1980–81 Yugoslav First League
| Season | 1980–81 | 
|---|---|
| Champions | Red Star (14th title) | 
| Relegated | Borac Banja Luka Napredak Kruševac | 
| European Cup | Red Star | 
| Cup Winners' Cup | Velež Mostar | 
| UEFA Cup | Hajduk Split Radnički Niš | 
| Top goalscorer | Milan Radović (26) | 
| ← 1979–80  1981–82 →  | |
The 1980–81 Yugoslav First League season was the 35th season of the First Federal League (Serbo-Croatian: 'Prva savezna liga'), the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. A total of 18 teams competed in the league, with the previous season's champions Red Star successfully defending their title, finishing the season two points clear of runners-up Hajduk Split.
Teams
A total of eighteen teams contested the league, including sixteen sides from the 1979–80 season and two sides promoted from the 1979–80 Yugoslav Second League (YSL) as winners of the two second level divisions East and West. The league was contested in a double round robin format, with each club playing every other club twice, for a total of 34 rounds. Two points were awarded for wins and one point for draws.
Osijek and Čelik were relegated from the 1979–80 Yugoslav First League after finishing the season in bottom two places of the league table. The two clubs promoted were NK Zagreb and OFK Belgrade, returning to the top level after being relegated in the 1978–79 season.
| Team | Location | Federal Republic | Position in 1979–80 | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Borac Banja Luka | Banja Luka |  SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 14th | 
| Budućnost | Titograd |  SR Montenegro | 11th | 
| Dinamo Zagreb | Zagreb |  SR Croatia | 12th | 
| Hajduk Split | Split |  SR Croatia | 5th | 
| Napredak Kruševac | Kruševac |  SR Serbia | 4th | 
| OFK Belgrade | Belgrade |  SR Serbia | N/A | 
| Olimpija | Ljubljana |  SR Slovenia | 15th | 
| Partizan | Belgrade |  SR Serbia | 13th | 
| Radnički Niš | Niš |  SR Serbia | 3rd | 
| Red Star | Belgrade |  SR Serbia | 1st | 
| Rijeka | Rijeka |  SR Croatia | 10th | 
| Sarajevo | Sarajevo |  SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2nd | 
| Sloboda | Tuzla |  SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 6th | 
| Vardar | Skopje |  SR Macedonia | 7th | 
| Velež | Mostar |  SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 8th | 
| Vojvodina | Novi Sad |  SR Serbia | 16th | 
| NK Zagreb | Zagreb |  SR Croatia | N/A | 
| Željezničar | Sarajevo |  SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 9th | 
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Star Belgrade (C) | 34 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 62 | 31 | +31 | 44 | 1981–82 European Cup | 
| 2 | Hajduk Split | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 57 | 36 | +21 | 42 | 1981–82 UEFA Cup | 
| 3 | Radnički Niš | 34 | 13 | 15 | 6 | 39 | 28 | +11 | 41 | |
| 4 | Sloboda Tuzla | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 46 | 51 | −5 | 36 | 1981–83 Balkans Cup | 
| 5 | Dinamo Zagreb | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 44 | 38 | +6 | 35 | |
| 6 | Budućnost | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 38 | 34 | +4 | 34 | 1981 Intertoto Cup | 
| 7 | Rijeka | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 50 | 47 | +3 | 34 | |
| 8 | Partizan | 34 | 9 | 16 | 9 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 34 | |
| 9 | Velež | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 47 | −3 | 34 | 1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup | 
| 10 | Vojvodina | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 37 | 40 | −3 | 34 | |
| 11 | Vardar | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 41 | 48 | −7 | 33 | |
| 12 | Olimpija | 34 | 8 | 16 | 10 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 32 | |
| 13 | Sarajevo | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 32 | |
| 14 | Željezničar | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 42 | 51 | −9 | 32 | |
| 15 | OFK Belgrade | 34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 34 | 39 | −5 | 30 | |
| 16 | NK Zagreb | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 43 | 55 | −12 | 30 | |
| 17 | Borac Banja Luka (R) | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 29 | 1981–82 Yugoslav Second League | 
| 18 | Napredak Kruševac (R) | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 45 | 60 | −15 | 26 | 
Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification:
1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round. 
Only applicable when the season is not finished: 
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Champions:
- RED STAR BELGRADE (coach Branko Stanković):
players (league matches/league goals): Rajko Janjanin (34/6)
 Rajko Janjanin (34/6) Srebrenko Repčić (33/10)
 Srebrenko Repčić (33/10) Zlatko Krmpotić (32/1)
 Zlatko Krmpotić (32/1) Miloš Šestić (31/7)
 Miloš Šestić (31/7) Milan Janković (30/5)
 Milan Janković (30/5) Zdravko Borovnica (29/12)
 Zdravko Borovnica (29/12) Ivan Jurišić (27/1)
 Ivan Jurišić (27/1) Boško Đurovski (26/0)
 Boško Đurovski (26/0) Vladimir "Pižon" Petrović (23/6)
 Vladimir "Pižon" Petrović (23/6) Dragan Miletović (23/0)
 Dragan Miletović (23/0) Živan Ljukovčan (17/0) -goalkeeper-
 Živan Ljukovčan (17/0) -goalkeeper- Milan Jovin (16/2)
 Milan Jovin (16/2) Cvijetin Blagojević (16/2)
 Cvijetin Blagojević (16/2) Dragan Simeunović (16/0) -goalkeeper-
 Dragan Simeunović (16/0) -goalkeeper- Milenko Rajković (14/0)
 Milenko Rajković (14/0) Ljubiša Stojanović (12/0)
 Ljubiša Stojanović (12/0) Radomir Savić (12/0)
 Radomir Savić (12/0) Zoran Jelikić (10/1)
 Zoran Jelikić (10/1) Slavoljub Muslin (10/0)
 Slavoljub Muslin (10/0) Milko Đurovski (9/5)
 Milko Đurovski (9/5) Nedeljko Milosavljević (6/2)
 Nedeljko Milosavljević (6/2) Slobodan Goračinov (2/0)
 Slobodan Goračinov (2/0) Zdravko Čakalić (2/0)
 Zdravko Čakalić (2/0) Srboljub Stamenković (1/0)
 Srboljub Stamenković (1/0) Goran Živanović (1/0)
 Goran Živanović (1/0) Slavko Radovanović (1/0)
 Slavko Radovanović (1/0) Srboljub Marinković (1/0)
 Srboljub Marinković (1/0)
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