2017–18 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina
# 2017–18 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The 2017–18 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, known as Liga 12 and also known as BH Telecom Premier League for sponsorship reasons, was the eighteenth season of the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the highest football league of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The season began on 22 July 2017 and concluded on 20 May 2018, with a winter break between early December 2017 and late February 2018.

## Teams

A total of 12 teams will contest the league, including 10 sides from the 2016–17 season and two promoted from each of the second-level league.

### Stadiums and locations

| Borac | Čelik | Gabela | Krupa |
| - | - | - | - |
| Banja Luka City Stadium | Bilino Polje | Perica-Pero Pavlović | Krupa na Vrbasu |
| Capacity: 9,730 | Capacity: 15,292 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 3,500 |
| | | [[File:|550px|alt=]] | |
| Mladost | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | Radnik |
| Stadium Mladost Kakanj | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | Gradski Stadium (Bijeljina) |
| Capacity: 3,000 | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | Capacity: 6,000 |
| Sarajevo | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | Sloboda |
| Asim Ferhatović Hase | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | Tušanj |
| Capacity: 35,630 | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | ČelikSlobodaMladostRadnikSarajevoŠiroki BrijegVitezZrinjskiŽeljezničarKrupaBoracGOŠKclass=notpageimage| Locations of the 2017–18 Premier League of BiH clubs | Capacity: 7,200 |
| Široki Brijeg | Vitez | Zrinjski | Željezničar |
| Pecara | Gradski Stadium (Vitez) | HŠK Zrinjski Stadium | Grbavica |
| Capacity: 7,000 | Capacity: 3,000 | Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 14,000 |

### Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Borac | Darko Vojvodić | Mahir Karić | Diadora | Nova Banka |
| Čelik | Edin Prljača | Fenan Salčinović | Givova | Wwin |
| GOŠK | Feđa Dudić | - | no.1 | — |
| Krupa | Slobodan Starčević | Aleksandar Vukotić | NAAI | BEMA |
| Mladost Doboj Kakanj | Edis Mulalić | Aladin Isaković | Joma | Kakanj Cement |
| Radnik | Mladen Žižović | Dino Beširević | Joma | Nektar |
| Sarajevo | Husref Musemić | Krste Velkoski | Nike | Turkish Airlines |
| Sloboda | Slavko Petrović | Amer Ordagić | NAAI | Wwin |
| Široki Brijeg | Goran Sablić | Jure Ivanković | Legea | Mepas |
| Vitez | Ivica Bonić | Ivan Livaja | Joma | tioil |
| Zrinjski | Blaž Slišković | Pero Stojkić | Macron | PPD |
| Željezničar | Admir Adžem | Vedran Kjosevski | Diadora | Ziraat Bank |

## Regular season

The season has a two-stage format. In the regular season, each of the 12 teams play home-and-away once, resulting in 22 games played each. The top six teams in the regular season qualify for the Championship round, the bottom six teams qualify for the Relegation round. Each team then plays home-and-away against the other teams within their own group, for an additional ten games played each, a season total of 32 games.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Zrinjski Mostar | 22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 40 | 18 | +22 | 50 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 2 | Željezničar Sarajevo | 22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 37 | 16 | +21 | 50 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 3 | Široki Brijeg | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 37 | 17 | +20 | 42 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 4 | Sarajevo | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 44 | 19 | +25 | 40 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 5 | Krupa | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 35 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 6 | Radnik Bijeljina | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 24 | −3 | 32 | Qualification for the Championship round |
| 7 | Mladost Doboj Kakanj | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 29 | 28 | +1 | 29 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 8 | Borac Banja Luka | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 26 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 9 | GOŠK Gabela | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 30 | −8 | 24 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 10 | Sloboda Tuzla | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 25 | −7 | 21 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 11 | Čelik Zenica | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 17 | 54 | −37 | 13 | Qualification for the Relegation round |
| 12 | Vitez | 22 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 9 | 41 | −32 | 8 | Qualification for the Relegation round |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BOR | ČEL | GAB | KRU | MDK | RAD | SAR | ŠB | SLO | VIT | ŽEL | ZRI |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Borac Banja Luka | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Čelik Zenica | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–3 |
| GOŠK Gabela | 0–1 | 3–2 | — | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Krupa | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 1–0 |
| Mladost Doboj Kakanj | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Radnik Bijeljina | 3–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 1–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 |
| Sarajevo | 3–0 | 5–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Široki Brijeg | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Sloboda Tuzla | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | — | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| Vitez | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–4 | 0–1 | — | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Željezničar Sarajevo | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 0–1 |
| Zrinjski Mostar | 0–0 | 5–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | — |

## Championship round

### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Zrinjski Mostar (C) | 32 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 69 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Željezničar Sarajevo | 32 | 19 | 6 | 7 | 49 | 30 | +19 | 63 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Sarajevo | 32 | 17 | 5 | 10 | 58 | 28 | +30 | 56 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Široki Brijeg | 32 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 52 | 28 | +24 | 56 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 5 | Radnik Bijeljina | 32 | 12 | 9 | 11 | 35 | 38 | −3 | 45 | |
| 6 | Krupa | 32 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 35 | 42 | −7 | 40 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | KRU | RAD | SAR | SB | ZRI | ŽEL |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Krupa | — | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Radnik Bijeljina | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Sarajevo | 1–0 | 3–1 | — | 2–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 |
| Široki Brijeg | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Zrinjski Mostar | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | — | 3–3 |
| Željezničar Sarajevo | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — |

## Relegation round

### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 7 | GOŠK Gabela | 32 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 32 | 36 | −4 | 45 | |
| 8 | Mladost Doboj Kakanj | 32 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 42 | 44 | −2 | 42 | |
| 9 | Borac Banja Luka (R) | 32 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 31 | −9 | 38 | Relegation to the Prva Liga RS |
| 10 | Sloboda Tuzla | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 31 | 34 | −3 | 36 | |
| 11 | Čelik Zenica | 32 | 8 | 4 | 20 | 30 | 61 | −31 | 28 | |
| 12 | Vitez (R) | 32 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 15 | 57 | −42 | 15 | Relegation to the Prva Liga FBiH |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BOR | ČEL | GAB | MDK | SLO | VIT |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Borac Banja Luka | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Čelik Zenica | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| GOŠK Gabela | 1–0 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Mladost Doboj Kakanj | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Sloboda Tuzla | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | — | 2–0 |
| Vitez | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — |

## Licensing issues

All clubs in Bosnia and Herzegovina must have a license to compete in the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the deadline this season being set May 7 for the First Degree commission. Five clubs did not get their licences for the first degree: Borac Banja Luka, Sloboda Tuzla, Čelik Zenica, Vitez and GOŠK Gabela. The Second Degree commission convened on May 24 and only approved Čelik before being abruptly cancelled and rescheduled for May 30. The commission approved all other clubs except for Borac, meaning that they would be relegated into the First League of the Republika Srpska. As Borac did not have the license but Čelik did, they were allowed to stay in the Premier League.

Borac attempted to solve the issues which caused the license removal, including removing the debt Borac owed to FK Džaja. Borac showed the evidence it showed regarding the payments to Džaja to UEFA, which will assist the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the decision of whether or not Borac Banja Luka or Čelik Zenica will compete in the 2018–19 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The debate over the licences also caused the draws for the next season to be rescheduled.

In a similar way, teams promoted from the First League of the Republika Srpska or First League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina also need to get a license separated into First and Second Degree commissions, although their deadlines are moved to a later date. The winners of both leagues FK Sloga Simin Han (later known as Tuzla City) and FK Zvijezda 09 met with the First Degree commission on June 14, but only Sloga received their license. Zvijezda 09 will convene at a later date with the Second Degree commission.

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Miloš Filipović | Zrinjski | 16 |
| 2 | Mersudin Ahmetović | Sarajevo | 14 |
| 3 | Nemanja Bilbija | Zrinjski | 12 |
| 3 | Petar Kunić | Borac | 12 |
| 3 | Luka Menalo | Široki Brijeg | 12 |
| 3 | Krste Velkoski | Sarajevo | 12 |
| 3 | Goran Zakarić | Željezničar | 12 |
| 8 | Dražen Bagarić | Široki Brijeg | 7 |
| 8 | Haris Dilaver | Mladost Doboj Kakanj | 7 |
| 8 | Nusmir Fajić | Krupa | 7 |
| 8 | Haris Handžić | Zrinjski | 7 |
| 8 | Nardin Mulahusejnović | GOŠK Gabela | 7 |
| 8 | Stevo Nikolić | Čelik | 7 |
| 8 | Vojo Ubiparip | Željezničar | 7 |
