The Prva nogometna liga ( en, First football league), commonly Prva NL or 1. NL, is the second tier of the

football league system 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 ...

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 ...

. The league was formed in 1991 with the

breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

and the dissolution of the

Yugoslav Second League Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...

. The 1. NL is operated by the Croatian Football Federation, which also was formed in 1991, contributing (along with the newly formed

Football Association of Slovenia The Football Association of Slovenia ( sl, Nogometna zveza Slovenije or NZS) is the governing body of football in Slovenia. It organizes the Slovenian PrvaLiga, first division (1. SNL), Slovenian Second League, second division (2. SNL), Slovenian ...

) to the dissolution of 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 ...

. Between the 2001–02 season and 2005–06 season, the league was split in two divisions, one being the Northern Croatian Second League and the other being the Southern Croatian Second League. Each of these two leagues comprised twelve teams playing under a system pretty much identical to the one in the

HNL HNL may refer to: * Croatian Football League (''Hrvatska nogometna liga''), the top level of the Croatian football league system * Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, IATA airport code HNL, in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States * ''Hindustan Newsp ...

. However, since the start of the 2006–07 season, the First Football League consisted of at least twelve teams from the entire country. Relegation from this division is into the 2. NL. From the inaugural merged season in 2006–07 until 2021–22, the division was known as the Second Football League ( hr, Druga nogometna liga), but was renamed as were the other leagues of the Croatian football system for the start of the 2022–23 season.

Winning clubs

Key

References

External links

*
2. HNL at Soccerway

{{UEFA second leagues 2 Second level football leagues in Europe Professional sports leagues in Croatia