The Slovak First Football League, shortly just 1st League (1. liga), currently Niké liga due to sponsorship reasons, is the top flight league in the Slovakian 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.
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]
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.
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 2023–24 season. Teams in bold are part of the 2024–25 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.
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.
The following data indicates Slovak coefficient rankings between European football leagues.[8]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Country ranking
UEFA League Ranking as of the end 2023/24 season for the period of 2019-2024:[9]
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 who also played 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.
^Karel Stokkermans (10 June 2011). "Slovak Republic: I liga SR". Slovakia - List of Champions. RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
