The 2011–12 Croatian First Football League (also known as 1. HNL; officially styled as MAXtv Prva Liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st season of the Croatian First Football League, the national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 23 July 2011 and ended on 12 May 2012.

Format changes On 5 July 2010 the Croatian Football Federation Executive committee reached a decision to reduce the number of teams competing in Prva HNL to twelve for the 2011–12 season of the competition. This meant that the bottom five placed teams would be relegated and only the champion of the 2010–11 Druga HNL would earn a promotion to Prva HNL. This decision was confirmed by the Croatian Football Federation Assembly on 14 July 2010. The twelve-teams format would only be a temporary solution before the number of teams is further reduced to ten for either 2012–13 or 2013–14 Prva HNL season.

The decision to reduce the number of teams competing in Prva HNL was supported by 30 out of 48 Croatian Football Federation representatives, with 13 representatives voting against the proposal and five of them undecided. On behalf of the executive committee, Ante Vučemilović explained that the current format with sixteen teams does not contribute to development of football in Croatia and the standard of its domestic competitions.

However, CFF Assembly on 17 December 2010 delayed the execution of this changes by one year. Instead, the league will stay at 16 teams with only the last three teams being relegated and the first three teams from 2010 to 2011 Druga HNL earning promotion (if they are granted with top level license). In case of 16 teams not acquiring top level license, format with 12 teams will be applied.

On 4 April 2011, CFF announced that the first stage of licensing procedure for 2011–12 season was completed. For the 2011–12 Prva HNL, only eight clubs were issued a top level license: Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Inter Zaprešić, Istra 1961, Lokomotiva, Slaven Belupo, Varaždin and NK Zagreb. Out of these eight, only Lokomotiva and NK Zagreb weren't issued a license for participating in UEFA competitions. In the second stage of licensing procedure clubs that didn't get a license appealed on the decision and provided new facts and arguments. On 4 May 2011, it was announced that all remaining Prva HNL clubs were granted top level license. Additionally, Cibalia, Rijeka and RNK Split obtained a license for UEFA competitions. Only three teams from Druga HNL acquired the top level license: Dugopolje, Gorica and Lučko, where the latter two are set to play outside of their home venues.

However, Dugopolje didn't manage to finish the season within top five places which would secure them promotion. The remaining clubs were given a deadline until 6 June 2011 to confirm their participation in the 2011–12 season. All clubs of the previous Prva HNL season have done so, with Druga HNL teams Lučko and Gorica applying on the last day. This meant that the format with 16 teams was prolonged by one more season, meaning five clubs are going to be relegated at the end of this season. The status of 14th placed Lokomotiva was in question after the 3rd placed team from Druga HNL, Pomorac, contested the decision of CFF and tried to obtain the license through arbitration. On 9 June 2011, arbitrary committee rejected the appeal with two votes against one. Istra 1961 appealed on the decision to include Gorica in the Prva HNL on terms of their license conditions concerning stadium infrastructure. The appeal was successful and on 20 June 2011 arbitrary committee revoked Gorica's top level license allowing Istra 1961 to remain in the Prva HNL.

Stadia and locations The following is a complete list of teams who will contest the 2011–12 Prva HNL. The league will be contested by 15 clubs from the previous season plus the newly promoted NK Lučko who replaced the bottom placed team from the previous season, NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac. Druga HNL champions HNK Gorica were initially promoted, but after the appeal from NK Istra 1961, their license was revoked.

StadiumCityHome clubLicensed club(s)Capacity Maksimir Zagreb Dinamo Zagreb Lokomotiva 37,168 Poljud Split Hajduk Split 34,448 Gradski vrt Osijek Osijek 22,050 Kantrida Rijeka Rijeka 12,600 Stadion HNK Cibalia Vinkovci Cibalia 9,958 Varteks Varaždin Varaždin 9,099 Aldo Drosina Pula Istra 1961 8,923 Kranjčevićeva ZagrebNK Zagreb Lučko 8,850 Šubićevac Šibenik Šibenik 8,500 Branko Čavlović-Čavlek Karlovac Karlovac 8,000 Park mladeži Split RNK Split 8,000 Stanovi Zadar Zadar 5,860 ŠRC Zaprešić Zaprešić Inter Zaprešić 5,228 Gradski stadion Koprivnica Slaven Belupo 3,059

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorCibalia JakoCroatia OsiguranjeDinamo Zagreb PumaKonzumHajduk Split UmbroInter Zaprešić Joma VŠPU "B.A.Krčelić"Istra 1961 LegeaKarlovac MacronHS ProduktLokomotiva PumaLučko JakoOsijek JakoCroatia OsiguranjeRijeka JakoCroatia OsiguranjeSlaven Belupo Adidas BelupoRNK Split Jako SkladgradnjaŠibenik JakoZagrebačka bankaVaraždin Legea/GivovaCroatia osiguranjeZadar JakoNK Zagreb Givova

Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment Position in table Dinamo Zagreb Mutual consent Pre-season Lokomotiva Signed by Dinamo Zagreb Pre-season Hajduk Split Removed from position Pre-season Rijeka Mutual consent Pre-season RNK Split Sacked 10th Lučko Sacked 15th Cibalia Sacked 13th Varaždin Resigned 16th Šibenik Mutual consent 12th Karlovac Mutual consent 14th NK Zagreb Resigned 9th Rijeka Sacked 8th Varaždin Sacked 16th Lokomotiva Mutual consent 11th Dinamo Zagreb Sacked 1st Lokomotiva Signed by Dinamo Zagreb 6th Karlovac Resigned 15th Karlovac Sacked 15th Rijeka Sacked 7th Hajduk Split Signed by Kaiserslautern 2nd NK Zagreb Sacked 11th Osijek Mutual consent 12th Inter Zaprešić Sacked 12th Rijeka Sacked 12th

League table

Results

Top goalscorers As of 12 May 2012; Source:

Rank Player Club Goals1 Fatos Bećiraj Dinamo Zagreb152 Ante Vukušić Hajduk Split123 Ivan Krstanović Dinamo Zagreb10 Ivan Santini Zadar5 Damir Kreilach Rijeka96 Stipe Bačelić-Grgić Šibenik / Istra 19618 Mladen Bartolović Cibalia Duje Čop RNK Split Sandi Križman Rijeka / Istra 1961 Marin Tomasov Hajduk Split

Attendances

# Club Average 1 Hajduk 9,567 2 Dinamo Zagreb 3,113 3 Rijeka 2,643 4 Istra 2,493 5 Osijek 1,827 6 Cibalia 1,814 7 Slaven 1,790 8 Zadar 1,660 9 Šibenik 1,213 10 Karlovac 1,196 11 Radnički 1,193 12 Zagreb 973 13 Zaprešić 889 14 Lučko 879 15 Varteks 770 16 Lokomotiva 581 Source:

See also 2011–12 Croatian Football Cup 2011–12 Croatian Second Football League

References

External links Official website Prva HNL at UEFA.com