The Slovenian PrvaLiga (, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Slovenian Second League (2. SNL). Seasons typically run from July to May with each team playing 36 matches.
The competition was founded in 1991, after Slovenia became an independent country. From 1920 until the end of the 1990–91 season, the Slovenian Republic League was a lower division within the Yugoslav league system, although the top Slovenian clubs usually competed in the highest levels of the Yugoslav league system. The league is governed by the Football Association of Slovenia. Celje and Maribor are the only two founding clubs that have never been relegated from the league since its foundation in 1991.
48 clubs have competed since the inception of the PrvaLiga in 1991. Eight of them have won the title: Maribor (16), Gorica (4), Olimpija (4), Olimpija Ljubljana (4), Celje (3), Domžale (2), Koper (1), and Mura (1). Maribor are the competition's most successful club and the only Slovenian side to have reached the UEFA Champions League group stage, doing so in 1999–2000, 2014–15 and 2017–18. In 2025, Celje became the first Slovenian club to appear in the quarter-finals of a major UEFA competition when they reached the last eight of the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League.
History
Origins and formation (1991–1996)
The Slovenian First League was established in 1991 following Slovenia's independence and the separation of the Football Association of Slovenia from the Yugoslav football authorities. Before independence, most Slovenian clubs competed in the Slovenian Republic League, while Olimpija, Maribor and Nafta were the only Slovenian clubs to appear in the Yugoslav First League after the Second World War.
The inaugural 1991–92 season began in late August 1991 with 21 clubs, by far the largest field in the league's history. Olimpija, whose squad retained considerable experience from Yugoslav top-flight football, won the first championship and went on to take the first four PrvaLiga titles. During the inaugural season, Olimpija also recorded a 12–0 victory over Jadran Dekani, which remains the largest winning margin in the competition's history.
The size and structure of the league changed rapidly during its early years. The field was reduced from 21 clubs to 18 and then 16, before the 1995–96 season became the first to feature ten teams. That season also ended Olimpija's opening dominance when Gorica won their first national championship. As of 2026, Celje and Maribor are the only clubs from the inaugural season to have remained continuously in the top flight.
Maribor, Gorica and Domžale (1996–2008)
Gorica's breakthrough was followed by the first long period of Maribor dominance. Maribor won their first title in 1996–97 and then became champions in seven consecutive seasons through 2002–03, a PrvaLiga record. Their rise was accompanied by some of the league's strongest attendances: in 1996–97 Maribor averaged more than 5,000 spectators for their home league matches. The period also brought the competition its first major European breakthrough when Maribor qualified for the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League group stage under Bojan Prašnikar.
Gorica ended Maribor's seven-year title run in 2003–04 and then retained the championship in each of the following two seasons. Coached by Pavel Pinni during their most successful period, Gorica became the first club after Olimpija and Maribor to win three consecutive Slovenian championships. The balance of power changed again in 2006–07, when Domžale, coached by Slaviša Stojanović, won their first title after finishing runners-up in each of the previous two seasons. Domžale retained the title in 2007–08.
Commercial branding also became increasingly visible during this period. In 2006, Telekom Slovenije became the league's title sponsor, beginning a long association under the name Prva liga Telekom Slovenije.
Maribor and the renewed Olimpija rivalry (2008–2019) Maribor returned to the top in 2008–09, six years after their previous championship. The revival followed the appointment of former Slovenia international Zlatko Zahovič as sporting director in 2007 and developed into the club's second dominant era. Koper interrupted the sequence by winning their first title in 2009–10, but Maribor then won five consecutive championships from 2010–11 through 2014–15.
The same period established Maribor as Slovenia's most successful representative in UEFA club competition. They reached the UEFA Europa League group stage in 2011–12 and 2012–13, progressed to the round of 32 in 2013–14 and returned to the Champions League group stage in 2014–15. Maribor later made a third Champions League group-stage appearance in 2017–18, having first reached that stage in 1999–2000.
At domestic level, Olimpija Ljubljana emerged as Maribor's principal challenger. Founded in 2005 as a phoenix club of the original Olimpija, which was dissolved due to high debt in the same year, they had returned to the top flight in 2009 and ultimately won the 2015–16 title, ending Maribor's five-year championship run. Maribor regained the championship in 2016–17, before Olimpija won again in 2017–18 and completed a domestic double under Igor Bišćan. Maribor answered with another title in 2018–19, their 15th since independence.
More competitive era (2019–present) The 2019–20 season marked a major change in the competitive landscape. The campaign was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually concluded in July 2020. Celje secured the first league title in club history on the final day with a 2–2 draw against direct rivals Olimpija. A year later, Mura won their first championship by beating Maribor in the decisive final-round match at Ljudski vrt.
Maribor returned to the top in 2021–22, winning at Mura on the final day to claim a record-extending 16th championship. Olimpija dominated the following season and secured the 2022–23 title with five rounds remaining by defeating Maribor 2–0 in the Eternal derby.
Celje won their second title in 2023–24, confirming the championship with a home victory over Olimpija in front of more than 7,000 spectators. Olimpija regained the title in 2024–25, clinching first place with a 5–0 victory over Radomlje in the penultimate round. Celje responded in 2025–26 by securing their third championship with five rounds still to play, having also become the first Slovenian side to reach a major UEFA quarter-final during the previous season.
Competition format
Competition PrvaLiga is contested on a round-robin basis. Each team plays every other team four times, twice at home and twice away, for a total of 36 matches per club. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points; if teams are level, head-to-head results are used as the first tiebreaking criterion.
European qualification and relegation At the end of the season, the highest-placed clubs qualify for the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Conference League, subject to Slovenia's UEFA access list and the outcome of the Slovenian Football Cup. The ninth-placed club enters the promotion/relegation play-off, while the bottom club is relegated to the Slovenian Second League.
Historical formats The current ten-club, quadruple round-robin system has been used since 2005. Between 1993 and 1995, a regular double round-robin format with 16 clubs was used, before a ten-club system was introduced for three seasons until 1998. A triple round-robin with twelve clubs and two direct relegations was then used between 1998 and 2003. In 2003–04 and 2004–05, the league was divided into championship and relegation groups after the regular season.
Clubs 2026–27 season The following clubs compete in the 2026–27 Slovenian PrvaLiga.
Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order.
Club Location Stadium Capacity PrvaLiga debut Titles Aluminij Kidričevo Aluminij Sports Park1,200 2012–130 Bravo Ljubljana Stožice Stadium16,038 2019–200 Brinje Grosuplje Grosuplje Brinje Football Park500 2026–270 Celje Celje Stadion Z'dežele13,059 1991–923 Koper Koper Bonifika Stadium4,047 1991–921 Maribor Maribor Ljudski vrt11,709 1991–9216 Mura Murska Sobota Fazanerija City Stadium4,506 2018–191 Nafta 1903 Lendava Lendava Sports Park3,000 2024–250 Olimpija Ljubljana Ljubljana Stožice Stadium16,038 2009–104 Radomlje Radomlje Domžale Sports Park3,100 2014–150
Support and rivalries Eternal derby The best-known rivalry in the PrvaLiga is the Eternal derby between Maribor and Olimpija Ljubljana. The fixture reflects the long-standing sporting rivalry between Slovenia's two largest cities and regularly attracts crowds well above the league average. After the original Olimpija was liquidated in 2005 due to high debt, the rivalry continued after the re-established club with the same name reached the top flight in 2009; the first league derby played at Stožice in September 2010 was won 1–0 by Maribor.
The derby has also played a direct role in championship races. In 2001, the match between the two clubs was played in the final round of the season, and at that time, Maribor and Olimpija had four titles each. The match ended in a 1–1 draw at Bežigrad, and Maribor clinched its fifth consecutive league title. In May 2016, Maribor came from behind to beat Olimpija 2–1 at Stožice, keeping the title race alive until the closing rounds. Seven years later, Olimpija defeated Maribor 2–0 at the same stadium to secure the 2022–23 championship with five matches remaining.
Attendances and television audience Interest in the league has fluctuated considerably by club and season, with Maribor vs. Olimpija fixtures traditionally providing the largest crowds. Maribor averaged more than 5,000 home spectators during their first championship season in 1996–97. The 2015–16 title race produced a particularly strong rise in interest: the Football Association of Slovenia reported that attendance had exceeded 250,000 before the end of the season, around 40% higher than the previous campaign.
The May 2016 derby between Olimpija and Maribor also set a contemporary television benchmark, with the Football Association reporting a peak audience of 377,115 viewers, representing around 40% of people watching television at that time. In the 2018–19 season, league matches attracted 263,300 spectators in total, an average of 1,462 per match, making it the fourth-best attended season in the competition's history to that point.
Champions List of champions
SeasonChampionsRunners-up1991–92 Olimpija Maribor1992–93 Olimpija Maribor1993–94 Olimpija NK Mura1994–95 Olimpija Maribor1995–96 Gorica Olimpija1996–97 Maribor Primorje1997–98 Maribor NK Mura1998–99 Maribor Gorica1999–2000 Maribor Gorica2000–01 Maribor Olimpija2001–02 Maribor Primorje2002–03 Maribor Celje2003–04 Gorica Olimpija2004–05 Gorica Domžale2005–06 Gorica Domžale2006–07 Domžale Gorica2007–08 Domžale Koper2008–09 Maribor GoricaSeasonChampionsRunners-up2009–10 Koper Maribor2010–11 Maribor Domžale2011–12 Maribor Olimpija Ljubljana2012–13 Maribor Olimpija Ljubljana2013–14 Maribor Koper2014–15 Maribor Celje2015–16 Olimpija Ljubljana Maribor2016–17 Maribor Gorica2017–18 Olimpija Ljubljana Maribor2018–19 Maribor Olimpija Ljubljana2019–20 Celje Maribor2020–21 NŠ Mura Maribor2021–22 Maribor Koper2022–23 Olimpija Ljubljana Celje2023–24 Celje Maribor2024–25 Olimpija Ljubljana Maribor2025–26 Celje Koper
Performance by club Clubs in italics are defunct.