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. 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 , ''ÄŒesko-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, 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 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.
Spartak Trnava (8.500)
* 163.
DAC Dunajská Streda (8.000)
* 265.
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 ...
(5.000)
* 266.
Ružomberok (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 HamÅ¡Ãk, who was captain of Italian club
SSC Napoli,
Peter PekarÃk 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 ...
or
Martin Å krtel, 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 ...
of
FC Spartak Trnava. 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,
Milan Å kriniar,
Stanislav Lobotka or
Samuel Kalu 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
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 ...
First_Football_League