The clubs in the top two leagues learned their opponents for the opening 18 rounds for the 2015/16 season in Macedonia.
Earlier today, at the FFM headquarters, the draw took place for the 2015/16 season in the top two leagues. The First League participants were drawn first, while the Second League teams followed a half hour later.
In the opening round, both newly promoted teams, Shkupi and Mladost Carev Dvor, were drawn to face Vardar and Shkendija, respectively. Vardar and Shkupi, in particular, are fierce rivals that don’t like each other. Before the refoundation, Shkupi was known as Sloga Jugomagnat. Back in the 90’s, these two teams were always near the top of the table, each winning three titles. The rivalry has to do with the fact that Vardar is mainly supported by Macedonias, while Shkupi’s support comes from the Albanian community in the city of Skopje.
Below are the opening round games of First League:
Meanwhile, the Second League draw came next and featured some well known sides such as Pelister, Teteks, Pobeda, and Makedonija Gjorche Petrov. Below are the Round 1 matches, while you can view the complete schedule by clicking here.
The format for the Second League schedule will also stay the same. After 18 rounds, the teams at the top of the table will get an extra home game. Rounds 19 through 27 will follow after the completion of that. The season ends after round 27.
Later in the day, the draw was also made for the Macedonian Cup Round of 32. The First League participants of last season were seeded, also joined by the top 6 teams of the Second League. These are the complete pairings (in brackets is the division in which the club will play this season):
Fortuna (3) vs. Rabotnichki (1)
Gorno Lisiche (2) vs. Renova (1)
Vulkan (4) vs. Makedonija GjP (2)
Prevalec (3) vs. Sileks (1)
Liria Zagarchani (4) vs. Horisont Turnovo (1)
Zajazi (3) vs. Shkendija (1)
Belasica (3) vs. Skopje (2)
Ljubanci (2) vs. Teteks (2)
Pobeda (2) vs. Mladost Carev Dvor (1)
Kozhuf Miravci (2) vs. Vardar (1)
11 Oktomvri (3) vs. Pelister (2)
Plachkovica (3) vs. Bregalnica (1)
Drita (3) vs. Vlazrimi 77 (2)
Poeshevo (3) vs. Gostivar (2)
Malesh (4) vs. Metalurg (1)
Ljuboten (4) vs. Shkupi (1)
Just one leg is played in the opening round of the cup. 15 of the 16 games above will be played on August 12, while 11 Oktomvri vs. Pelister will take place a day later. If a game is tied after 90 minutes in the Round of 32, it goes directly to penalty kicks.