The Slovak First Football League, shortly just 1st League (1. liga), currently Niké liga for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league in the Slovak football league system.[1] It was formed in 1993 following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The record for most titles is thirteen, held by Slovan Bratislava, who are the current title holders.
 | |
| Organising body | Slovak Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Country | Slovakia |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | 2. liga |
| Domestic cup(s) | Slovak Cup |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League UEFA Europa Conference League |
| Current champions | ŠK Slovan Bratislava (14th title) (2023–24) |
| Most championships | Slovan Bratislava (14 titles) |
| TV partners | Domestic Markíza RTVS (highlights) International Eleven Sports OneFootball |
| Website | nikeliga.sk |
| Current: 2023–24 | |
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 (1918–1939 and 1945–1993) and the best Slovak clubs played in the joint Czechoslovak league. Three Slovak clubs managed to win it.[2]
Zväzové Majstrovstvá Slovenska (1925–1933)
| Season | Champions (number of titles) | Runners-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–26 | 1. ČsŠK Bratislava | ||
| 1926–27 | 1. ČsŠK Bratislava | ||
| 1927–28 | SK Žilina | ||
| 1928–29 | SK Žilina | ||
| 1929–30 | 1. ČsŠK Bratislava | ||
| 1930–31 | Ligeti SC | ||
| 1931–32 | 1. ČsŠK Bratislava | ||
| 1932–33 | SC Rusj Uzhorod |
Slovenská liga (1938–1944)
| Season | Champions (number of titles) | Runners-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938–39 | AC Sparta Považská Bystrica | ŠK Bratislava | MŠK Žilina |
| 1939–40 | ŠK Bratislava | AC Sparta Považská Bystrica | MŠK Žilina |
| 1940–41 | ŠK Bratislava | FC Vrútky | AC Sparta Považská Bystrica |
| 1941–42 | ŠK Bratislava | FC Vrútky | MŠK Žilina |
| 1942–43 | OAP Bratislava | ŠK Bratislava | AC Sparta Považská Bystrica |
| 1943–44 | ŠK Bratislava | OAP Bratislava | TSS Trnava |
| 1944–45 | abandoned in September 1944 | ||
Slovak winners of the Czechoslovak 1. League (1945–1993)
| Club | Winners | Winning seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Slovan Bratislava | 8 | 1949, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1969–70, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1991–92 |
| Spartak Trnava | 5 | 1967–68, 1968–69, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73 |
| Inter Bratislava | 1 | 1958–59 |
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.
| Period | Number of teams |
|---|---|
| 1993–1996 | 12 |
| 1996–2000 | 16 |
| 2000–2006 | 10 |
| 2006–present | 12 |
Sponsorship
| Period | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1993–1997 | No sponsor | 1. liga |
| 1997–2002 | Reemtsma | Mars superliga |
| 2002–2003 | No sponsor | 1. liga |
| 2003–2014 | Heineken | Corgoň liga[3] |
| 2014–2023 | Fortuna | Fortuna liga[4] |
| 2023–present | Niké | Niké liga[5] |
Clubs
Champions
Source for list of championship winners:[6]
Performance by club
Clubs in bold currently play in the top division
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Championship seasons | Runners-up seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slovan Bratislava | 14 | 5 | 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24 | 2000–01, 2009–10, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 |
| Žilina | 7 | 5 | 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2016–17 | 2004–05, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2014–15, 2019–20 |
| VSS Košice | 2 | 3 | 1996–97, 1997–98 | 1994–95, 1995–96, 1999–00 |
| Petržalka | 2 | 3 | 2004–05, 2007–08 | 2002–03, 2005–06, 2006–07 |
| Inter Bratislava | 2 | 2 | 1999–00, 2000–01 | 1993–94, 1998–99 |
| Trenčín | 2 | 1 | 2014–15, 2015–16 | 2013–14 |
| Spartak Trnava | 1 | 3 | 2017–18 | 1996–97, 1997–98, 2011–12 |
| Ružomberok | 1 | 1 | 2005–06 | 2021–22 |
| DAC Dunajská Streda | – | 3 | – | 2018–19, 2020–21, 2022–23 |
| Senica | – | 2 | – | 2010–11, 2012–13 |
| Púchov | – | 1 | – | 2001–02 |
| Dukla Banská Bystrica | – | 1 | – | 2003–04 |
Titles by city
| City | Titles | Winning clubs |
|---|---|---|
 Bratislava | 18 | Slovan Bratislava (14), Inter Bratislava (2), Petržalka (2) |
 Žilina | 7 | Žilina (7) |
 Košice | 2 | VSS Košice (2) |
 Trenčín | 2 | Trenčín (2) |
 Ružomberok | 1 | Ružomberok (1) |
 Trnava | 1 | Spartak Trnava (1) |
2023–24 season
Twelve clubs compete in the 2023–24 season.[7]
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 2022–23 season. Teams in bold are part of the 2023–24 Niké liga. There is no club that played all seasons in top-flight. The best clubs in that respect - Žilina and Spartak Trnava missed 1 season, Slovan Bratislava missed 2 seasons.
| Pos | Team | S | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slovan Bratislava | 28 | 910 | 518 | 207 | 185 | 1635 | 884 | 751 | 1761 |
| 2 | Žilina | 29 | 974 | 468 | 216 | 290 | 1659 | 1080 | 579 | 1607 |
| 3 | Spartak Trnava | 29 | 964 | 439 | 221 | 302 | 1347 | 1056 | 291 | 1532 |
| 4 | Ružomberok | 26 | 880 | 339 | 248 | 293 | 1149 | 1061 | 88 | 1268 |
| 5 | Trenčín | 23 | 775 | 303 | 170 | 300 | 1128 | 1092 | 36 | 1082 |
| 6 | VSS Košice | 19 | 616 | 241 | 148 | 227 | 835 | 799 | 36 | 863 |
| 7 | DAC Dunajská Streda | 20 | 634 | 226 | 157 | 251 | 774 | 889 | (-115) | 829 * |
| 8 | Dukla Banská Bystrica | 20 | 648 | 210 | 174 | 264 | 775 | 842 | (-67) | 795 |
| 9 | Petržalka | 14 | 463 | 204 | 114 | 145 | 676 | 561 | 115 | 726 |
| 10 | Inter Bratislava | 14 | 454 | 203 | 102 | 149 | 667 | 519 | 148 | 693 |
| 11 | Nitra | 18 | 572 | 177 | 128 | 299 | 607 | 875 | (-268) | 644 |
| 12 | Tatran Prešov | 16 | 515 | 148 | 143 | 224 | 529 | 734 | (-205) | 577 |
| 13 | Senica | 14 | 448 | 147 | 113 | 186 | 510 | 619 | (-138) | 556 |
| 14 | Zlaté Moravce | 16 | 513 | 137 | 129 | 249 | 532 | 793 | (-261) | 548 |
| 15 | Dubnica | 13 | 424 | 119 | 117 | 188 | 436 | 604 | (-168) | 473 |
| 16 | Zemplín Michalovce | 9 | 282 | 80 | 71 | 129 | 307 | 449 | (-142) | 311 |
| 17 | Púchov | 6 | 216 | 70 | 53 | 93 | 235 | 294 | (-59) | 263 |
| 18 | Humenné | 7 | 216 | 71 | 43 | 102 | 238 | 323 | (-85) | 246 |
| 19 | Podbrezová | 6 | 192 | 60 | 45 | 77 | 210 | 266 | (-56) | 230 |
| 20 | Baník Prievidza | 7 | 216 | 59 | 44 | 113 | 239 | 369 | (-130) | 212 |
| 21 | Spartak Myjava | 5 | 132 | 55 | 27 | 50 | 167 | 177 | (-10) | 192 |
| 22 | Sereď | 5 | 155 | 49 | 39 | 67 | 176 | 237 | (-61) | 186 |
| 23 | Lokomotíva Košice | 5 | 156 | 48 | 37 | 71 | 180 | 241 | (-61) | 174 |
| 24 | Bardejov | 5 | 154 | 45 | 24 | 85 | 159 | 232 | (−73) | 159 |
| 25 | Rimavská Sobota | 4 | 126 | 35 | 29 | 62 | 129 | 193 | (−64) | 134 |
| 26 | Pohronie | 4 | 123 | 26 | 42 | 55 | 128 | 179 | (-51) | 120 |
| 27 | Senec | 3 | 91 | 18 | 28 | 45 | 85 | 152 | (−67) | 82 |
| 28 | Skalica | 2 | 65 | 16 | 16 | 33 | 68 | 100 | (-32) | 64 |
| 29 | Tatran Liptovský Mikuláš | 2 | 63 | 14 | 16 | 34 | 66 | 116 | (-50) | 58 |
| 30 | Košice | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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
aSpartak 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:
| 2023–24 Slovak First Football League | |
| 2023–24 2. Liga (Slovakia) | |
| 2023–24 3. Liga (Slovakia) | |
| 4. Liga (Slovakia) | |
| Below 4th tier | |
| Defunct |
European competitions
UEFA coefficients
The following data indicates Slovak coefficient rankings between European football leagues.[8]
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, who was captain of Italian club SSC Napoli, Peter Pekarík who captains Bundesliga side Hertha BSC or Martin Škrtel, a well-known former Liverpool centre-back currently playing for Fenerbahçe. 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 Škriniar, 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.
| Goals | Name | Clubs/goals for the club |
|---|---|---|
| 125 | Juraj Halenár | Inter Bratislava 35, Petržalka 33, Slovan Bratislava 57 |
| 120 | Róbert Semeník | Dukla Banská Bystrica 72, 1. FC Košice 43, Nitra 5 |
| 86 | Marek Ujlaky | Spartak Trnava 79, Slovan Bratislava 2, Senec 3, Zlaté Moravce 2 |
| 86 | Pavol Masaryk | Spartak Trnava 10, Slovan Bratislava 45, Ružomberok 28, Senica 2, Skalica 1 |
| 85 | Szilárd Németh | Slovan Bratislava 25, 1. FC Košice 21, Inter Bratislava 39 |
| 83 | Vladimír Kožuch | Spartak Trnava 61, Tatran Prešov 22 |
| 81 | Martin Fabuš | ODu/AS Trenčín 59, Žilina 17, Dukla Banská Bystrica 5 |
| 78 | Tomáš Oravec | 1. FC Košice 4, Ružomberok 19, Petržalka 28, Žilina 24, Spartak Trnava 3 |
| 78 | Róbert Rák | Nitra 61, Ružomberok 17 |
| 76 | Marek Mintál | Žilina 76 |
| 73 | Tomáš Medveď | Petržalka 31, Inter Bratislava 13, Dukla Banská Bystrica 8, Humenné 8, Slovan Bratislava 8, Lokomotíva Košice 2, 1. FC Košice 1, Senec 2 |
| 71 | Róbert Vittek | Slovan Bratislava 71 |
| 63 | Stanislav Šesták | Tatran Prešov 8, Slovan Bratislava 6, Žilina 49 |