The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. It is considered top-division by UEFA with its member clubs contesting the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League internationally.
The HNL comprises 10 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the First Football League (Prva NL). Seasons run from August to May. Games are played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with a focus on Saturdays. The league's teams compete for the Croatian Cup and the Croatian Super Cup. The former is a season-long knockout tournament while the latter is contested between the league champions and Croatian Cup winners, with a possible double title.
The "Big Four" clubs are Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Rijeka, and Osijek, all four of which have never been relegated. Dinamo Zagreb is the only Croatian club to win a major European title (1967) and leads the nation in domestic championship titles (26). The HNL is the country's most popular sports league by attendance, viewership, and revenue. It has been a perennial feeder league into the Big Five football leagues in Europe.
Overview The league was formed in 1991, following the independence of Croatia and the creation of a separate Croatian league from the Yugoslav First League. This newly formed league was operated by the Croatian Football Federation. Since its formation, the league went through many changes in its system and number of participating clubs. In the first three seasons two points were awarded for a win, from 1994–95 season this was changed to three points. Each season starts in late July or early August and ends in May, with a two-month hiatus between December and February. Currently, there are ten teams participating in the league.
The first season started in February 1992 and ended in June 1992. A total of twelve clubs contested the league and at the end of the season no teams were relegated as it was decided that the league would expand to 16 clubs for the following season. This was followed by another expansion to 18 teams in 1993–94 season, highest number of participating teams in Prva HNL history. The following season, number of teams was reduced again to 16. 1995–96 Prva HNL was the first season to feature separate A- and B- leagues, with a complicated two-stage format to the season. Twelve teams contested the A league, while the B league, formally the second level, consisted of ten teams. In March, the teams were split into three groups: Championship group (consisting of first five teams from A league and the first-placed team of the B league), A play-off group (remaining teams from A league and the second-placed team of the B league) and B play-off group (remaining teams from B league). The first two teams of the B play-off group were placed in the A league for the following season, which featured 16 teams in both A and B league. In the 1997–98 Prva HNL, the league consisted of 12 team and a new format was used. In March, teams were split into two groups of six, Championship and Relegation group, with 50% of their points taken to this phase of the competition. At the end of the season, the last team was directly relegated to the Druga HNL and the second-last team went in the relegation play-off, a two-legged tie against the second-placed team from the Druga HNL. This system was used for two seasons, followed by 1999–2000 Prva HNL where each club playing every other club three times for a total of 33 rounds. Next season featured a return of Championship and Relegation group system but without 50% points cutoff. This system was used until 2005–06 season, with a brief expansion to 16 teams in 2001–02 season. The 2006–07 season brought back a 33 rounds system previously used in 1999–2000 Prva HNL. In the 2009–10 season, the league was expanded to 16 teams. This lasted for three seasons, and in the 2012–13 Prva HNL season, the league was contested by 12 teams playing a total of 33 rounds. From the 2013–14 Prva HNL season, number of teams was reduced to ten.
The league's main sponsor is T-Hrvatski Telekom, owned by the German telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom. At the end of the 2014–15 season, the Croatian First League was ranked 17th in Europe. The champions of the 2015–16 Croatian First Football League will qualify for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, the runners-up will qualify for the second qualifying round of UEFA Europa League, while the third-placed team will qualify for the first qualifying round of UEFA Europa League. The winners of the 2015–16 Croatian Football Cup will qualify for the third qualifying round of UEFA Europa League.
Clubs The following ten clubs compete in the 2025-26 Croatian Football League season, the 36th season since the league's establishment.
Four of the ten clubs currently competing in the Croatian top level also had spells in the Yugoslav First League played from 1945 to 1991 before Croatian clubs abandoned the competition (Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Lokomotiva, Osijek, Rijeka). Four other Croatian clubs which had appeared in the top Yugoslav league (Cibalia, RNK Split, NK Zagreb and Trešnjevka) are currently playing in Croatian lower levels.
As of 2025, only four of the 12 founding members of the Croatian league have never been relegated: Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Osijek and Rijeka.
ClubPositionin 2024–25First season intop divisionNumber of seasons in top divisionNumber of seasons in 1. HNLFirst season ofcurrent spell intop divisionBest top levelresultTitles total(most recent)Dinamo Zagreb ‡0022nd1946–4780351946–471st 29 (2023–24)nb1Gorica 0099th2018–19882018–195thHajduk Split ‡0033rd1923973519231st15 (2004–05)nb2Istra 1961 0066th2004–0520202009–105thLokomotiva 0088th1946–4726172009–102ndOsijek ‡0077th1953–5451351981–822ndRijeka ‡0011st1946–4764351974–751st2 (2024–25)Slaven Belupo 0055th1997–9830301997–982ndVaraždin 0044th2019–20662019–204thVukovar 1991ZZZ1st in 1. NL2025–26002025–26TBA
† – One of the 12 founding members of the league in the inaugural 1992 season.‡ – Appeared in all 33 seasons up to and including the current 2025–26 season.nb1 – Dinamo Zagreb tally includes four Yugoslav and 25 Croatian league titles.nb2 – Hajduk Split tally includes nine Yugoslav and six Croatian league titles.
Prva HNL teams in European competitions
The breakup of Yugoslavia saw top flight league split into several smaller ones. This meant separation of Croatian football association from the Football Association of Yugoslavia and launch of their own football league. Prva HNL saw its first edition in 1992. Hajduk Split and HAŠK Građanski took part in European competitions on account of qualification secured at the end of the 1990–91 Yugoslav football season: HAŠK Građanski were runners-up in the 1990–91 Yugoslav First League and qualified for 1991–92 UEFA Cup while Hajduk Split won the 1990–91 Yugoslav Cup and entered 1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup. Due to war both clubs had to host their European matches abroad, in Austria.
Affected by the ongoing war in Croatia, the first Prva HNL season was held over the course of a single calendar year, from February to June 1992. Neither Hajduk Split (1992 Croatian champions) nor Inker Zaprešić (1992 Croatian Cup winners) could enter European competitions the following 1992–93 season as the Croatian Football Federation, the league's governing body, wasn't yet recognized by UEFA and officially became its affiliate as late as June 1993.
Eight times in history have HNL teams entered the group stages of UEFA Champions League. In the 1994–95 season, Hajduk Split eliminated Legia Warsaw in the qualifying round and entered the group stage. They advanced to quarterfinals as group runners-up behind Benfica but were eliminated by eventual winners Ajax. In the 1998–99 season, Croatia Zagreb qualified over Celtic and finished in second place behind Olympiacos, but failed to advance as only first place teams and two best runners-up went through. The following season, Croatia also entered the group stage after eliminating MTK Budapest in the third qualifying round. Drawn in the group with Manchester United, Olympique Marseille and Sturm Graz, they finished last, winning only against Sturm and drawing away at Manchester and Marseille. In the 2011–12 season, Dinamo Zagreb advanced through three qualifying rounds and were drawn in the group with Real Madrid, Lyon and Ajax. The following season, Dinamo Zagreb also advanced to the group stages and was drawn in the group with Dynamo Kyiv, Paris Saint-Germain and Porto. They lost five group matches, drawing with Dynamo Kyiv in the last round. In the 2015-16 season, Dinamo Zagreb entered the group stage and recorded notable win 2–1 over Arsenal. Next season, 2016-17, another qualification followed. Latest entry to the group stage was in 2019-20 where Dinamo Zagreb finished fourth behind Manchester City, Atalanta and Shakhtar with 2 draws vs Shakhtar and a 4–0 win over Atalanta, with controversial refereeing decisions in both draws — a win in either would have sent them through to the Round of 16 as runners-up.
Former names Since 2003, the league has been named after its main sponsor, giving it the following names (Logos see below): 2003–2007 – Prva HNL Ožujsko (Sponsored by Zagrebačka pivovara and their Ožujsko beer brand.) 2007–2011 – T-Com Prva HNL (Sponsored by T-Hrvatski Telekom, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.) 2011–2017 – MAXtv Prva liga (Sponsored by T-Hrvatski Telekom, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.) 2017–2022 – Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga / HT Prva liga (Sponsored by T-Hrvatski Telekom, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.) 2022–present – SuperSport Hrvatska nogometna liga / SuperSport HNL (Sponsored by bookmaker SuperSport)
UEFA rankings Europe's top football body, the UEFA, ranks national leagues every year according to coefficients calculated based on each nation's clubs results in international competitions. The ranking takes into account results over the previous five seasons to determine the nation's European quota for the following season, i.e. how many berths in European competitions is assigned to clubs from each of UEFA's 55 member associations.
UEFA also maintains a separate club ranking, based on each club's international results, used to determine seeds in draws for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. This is calculated through a combination of each club's results as well as the ranking of its national league. As of 2026, Dinamo Zagreb is the top rated Croatian club, ranked 55th in Europe.
Country As of 16 April 2026
RankCompetitionPoints18 Scottish Premiership32.050 19 Allsvenskan29.62520 Croatian Football League28.15621 Israeli Premier League27.50022 Nemzeti Bajnokság I27.187 Source: Bert Kassies' website (country rankings); last updated 29 May 2022
Club As of 8 February 2025 2025rank2021rankTeam2025club pts2025nation pts3933Dinamo Zagreb56.000 5.405124113Rijeka12.000 156137Hajduk Split10.000 160Osijek9.000265225Lokomotiva2.000 Source: Bert Kassies' website (team rankings); last updated 29 May 2022
Media coverage