The Slovak First Football League (), officially known as Niké liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

league in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

and the highest level of the

Slovak football league system Slovakia has participated in international football as an independent nation ever since 1993 when Czechoslovakia was divided into two new states. Slovakia qualified to the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2010, where the side upset perennia ...

. It was formed in 1993 following the

dissolution of Czechoslovakia The dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which took effect on December 31, 1992, was the Self-determination, self-determined Partition (politics), partition of the federal republic of Fifth Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovakia into the independent ...

. The record for most titles is fifteen, held by Slovan Bratislava, who are the current title holders.

History

The current independent top football division in Slovakia was formed in 1993 as a result of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The predecessors of the current top football division in Slovakia were Zväzové Majstrovstvá Slovenska (1925–1933) and Slovenská liga (1938–1944). Slovakia was part of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

(1918–1939 and 1945–1993) and the best Slovak clubs played in the joint Czechoslovak league. Three Slovak clubs managed to win it. Zväzové Majstrovstvá Slovenska (1925–1933) Slovenská liga (1938–1944) Slovak winners of the Czechoslovak 1. League (1945–1993)

Competition format

Over the years, the number of teams competing in the top division has varied. The current number of 12 teams has been in effect since the 2006–07 season. However, there were also changes in the playing format afterwards. In the current format, which has been in effect since the 2017–18 season, teams play home-and-away against every other team in the regular stage, for a total of 22 matches each. The table is then divided into two halves of 6 teams each – the top 6 play in the championship group and the bottom 6 play in the relegation group. Within these groups, teams play home-and-away each other again, for a total of 10 matches each.

Sponsorship

Clubs

Champions

Source for list of championship winners:

Performance by club

Clubs in bold currently play in the top division.

Titles by city

2024–25 season

Twelve clubs compete in the 2024–25 season.

All-time league table

The all-time league table is an overall record of all match results, points, and goals of every team that has played in Slovak I. liga since its inception in 1993. The table as of the end of 2024–25 season. Teams in bold are part of the 2025–26 Niké liga. There is no club that played all seasons in top-flight. The best clubs in that respect,

Žilina Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#Z, names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the List of cities ...

and

Spartak Trnava FC Spartak Trnava () is a professional football club based in Trnava, Slovakia. The club competes in Slovak First Football League, the top flight in the Slovak league system, having participated in more seasons than any other club. Founded in ...

, missed 1 season, Slovan Bratislava missed 2 seasons. S = Number of seasons; P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
^a

Spartak Myjava Spartak Myjava () is a Slovak football team, based in the town of Myjava. The club was founded in 1920. History Spartak Myjava was founded on 8 August 1920 as Športový klub Myjava (ŠK Myjava). ŠK Myjava founder and first president of the loc ...

withdrew from the league on 21 December 2016, and their results from season 2016-17 were expunged. * DAC had 6 points deducted in 2013/14 season. League or status:

European competitions

UEFA coefficients

The following data indicates Slovak coefficient rankings between European football leagues. ;Country ranking: UEFA League Ranking as of the end 2023/24 season for the period of 2019-2024: * 20. (''22'')

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

(23.675) * 21. (''20'')

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

(22.800) * 22. (''28'') Slovak I. Liga (21.250) * 23. (''21'')

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

(21.000) * 24. (''23'')

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

(20.000) ;Club ranking: UEFA 5-year Club Ranking as of the August 30 2024 season: * 54. Slovan Bratislava (33.500) * 158.

(8.500) * 163.

DAC Dunajská Streda DAC may refer to: Businesses and organisations * DacEasy, originally Dac Software, Inc. * Danish Architecture Centre, an international cultural attraction * Defense Ammunition Center (United States), of the United States Department of Defense * ...

(8.000) * 265.

(5.000) * 266.

Ružomberok Ružomberok (; ; ; ) is a town in northern Slovakia, in the historical Liptov region. It has a population of approximately 27,000. Etymology The name of the initial settlement located on today's Makovický street was ''Revúca'' ( Slovak "roaring ...

(5.000)

Players

The clubs sell their players to financially stronger clubs from western Europe. Examples of players that have succeeded in notable leagues are

Marek Hamšík Marek Hamšík (; born 27 July 1987) is a Slovak football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the team manager and assistant coach for the Slovakia national team. After beginning his club career with Slovan B ...

, who was captain of Italian club

SSC Napoli Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli (), commonly known as SSC Napoli or simply Napoli, is an Italian professional football club based in Naples, Campania that currently competes in the Serie A, the highest league of Italian football. Napoli are am ...

Peter Pekarík Peter Pekarík (; born 30 October 1986) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Dynamo České Budějovice and the Slovakia national team. Club career MŠK Žilina Born in Žilina, Pekarík played football at the youth ...

who captained

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

Martin Škrtel Martin Škrtel (born 15 December 1984) is a Slovak former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back. Škrtel previously played for FK AS Trenčín and FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, Zenit Saint Petersburg, before join ...

, a well-known former

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

centre-back who is now the

Sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...

FC Spartak Trnava FC Spartak Trnava () is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Trnava, Slovakia. The club competes in Slovak First Football League, the top flight in the Football in Slovakia#System, Slovak league system, hav ...

. Moreover, over the last few years more and more youngsters have been given chances to perform regularly in the league and as the result, many transfers were to be seen. For example

Leon Bailey Leon Patrick Bailey (born 9 August 1997) is a Jamaican professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), right winger for club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa and the Jamaica national football team, Jamai ...

Milan Škriniar Milan Škriniar (born 11 February 1995) is a Slovak professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain FC, Paris Saint-Germain and Captain (association football), captains the Slovakia na ...

Stanislav Lobotka Stanislav Lobotka (; born 25 November 1994) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Napoli and the Slovakia national team. Club career AS Trenčín Lobotka made his Corgoň Liga debut for AS Tren ...

Samuel Kalu Samuel Kalu Ojim (born 26 August 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as winger. He is currently a free agent. Club career Kalu started his football career at GBS Academy in Jos, Nigeria. AS Trenčín On 9 December 2015, Kalu a ...

could have been seen playing football at Slovak stadiums recently.

Top scorers

As of the end of the 2017–18 season.

Transfers

Record departures

''*-unofficial fee''

Record arrivals

References

{{UEFA leagues

First_Football_League