The 2019–20 Croatian First Football League (officially Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 29th season of the

Croatian First Football League The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football (soccer), football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, i ...

, the national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 July 2019. It was temporarily postponed from 12 March to 5 June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league was contested by ten teams.

Teams

On 23 April 2019, Croatian Football Federation announced that the first stage of licensing procedure for 2019–20 season was complete. For the 2019–20 Prva HNL, only nine clubs were issued a top level license: Dinamo Zagreb, Gorica,

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...

Inter Zaprešić Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club * FK Inter Bratislava, a forme ...

, Istra 1961,

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo ( en, Slaven Belupo Football Club), often referred to as NK Slaven Belupo, Slaven Belupo or simply Slaven, and known internationally as NK Slaven Koprivnica, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city ...

and Varaždin. All of these clubs except Varaždin, who were newly promoted to the Prva HNL as champions of the

2018–19 Croatian Second Football League The 2018–19 Croatian Second Football League (also known as Druga HNL and 2. HNL) was the 28th season of the Croatian Second Football League, the second-level football competition for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establi ...

, were also issued a license for participating in UEFA competitions. In the second stage of licensing, clubs that were not licensed in the first stage could appeal on the decision.

Stadia and locations

* ¹ Lokomotiva hosted their home matches at

Stadion Kranjčevićeva Stadion u Kranjčevićevoj ulici (''Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević, Kranjčević Street Stadium''), also known as Stadion Concordije between 1921 and 1945, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Trešnjevka neighbourhood, in the Croatian capital ...

. The stadium was originally the home ground of third-level side

NK Zagreb Nogometni klub Zagreb (''Zagreb Football Club''), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (), is a Croatian amateur football club based in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb. It currently competes in the fifth tier league competition of ...

Personnel and kits

Managerial changes

League table

Results

Each team played home-and-away against every other team in the league twice, for a total of 36 matches each played.

First round

Second round

Relegation play-offs

At the end of the season, Istra 1961 contested a two-legged relegation play-off tie against Orijent 1919, the third-placed team of the

2019–20 Croatian Second Football League The 2019–20 Croatian Second Football League (also known as Druga HNL and 2. HNL) was the 29th season of the Croatian Second Football League, the second-level football competition for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establi ...

, since runners-up Croatia Zmijavci failed to apply for a top level license.

First leg

Second leg

''Istra 1961 won 3–1 on aggregate.''

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Awards

Annual awards

References

External links

Official website

at UEFA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Croatian First Football League, 2019-20 2019-20 1 2019–20 in European association football leagues Association football events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic