The 2016–17 Croatian Second Football League (officially FavBet Druga liga for sponsorship reasons) is the 26th season of the

Croatian Second Football League The Druga nogometna liga ( eng, Second football league), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL) is the third tier of the football league system. The league was established in 1991 following the dissolution of the Yugoslav League. It is operated by the Cro ...

, the second level football competition for men's

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

teams in

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 ...

, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 August 2016 and ended on 28 May 2017. The league is contested by twelve teams and played in a triple round robin format, with each team playing every other team three times over 33 rounds. At the end of the previous season

Cibalia Hrvatski nogometni klub Cibalia, commonly known as Cibalia Vinkovci or simply Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva NL, Croatia's second tier league. Their stadium ...

were promoted, returning to the top flight after three seasons. The fixtures were announced on 17 July 2016.

Teams

On 22 April 2016, Croatian Football Federation announced that the first stage of licensing procedure for 2016–17 season was completed. For the 2016–17 Druga HNL, only eight clubs outside of top level were issued a second level license:

Dugopolje Dugopolje is a municipality in Croatia in the Split-Dalmatia County. The name ''Dugopolje'' literally translates as 'long field'. The town has a population of over 3469, 99.5% which are Croats. Noted in Dugopolje is Vranjača cave. Dugopolje ...

, Dinamo II, Gorica,

Imotski Imotski (; it, Imoschi; lat, Emotha, later ''Imota'') is a small town on the northern side of the Biokovo massif in the Dalmatian Hinterland of southern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Imotski, like the surrounding inland D ...

Lučko Lučko is a settlement in the Novi Zagreb - zapad district of the City of Zagreb, located south of the Sava and southwest of the city center. Lučko is located near the Lučko interchange that connects the A1 motorway, the Zagreb bypass and the ...

, Rijeka II,

Sesvete Sesvete () is the easternmost city district of Zagreb, Croatia. With a total population of 70,009 (as of 2011) it is the most populated district as well as the largest by area (165.255 km2). The settlement population is 54,085. Administrative ...

and

Solin Solin (Latin and it, Salona; grc, Σαλώνα ) is a town in Dalmatia, Croatia. It is situated right northeast of Split, on the Adriatic Sea and the river Jadro. Solin developed on the location of ancient city of ''Salona'', which was the ca ...

. In the second stage of licensing procedure clubs that were not licensed in the first round appealed the decision. On 23 May 2016, all remaining Druga HNL were granted second division license, along with third level clubs Novigrad and Vinogradar.

Stadia and locations

Number of teams by county

League table

Results

Matches 1–22

Matches 23-33

Top scorers

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croatian Second Football League, 2016-17 2016-17 Cro 2