The 1939–40 Yugoslav Football Championship (
Serbo-Croato-Slovenian: Državno prvenstvo 1939/40 / Државно првенство 1939/40) was the 17th, and last, season of
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
's premier
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
competition. The season lasted from May 2 to June 19, 1940.
The league played a contracted season. In 1939, as the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
began in parts of Europe,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
n and
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
n clubs began leaving the
Football Association of Yugoslavia
The Football Association of Yugoslavia (FSJ) ( sr, Фудбалски савез Југославије, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije, hr, Nogometni savez Jugoslavije; bs, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije; sl, Nogometna zveza Jugoslavije; mk, Фуд ...
and joining the
Croatian Football Federation
The Croatian Football Federation ( hr, Hrvatski nogometni savez, HNS) is the governing body of association football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIF ...
, in protest of the supposed sports' centralization among
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
.
The league included now two separate leagues which would function as qualifying leagues for the final stage, the
Serbian Football League and the
Croatian-Slovenian Football League. The top three clubs from each league will qualify for the final stage of the Yugoslav Championship. The Croatian-Slovenian League was formed by the clubs of the newly formed
Banovina of Croatia
The Banovina of Croatia or Banate of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Banovina Hrvatska, Бановина Хрватска) was an autonomous province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1939 and 1941. It was formed by a merg ...
and the
Drava Banovina
The Drava Banovina or Drava Banate ( Slovene and Serbo-Croatian: ''Dravska banovina''), was a province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of most of present-day Slovenia and was named for the Dra ...
(corresponding to Slovenia and whose only participant was
NK Ljubljana
Nogometni klub Ljubljana ( en, Ljubljana Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Ljubljana or simply Ljubljana, was a Slovenian football club based in the capital city of Ljubljana. The club was established in 1909 and dissolved in 2005.
His ...
), while the Serbian League was formed by the rest of the
Banovinas, namely the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
,
Drina
The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long Balkans river, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps whic ...
,
Morava,
Vardar
The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . Th ...
,
Vrbas and
Zeta
Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label= Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived f ...
ones. BSK, Slavija and Jugoslavija qualified through the Serbian one, while Građanski, Hajduk and HAŠK through the Croatian-Slovenian. At the end of the season Građanski won the national title. The Yugoslav First League continued on, soon to be renamed the
Serbian First League
The Serbian First League ( sr, Прва лига Србије / Prva liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet First League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Прва лига / Mozzart Bet Prva liga) for sponsorship reasons, is the name for the second ...
. The split was eventually rectified with the promise of more representation for Croats and Slovenes, with the national football association being restructured as the Supreme Football Association of Yugoslavia. A short, ten-game season was played.
Having been invaded by the
Axis Powers
The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
on April 6, 1941, the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
was dismembered and this would be the last
Yugoslav Championship. In 1940 the qualifiers for the Yugoslav Championship were played split in three qualifying leagues, the
Serbian League
The Serbian League () is the third level football league in Serbia. It consists of four groups, namely Belgrade, East, Vojvodina, and West. The winner of each group earns promotion to the Serbian First League.
History
1992–1995
In the summer of ...
and, instead of the Croato-Slovenian there was now a separate Croatian and Slovenian League. The three leagues were supposed to be the qualifiers for the 1940–41 Yugoslav Championship, however the championship was never played. Instead, the
1940–41 Croatian First League The Croatian League season of 1940-1941 was the first held in the Banovina of Croatia. Hajduk Split was the league champion. The league was organized by the Croatian Football Federation.
League
Champions
Hajduk Split (Coach: Ljubo Benčić)
Milj ...
became the national championship of the newly created Nazi puppet state
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
(NDH), which enjoyed peace per se as an Axis member and continued to hold national competitions until 1944, while the
Serbian Football League became the national championship of the occupied
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
.
In 1946, the
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...
was reestablished.
Qualifiers for the final stage
*
1939–40 Serbian Football League
*
1939–40 Croato-Slovenian Football League
League table of the final stage
Results
Winning squad
Top scorers
Final goalscoring position, number of goals, player/players and club.
Gola istina: kraljevi strelaca
by Živko Bojanić, pag. 50
*1 - 10 goals - Svetislav Glišović
Svetislav Glišović (Serbian Cyrillic: Светислав Глишовић; 17 September 1913 – 10 March 1988) was a Serbian international football player and manager.
Club career
Glišović played in the youth team of SK Soko before becomin ...
(BSK Belgrade)
*2 - 9 goals - August Lešnik
August Lešnik (; 16 July 1914 in Zagreb – 24 February 1992 in Zagreb) was a Croatian footballer. Lešnik played most of his club football for Građanski Zagreb. In 1941 he was the Croatian First League's top scorer while playing for Građansk ...
(Građanski Zagreb), Aleksandar Petrović (Jugoslavija)
See also
*Yugoslav Cup
The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...
*Yugoslav League Championship
The Yugoslav First Federal Football League (Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...
*Football Association of Yugoslavia
The Football Association of Yugoslavia (FSJ) ( sr, Фудбалски савез Југославије, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije, hr, Nogometni savez Jugoslavije; bs, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije; sl, Nogometna zveza Jugoslavije; mk, Фуд ...
References
External links
Yugoslavia Domestic Football Full Tables
{{DEFAULTSORT:1939-40 Yugoslav Football Championship
Yugoslav Football Championship
Yugo
The Yugo (), also marketed as the Zastava Koral (, sr-Cyrl, Застава Корал) and Yugo Koral, is a subcompact hatchback formerly manufactured by Zastava Automobiles, at the time a Yugoslav corporation.
Originally designed in It ...
1939–40 in Yugoslav football