Slovenian PrvaLiga

The Slovenian PrvaLiga is the top tier of the football system in Slovenia founded in 1991. Till that time, the league was known as the Slovenian Republic League and was a lower competition of the Yugoslavian football league system.

The league title is contested by 10 clubs usually from July to May. Each club plays 36 matches a season on a round robin basis. The team that finishes bottom at the end of a season is classed down to the Slovenian Second League, meanwhile the winner from the second tier replaces it in the top flight. The PrvaLiga winner gets a ticket to the Second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, meanwhile the second and third placed teams get their spots in the Europa League in the next campaign.

Olimpija Ljubljana became the first club to taste the Slovenian PrvaLiga honors in an inaugural 1991/92 season. However, Maribor have established themselves as the most titled club to date, as they won the PrvaLiga 10 times, seven of them being consecutive wins. It’s a tidbit that Maribor, Gorica and Celje remain the only three clubs that regularly compete in the Slovenian top championship since its inception in 1991.

The league is proud of its outstanding players like Sebastjan Gobec who made most PrvaLiga appearances since 1996; Štefan Škaper who is the all-time top scorer with 130 goals in 9 seasons.