, VfB Stuttgart, Gaziantep	Attacking Midfield
Nicolae Stanciu	2012–2025	Slovan Bratislava, Anderlecht	Midfielder
Ciprian Deac	2007–2025	CFR Cluj, Galatasaray	Midfielder
Ionuț Radu	2016–2025	Internazionale, Parma (loan)	Goalkeeper
Mihai Pintilii	2006–2018	Steaua București, Al Wahda	Midfielder
Ovidiu Hațegan	2006–2025	Referee in Liga I	Referee
Raul Rusescu	2006–2018	Steaua București, Rizespor	Forward
Alin Toșca	2012–2025	FCSB, PAOK	Left Back
Doru Popadiuc	2010–2025	Viitorul Constanța, Gaz Metan Mediaș	Forward
Sergiu Hanca	2013–2022	Dinamo București, CFR Cluj	Midfielder

List of Foreign Players Who has been Participated in Liga I Games From 2006 to 2025

Given below is the list of the foreign player and their country who has participated in the Liga I Game in Romania: 

Country	Years Active in Liga I	Player Name	Club(s) Played For
🇧🇷 Brazil	1980s	Marius Felipe	FC Argeș Pitești
	2000s-2010s	Ricardo Alves	CFR Cluj, Steaua București
	2010s	Rafael Bastos	FC Brașov, Dinamo București
	2000s	Luis Carlos	Universitatea Craiova
🇵🇹 Portugal	2000s	Cristiano	Steaua București
	2015-2018	Ricardo Córdova	FC Dinamo București
	2000s	Rui Duarte	CFR Cluj
🇳🇴 Norway	2010	Tore André Flo	FC Dinamo București
	2010s	Valon Berisha	FC Dinamo București
🇦🇷 Argentina	2010s	Gabriel Torje	FC Dinamo București
	2010s	Federico Piovaccari	FC Brașov
	2010s	Diego Valdés	Steaua București
Belgium	2014-2016	William Vainqueur	Steaua București
	2010	Jérémy Doku	FCSB
Greece	2010s	Panagiotis Kone	FC Dinamo București
	2010-2014	Yannis Anastasopoulos	FC Dinamo București
Italy	2014-2015	Andrea Pisanu	Steaua București
	2010s	Matteo Saccani	CFR Cluj
Serbia	2014-2017	Filip Stojković	CFR Cluj
	2016	Dušan Lajović	CFR Cluj
Russia	2010s	Vladimir Gabulov	FC Dinamo București
	2020	Nikita Simonyan	CFR Cluj
Algeria	2018	Islam Slimani	FCSB
	2014	Riyad Mahrez	Dinamo București
Netherlands	2015-2016	Royston Drenthe	FC Dinamo București
	2018	Bram Nuytinck	CFR Cluj
Australia	2010-2013	Matthew Spiranovic	Steaua București
	2014	James Troisi	FC Dinamo București
Switzerland	2016	Blerim Džemaili	CFR Cluj
	2010s	Marcelo Lippi	Petrolul Ploiești
Slovenia	2005-2006	Samir Handanović	CFR Cluj
	2009	Benjamin Verbič	Steaua București
Bulgaria	2014	Dimitar Berbatov	FC Dinamo București
	2020-2023	Bozhidar Kraev	Universitatea Craiova
Lithuania	2004-2006	Tomas Kančkalnė	Dinamo București

Upcoming Matches Of Liga I Games 

Given below are the schedule of the 2025’s upcoming matches which are scheduled to start from 11 of July 2025: 

Match	Competitor	TIME	location
CFR Cluj-Napoca	Unirea Slobozia	Mon, 14 July 12:00 am	Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, Cluj, Romania
Csíkszereda	Dinamo București	Tue, 15 July 12:00 am	Stadionul Municipal, Miercurea Ciuc, Romania
FC Arges	Rapid București	Sat, 12 July 12:00 am	Stadionul Orășenesc Mioveni, Mioveni, Romania
FC Botosani	FC Farul Constanța	Mon, 14 July 09:30 pm	Stadionul Municipal, Botosani, Botosani, Romania
FCSB	Hermannstadt	Sun, 13 July 12:00 am	National Arena, București, Romania
Metaloglobus	Universitatea Cluj	Fri, 11 July 09:00 pm	Stadionul Clinceni, Clinceni, Romania
Otelul Galati	Petrolul Ploiești	Sun, 13 July 09:00 pm	Stadionul Oțelul, Galati, Romania
UTA Arad	CSU Craiova	Sat, 12 July 09:00 pm	Stadionul Francisc von Neumann, Arad, Romania

Conclusion 

Liga I is one of Romania’s most exciting and competitive football leagues, with a rich history dating back to 1909. The league has evolved over the years, becoming a modern and professional competition. It features 16 teams that compete for the title and European spots. Famous clubs like FCSB, CFR Cluj, and Dinamo București have dominated the league, while new talents continue to emerge. Liga I’s combination of fierce rivalries, top-level competition, and passionate fans makes it a key part of Eastern European football, offering thrilling matches and unforgettable moments every season.