Christmas time, for most people, is usually associated with food (and lots of it!) and resting. If you are a football fan, however, the story is different. The Premier League in England, Serie A in Italy and La Liga in Spain are full of action, giving another reason to be jolly during the holidays. It’s times like these that I get to thinking about our less popular Estonian League, the Meistriliiga. The Meistriliiga might not have the same quality that the big European leagues have, but it certainly has the interest to attract newcomers to the country.
The Traditional “Giants”
The Estonian league is traditionally dominated by two teams, namely Flora and Levadia, both located in Tallinn. Flora has 14 titles against the 12 titles of Levadia, however most fans consider Flora to clearly be the biggest team. Flora is considered by many fans to be the “pride of Estonia”, saying that it is the only team that made it to the group stage of the Europa Conference League, back in 2020. Its team composition is mainly of Estonian players and it has had, for most of the years, an “Estonians only” policy, in order to support local talent and, indirectly, support the development of the national football team as well.

Flora Tallinn playing for the Europa Conference League Stage. Retrieved from: https://www.uefa.com/uefaconferenceleague/news/026e-13779ab550a1-0fc7d6b411f1-1000–uefa-europa-conference-league-what-to-look-out-for-this-week/
Levadia are the current title holders and also have a very large fanbase. They have also enjoyed playing games at the European level as well, although not as successful as their counterparts, Flora. If you are used to being on the winners’ side and would like to see some games with European teams in Tallinn during summertime, then those teams are definitely for you.

Levadia Tallinn fans. Retrieved from: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Levadia_fans_in_2023.jpg
The “Ambitious Projects”
There are two teams that, even though not traditionally successful, are making quite an impression on the Estonian League. These are Nõmme Kalju and Paide Linnameeskond. Nomme Kalju was initially bought by a member of the advisory board at the European Club Association and, ever since, it has been consistently one of the top 4 clubs of the country and has a strong presence in the Europa Conference League. It has a smaller fanbase than the previously mentioned teams and is attracting the “alternatives” of Estonian football, who are looking for an option outside the traditional ones.

Nomme Kalju fans, the “pink panthers”. Retrieved from: https://www.saturday3.com/showmg.php?id=nomme_kalju-dnipro_dnipropetrovsk_22.08.2013
Paide Linnameeskond is a similar story and is the only team in this list that is not from Tallinn. Located in the beautiful but tiny (less than 8000 residents) town of Paide, the leadership of this team has managed to establish a good relationship with African Football Associations, such as the Gambian Football Association and attracts international talent, which have managed to propel the team to the top 4 multiple times during previous years. Paide, due to the size of its stadium (capacity of only 500 people), but also due to the fact that it is located in a small town, has a very small fanbase in the country. However, because Paide is located right in the middle of Estonia, it is located conveniently close for a weekend trip to watch the team play, so, despite its size, it is still gaining popularity. Thus, if you like betting on purchasing low stocks and watching them grow high, or if you want to combine trips to the countryside with some good young talents, then you know which teams to support!

Paide Linnameeskond is gaining increasing popularity in the country. Image retrieved from: https://www.paidelinnameeskond.ee/paide-linnameeskond-otsib-kogukonnajuhti/
Our very own Tammeka
I have saved the best for last! If you are a fan of the motto “Support your local team”, then you must first know some facts about our team here in Tartu. Tammeka Tartu was established in 1989 and has been playing in the Meistriliiga ever since 2005. The team has faced severe economic troubles that resulted in battling for survival in 2014 and it has not managed to rebound fully ever since, relying mostly on youngsters, which is good to support talent. However, when chatting with fans, I understood that they are of the view that, in order to pursue the championship, the team needs to have youth as well as experience, and also have coordinated efforts to support youth in the region that wish to enter professional football Its fanbase is much smaller than most of the teams and is closer to the size of the fanbase of Paide Linnameeskond, with the majority of the fans that I have observed at the football games being university students.

Tammeka Tartu supporters at the Tamme stadium. Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tammeka/
Overall, there are many more options for you to choose and, whichever choice you make, you can’t go wrong. The only thing that is certain is that Meistriliiga does not only have traditional “giants”, it also has ambitious teams looking to steal the glory and is sure to bring you many surprises. This March, tune in to the YouTube channel of the league or visit your local stadium and enjoy!
Ways to get involved:
If you are interested to dive further into the magic world of Estonian football, here are some ideas:
- Join one of the football games as a fan, choose your team either based on my “nudges” or your instinct, you can’t go wrong 🙂
- Get some of their merch – I can’t speak on behalf of other teams, but for Tammeka, Lounakeskus has some nice merch.
- Interact with your favourite teams and players on social media, all are very responsive and eager to promote what they do and interact with fans!
- Get the “football card” from LHV for free – for every transaction you make, 0.1 EUR goes to a team of your choice. I chose Tulevik Viljandi because it has the same colors as my favourite team back home, but you don’t have to follow my choice.
Cover image: Flora Tallinn fans at the stadium. Retrieved from: https://x.com/fcflora_tallinn/status/1551587074381213697?prefetchTimestamp=1736679586543&mx=2
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