While the Premier League title race might’ve fallen flat on its face, the 2023-24 season has thankfully seen plenty of races play out that you had no idea about.
The season is just getting started for leagues across the Atlantic Ocean in North and South America, but most divisions across Europe and Asia have just concluded or are close to being wrapped up, with storylines galore to tuck into.
To remind us all of the fact that football exists beyond the often unbreakable grasp of ‘Europe’s top five leagues’, we’ve looked at the juiciest title races that have just concluded or are on the verge of being decided, that you had no idea about.
Austrian Bundesliga
Amid all the fuss about Manchester City’s four in a row and Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten season, a truly wild storyline has flown completely under the radar in Austria’s top flight.
Sturm Graz have won the Austrian Bundesliga for the first time since 2010-11 and for the fourth time in their history, derailing Red Bull Salzburg’s push for an 11th consecutive league title, having won the last 10 in a row. That is mental.
It went down to the wire, too, with Sturm Graz finishing as champions by just two points, the two sides playing out a thrilling 2-2 draw in the Championship play-off round, a repeat of their 2-2 draw back in September 2023.
Not only have they won the league, but Christian Ilzer’s side have become the first team that isn’t Red Bull Salzburg to win the double since 2006.
Czech First League
A two-horse race developed at the top of the Czech top flight between Prague’s two biggest sides Sparta and Slavia, the former coming out on top as league winners by just four points in the end.
It means Slavia Prague have finished runners-up for an agonising third season in a row, having last won the league in 2021. Sparta now boast 13 league titles to Slavia’s seven.
Four points split them in the league, but the two city rivals were much closer on the pitch, drawing 0-0 twice in 2024 alone. They also drew 1-1 at the beginning of the season, but Sparta won some further bragging rights with a 3-2 win over Slavia in the quarter-final of the Czech Cup. Fine margins.
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A-League Men
A rather mad format in Australia’s top-flight means that Melbourne Victory – who finished third in the league phase – have the chance to win the grand final against league leaders Central Coast Mariners.
The winner of the regular season is crowned as the ‘Premier’ – the Mariners in this case – while the winner of the Grand Final at the end of the season is crowned the ‘Champion’.
Despite finishing third, the Victory have a chance to finish the season as champions and completely steal the show – drama we’re very much here for.
On top of that, they toppled rivals Melbourne City on penalties on their way to the final, winning derby bragging rights and sticking a middle finger up to multi-club ownership. We can get behind that.
Turkish Super Lig
The day the Turkish Super Lig stops providing us with unrivalled entertainment is the day we no longer want to be on this Earth.
Second-placed Fenerbahce managed a 1-0 win over league leaders Galatasaray to ensure the gap between the two Istanbul-based sides was just three points heading into the final matchday of the season.
Fenerbahce sit on 96 points with a goal difference of 62, Gala on 99 points with a goal difference of 64.
Proceedings could not be more finely poised for some final-day chaos including a former Premier League footballer you completely forgot existed, who will likely turn into Pele to steal the headlines.
Fenerbahce’s 1-0 win over Galatasaray – taking the title race to the final day – means we could be in a position where they win the league in the same season they’ve threatened to withdraw from it, following a fallout with Turkish football authorities.
Best league in the world – and we’re not kidding.
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Persian Gulf Pro League
With three games left of the season, the two-horse race in Iran’s top flight is set to go down to the wire.
Esteghlal sit top with 60 points, having lost just once all season. But just a point behind them are Persepolis, who are unbeaten in their last 11 games, winning nine of those to pile the pressure on.
The two sides jousting for the title drew 0-0 back in March of this year and drew 1-1 in December, which is further proof as to how evenly matched they are. Esteghlal hold the keys heading into the final run-in, but the pressure not to slip up is absolutely massive.
