Croatian Football League facts for kids
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Organising body | HNS |
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Founded | 1992 |
Country | ![]() |
Confederation | UEFA |
Number of teams | 10 |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Prva NL |
Domestic cup(s) | Croatian Cup Croatian Super Cup |
International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Europa Conference League |
Current champions | Dinamo Zagreb (25th title) (2023–24) |
Most championships | Dinamo Zagreb (25 titles) |
Most appearances | Jakov Surać (453) |
Top goalscorer | Davor Vugrinec (146) |
TV partners | T-Hrvatski Telekom (MAX Sport) HRT |
The Hrvatska nogometna liga (also known as SuperSport HNL) is Croatia's top professional football league. It started in 1992. People often call it HNL for short. Before 2022, it was known as the First Croatian Football League.
Contents
About the League
The HNL was created in 1991 when Croatia became independent. This meant Croatian clubs no longer played in the Yugoslav league. The Croatian Football Federation runs the league.
Over the years, the league has changed how it works. At first, teams got two points for a win. Since the 1994–95 season, they get three points. Each season usually starts in late July or early August and finishes in May. There's a break from December to February. Right now, ten teams play in the league.
The very first season was short, from February to June 1992. Twelve clubs played, and no teams were sent down to a lower league. The league grew to 16 teams the next season, and even 18 teams in 1993–94. Later, the number of teams was reduced to 10 for the 2013–14 season, which is how it is today.
The main sponsor of the league is SuperSport.
Teams in the League
Ten clubs are competing in the 2023–24 Croatian Football League season. This is the 33rd season of the league.
Some of these teams, like Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split, used to play in the top Yugoslav league before Croatia's league began. As of 2023, four of the original 12 teams from 1992 have never been sent down to a lower league. These are Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Osijek, and Rijeka.
Club |
Position in 2022–23 |
First season in top division |
Number of seasons in top division |
Number of seasons in 1. HNL |
First season of current spell in top division |
Best top level result |
Titles total (most recent) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dinamo Zagreb ‡ | 1st | 1946–47 | 78 | 33 | 1946–47 | 1st | 28 (2022–23)nb1 |
Gorica | 9th | 2018–19 | 6 | 6 | 2018–19 | 5th | N/A |
Hajduk Split ‡ | 2nd | 1923 | 95 | 33 | 1923 | 1st | 15 (2004–05)nb2 |
Istra 1961 | 5th | 2004–05 | 18 | 18 | 2009–10 | 5th | N/A |
Lokomotiva | 7th | 1946–47 | 24 | 15 | 2009–10 | 2nd | N/A |
Osijek ‡ | 3rd | 1953–54 | 49 | 33 | 1981–82 | 2nd | N/A |
Rijeka ‡ | 4th | 1946–47 | 62 | 33 | 1974–75 | 1st | 1 (2016–17) |
Rudeš | 1st in 2. HNL | 2017-18 | 3 | 3 | 2023–24 | 8th | N/A |
Slaven Belupo | 8th | 1997–98 | 27 | 27 | 1997–98 | 2nd | N/A |
Varaždin | 6th | 2019–20 | 4 | 4 | 2022–23 | 6th | N/A |
† – One of the 12 founding members of the league in the first season (1992).
‡ – Has played in all 33 seasons up to and including the current 2023–24 season.
nb1 – Dinamo Zagreb's total includes four Yugoslav and 24 Croatian league titles.
nb2 – Hajduk Split's total includes nine Yugoslav and six Croatian league titles.
Croatian Teams in European Competitions
After Yugoslavia broke up, Croatian football started its own league. This meant Croatian teams could play in European competitions like the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
Eight times, HNL teams have reached the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. Hajduk Split made it to the quarterfinals in the 1994–95 season. Dinamo Zagreb has also reached the group stage many times, playing against big clubs like Real Madrid and Arsenal. In the 2019–20 season, Dinamo Zagreb finished fourth in their group after some close games.
League Names Over Time
Since 2003, the league has been named after its main sponsor. Here are its past names:
- 2003–2007 – Prva HNL Ožujsko
- 2007–2011 – T-Com Prva HNL
- 2011–2017 – MAXtv Prva liga
- 2017–2022 – Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga / HT Prva liga
- 2022–present – SuperSport Hrvatska nogometna liga / SuperSport HNL
UEFA Rankings
UEFA ranks national football leagues every year. These rankings show how well a country's clubs perform in international competitions. The ranking helps decide how many spots each country gets in European tournaments.
UEFA also ranks individual clubs. This helps decide which teams get easier draws in competitions. As of 2022, Dinamo Zagreb is the top Croatian club, ranked 34th in Europe.
Country RankingAs of November 5, 2023, Croatia's league is ranked 19th in Europe.
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Club RankingAs of June 21, 2023, here are the top Croatian clubs in Europe:
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Media Coverage
In the past, only one match per round was shown on TV. Later, a show called "I Love Football" started, showing more games.
Since the 2022–23 season, matches are broadcast on MAX Sport channels by Hrvatski Telekom. One match per round is also shown on Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT), which is a public TV channel. For other countries that used to be part of Yugoslavia, the league is still shown on Arena Sport.
League Champions
Here are the champions of the Croatian Football League, along with the top goal scorers for each season.
- Key
† | The league champions also won the Croatian Football Cup, meaning they won both major domestic trophies. |
+ | Player received award based on fewer playing minutes than others with the same number of goals. |
Season | Champions (titles) | Runners-up | Third place | Top league scorer | ||
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Player (Club) | Nat. | Goals | ||||
1992 | Hajduk Split (1) | NK Zagreb | Osijek | Ardian Kozniku (Hajduk Split) | ![]() |
12 |
1992–93 | Croatia Zagreb (1) | Hajduk Split | NK Zagreb | Goran Vlaović (Croatia Zagreb) | ![]() |
23 |
1993–94 | Hajduk Split (2) | NK Zagreb | Croatia Zagreb | Goran Vlaović (Croatia Zagreb) | ![]() |
29 |
1994–95 | Hajduk Split (3) † | Croatia Zagreb | Osijek | Robert Špehar (Osijek) | ![]() |
23 |
1995–96 | Croatia Zagreb (2) † | Hajduk Split | Varteks | Igor Cvitanović (Croatia Zagreb) | ![]() |
19 |
1996–97 | Croatia Zagreb (3) † | Hajduk Split | Hrvatski Dragovoljac | Igor Cvitanović (Croatia Zagreb) | ![]() |
20 |
1997–98 | Croatia Zagreb (4) † | Hajduk Split | Osijek | Mate Baturina (NK Zagreb) | ![]() |
18 |
1998–99 | Croatia Zagreb (5) | Rijeka | Hajduk Split | Joško Popović (Šibenik) | ![]() |
21 |
1999–2000 | Dinamo Zagreb (6) | Hajduk Split | Osijek | Tomo Šokota (Dinamo Zagreb) | ![]() |
21 |
2000–01 | Hajduk Split (4) | Dinamo Zagreb | Osijek | Tomo Šokota (Dinamo Zagreb) | ![]() |
20 |
2001–02 | NK Zagreb (1) | Hajduk Split | Dinamo Zagreb | Ivica Olić (NK Zagreb) | ![]() |
21 |
2002–03 | Dinamo Zagreb (7) | Hajduk Split | Varteks | Ivica Olić (Dinamo Zagreb) | ![]() |
16 |
2003–04 | Hajduk Split (5) | Dinamo Zagreb | Rijeka | Robert Špehar (Osijek) | ![]() |
18 |
2004–05 | Hajduk Split (6) | Inter Zaprešić | NK Zagreb | Tomislav Erceg (Rijeka) | ![]() |
17 |
2005–06 | Dinamo Zagreb (8) | Rijeka | Varteks | Ivan Bošnjak (Dinamo Zagreb) | ![]() |
22 |
2006–07 | Dinamo Zagreb (9) † | Hajduk Split | NK Zagreb | Eduardo (Dinamo Zagreb) | ![]() |
34 |
2007–08 | Dinamo Zagreb (10) † | Slaven Belupo | Osijek | Želimir Terkeš (Zadar) | ![]() |
21 |
2008–09 | Dinamo Zagreb (11) † | Hajduk Split | Rijeka | Mario Mandžukić (Dinamo Zagreb) | ![]() |
16 |
2009–10 | Dinamo Zagreb (12) | Hajduk Split | Cibalia | Davor Vugrinec (NK Zagreb) | ![]() |
18 |
2010–11 | Dinamo Zagreb (13) † | Hajduk Split | RNK Split | Ivan Krstanović (NK Zagreb) | ![]() |
19 |
2011–12 | Dinamo Zagreb (14) † | Hajduk Split | Slaven Belupo | Fatos Bećiraj (Dinamo Zagreb) | ![]() |
15 |
2012–13 | Dinamo Zagreb (15) | Lokomotiva | Rijeka | Leon Benko (Rijeka) | ![]() |
19 |
2013–14 | Dinamo Zagreb (16) | Rijeka | Hajduk Split | Duje Čop (Dinamo Zagreb) | ![]() |
22 |
2014–15 | Dinamo Zagreb (17) † | Rijeka | Hajduk Split | Andrej Kramarić (Rijeka) | ![]() |
21 |
2015–16 | Dinamo Zagreb (18) † | Rijeka | Hajduk Split | Ilija Nestorovski (Inter Zaprešić) | ![]() |
25 |
2016–17 | Rijeka (1) † | Dinamo Zagreb | Hajduk Split | Márkó Futács (Hajduk Split) | ![]() |
18 |
2017–18 | Dinamo Zagreb (19) † | Rijeka | Hajduk Split | El Arabi Hillel Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb) | ![]() |
17 |
2018–19 | Dinamo Zagreb (20) | Rijeka | Osijek | Mijo Caktaš (Hajduk Split) | ![]() |
19 |
2019–20 | Dinamo Zagreb (21) | Lokomotiva | Rijeka | Antonio Čolak + (Rijeka) | ![]() |
20 |
2020–21 | Dinamo Zagreb (22) † | Osijek | Rijeka | Ramón Miérez (Osijek) | ![]() |
22 |
2021–22 | Dinamo Zagreb (23) | Hajduk Split | Osijek | Marko Livaja (Hajduk Split) | ![]() |
28 |
2022–23 | Dinamo Zagreb (24) | Hajduk Split | Osijek | Marko Livaja (Hajduk Split) | ![]() |
19 |
2023–24 | Dinamo Zagreb (25) † | Rijeka | Hajduk Split | Ramón Miérez (Osijek) | ![]() |
19 |
Notes on name changes:
- Dinamo Zagreb was called "HAŠK Građanski" and then "Croatia Zagreb" for a while. They won five league titles as "Croatia Zagreb" before changing back to "Dinamo Zagreb" in 2000.
- Slaven Belupo was known as "Slaven" and "Slaven Bilokalnik" before their current name. They changed it for sponsorship reasons.
Club Performance
This chart and table show which clubs have won the most titles in the HNL.
Titles won by club (%) Dinamo Zagreb – 24 (74.1%) Hajduk Split – 6 (19.3%) Zagreb – 1 (3.2%) Rijeka – 1 (3.2%)
Club | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Last best place |
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Dinamo Zagreb | 24 | 4 | 2 | Champions 2022–23 |
Hajduk Split | 6 | 14 | 6 | Champions 2004–05 |
Rijeka | 1 | 7 | 5 | Champions 2016–17 |
NK Zagreb | 1 | 2 | 3 | Champions 2001–02 |
Lokomotiva |
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2 |
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Runner-up 2019–20 |
Osijek |
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1 | 9 | Runner-up 2020–21 |
Slaven Belupo |
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1 | 1 | Runner-up 2007–08 |
Inter Zaprešić |
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1 |
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Runner-up 2004–05 |
Varteks |
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—
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3 | Third place 2005–06 |
Cibalia |
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1 | Third place 2009–10 |
Hrvatski Dragovoljac |
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1 | Third place 1996–97 |
RNK Split |
—
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—
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1 | Third place 2010–11 |
Top Scorers and Appearances
Players in the HNL compete to be the top scorer each season. The trophy goes to the player who scores the most goals.
Davor Vugrinec holds the record for the most goals in HNL history with 146 goals. He passed Igor Cvitanović's record in 2012. Only a few other players have scored over 100 goals in the league.
Eduardo holds the record for most goals in a single season with 34 goals in 2006–07. The highest-scoring match in HNL history was when Dinamo Zagreb beat NK Pazinka 10–1 in 1993.
All-Time Top Scorers
Updated January 31, 2024 |
Most Appearances in HNL
Updated January 31, 2024 |
Player Transfers
Many talented players have moved from the HNL to bigger leagues in Europe. Also, some players have joined HNL clubs from other teams.
Transfers from HNL
Here are some of the most expensive transfers of players leaving HNL clubs:
# | Player | From | To | Season | Fee |
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1 | ![]() |
Dinamo Zagreb | ![]() |
2021/2022 | 36,80 mln € |
2 | ![]() |
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2016/2017 | 29,40 mln € | |
3 | ![]() |
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2019/2020 | 29,00 mln € | |
4 | ![]() |
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2008/2009 | 22,50 mln € | |
5 | ![]() |
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2023/2024 | 20,50 mln € | |
6 | ![]() |
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2018/20219 | 14,50 mln € | |
7 | ![]() |
HNK Hajduk Split | ![]() |
2023/2024 | 13,80 mln € |
8 | ![]() |
Dinamo Zagreb | ![]() |
2017/2018 | 13,50 mln € |
9 | ![]() ![]() |
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2007/2008 | 13,50 mln € | |
10 | ![]() |
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2007/2008 | 13,00 mln € |
Transfers to HNL
Here are some of the most expensive transfers of players joining HNL clubs:
# | Player | From | To | Season | Fee |
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1 | ![]() |
RNK Split | Dinamo Zagreb | 2015/2016 | 5,00 mln € |
2 | ![]() |
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2022/2023 | 4,05 mln € | |
3 | ![]() ![]() |
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2022/2023 | 3,00 mln € | |
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NK Lokomotiva Zagreb | 2019/2020 | |||
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HNK Rijeka | 2020/2021 | |||
6 | ![]() |
NK Osijek | 2021/2022 | 2,70 mln € | |
7 | ![]() |
HNK Gorica | 2018/2019 | 2,65 mln € | |
8 | ![]() |
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NK Osijek | 2021/2022 | 2,50 mln € |
![]() ![]() |
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Dinamo Zagreb | 2014/2015 | ||
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NK Lokomotiva Zagreb | 2018/2019 |
Awards
There are three main awards for the best players in the Croatian First League:
- Sportske novosti Yellow Shirt award: Given by the Croatian sports newspaper Sportske novosti. Sports journalists choose the winner.
- Prva HNL Player of the Year (Tportal): Given by the Croatian website Tportal. The captains of the league clubs choose the winner.
- Football Oscar: Given by the Croatian union Football syndicate. Players and managers from the league clubs choose the winner.
See also
In Spanish: Primera Liga de Croacia para niños
- Sport in Croatia