The Treća nogometna liga ( eng, Third football league), commonly Treća NL or 3. NL) is the fourth 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 ...
. The league was reestablished in 2022 following the reconstruction of league system in Croatia. It is operated by the
Croatian Football Federation.
History
The fourth Croatian football league was played for the first time in 2006, after the merger of the 2. HNL - North and 2. HNL - South into a single
2. HNL. With the aforementioned changes, part of the clubs from the second league were relegated to the
3. HNL, and part of the clubs from the third leagues, together with the best clubs of the county leagues, formed the newly created groups of the 4. HNL. After the dissolution of the 4. HNL in 2012, inter-county football leagues corresponding to the previous groups of the 4th HNL were founded in some areas.
In earlier championships, the fourth class of football leagues was represented by the First County Football League, except in the 1995–96 seasons and in 1996–97, when with the creation of the 1. B HNL (which in reality represented the second class), the fourth competitive class was actually represented by the 3. HNL. In the 1994–95 season, there was also the 4. HNL, which was then created as a successor to the regional leagues, but did not survive for more than one season, and then functioned under that name only in the territory of Northern Croatia.
Format
The competition takes place in five groups of up to eighteen (18) clubs according to the double point system, and the exact number of participants is determined by the competition regulations. From each group, the last placed club and as many asnecessary for the groups to number 16 clubs must be eliminated.
Groups are formed and managed in the HNS regional centers:
* the center of
Rijeka form the West group,
* the center of
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
form the Centar group,
* the center of
Osijek form the East group,
* the center of
Varaždin
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form the North group,
* the center of
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, entertai ...
form the South group.
Champions
References
External links
Third League Eastat the website of
Croatian Football Federation
Third League Southat the website of
Croatian Football Federation
Third League Northat the website of
Croatian Football Federation
Third League Centerat the website of
Croatian Football Federation
Third League Westat the website of
Croatian Football Federation
{{UEFA fourth leagues
4
Fourth level football leagues in Europe
Professional sports leagues in Croatia