List of Bosnia and Herzegovina football champions
| Bosnian League (1st tier) | |
|---|---|
| First League (1994–2000) | |
| Premier League (2000–present) | |
| Country | |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| Founded | |
| 1994 | |
| Number of teams | |
| 12 (since 2016–17 season) | |
| Current champions | |
| Zrinjski (2022–23) | |
| Most successful club | |
| Zrinjski (8 championships) |
The Bosnia and Herzegovina football champions are the winners of the highest league in Bosnia and Herzegovina men's football, which since the 2000–01 season is called the Bosnian Premier League.
Zrinjski have won eight titles, the most of any club. Željezničar is second with six. Zrinjski dominated during most of the 2010s and 2020s, while Željezničar dominated in the early 2000s and 2010s under manager Amar Osim. Željezničar's city rivals Sarajevo are third with five titles. Čelik are fourth with three titles, having dominated during the mid 1990s. Široki Brijeg and Borac are joint-fifth with two titles.
Čelik and Zrinjski are the only sides to have won the league title in three consecutive seasons.
List of champions[edit]
History[edit]
In 1923, the first edition of leagues was organised in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia where regional championships were also played, besides the top-level national Yugoslav Football Championship. The clubs of the Drina Banovina, part of Littoral Banovina and Vrbas Banovina, territorially similar to present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, played within the Sarajevo Football Subassociation League until 1939. The champions of the Subassociation Leagues were granted a place in the qualifiers for the Yugoslav Championship, at the top national level. SAŠK (1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1930–31), Slavija Sarajevo (1929, 1930, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40), Krajišnik Banja Luka (1935–36) were the clubs to manage to participate in the national league, first in 1923 when the championship was played in a cup system. In 1939, the Yugoslav league system was changed by creating separate Serbian and Croatian-Slovenian Leagues, which would serve as qualifying leagues for the final phase of the Yugoslav Championship.[1] The clubs from the Sarajevo Subassociation played their qualifications to the Serbian League. However, Slavija participated in 1939–40 (3rd place) and 1940–41 (9th place) and played their qualifications to the Croatian-Slovenian League. However, SAŠK managed to participate and did it on both occasions, in 1939–40 (5th place) and 1940–41 (5th place). That would be the last season before the beginning of World War II.
Royal League (1921–1941)[edit]
The clubs from the territory of Drina Banovina, part of Littoral Banovina and Vrbas Banovina (belonging to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) had a league organised by the Sarajevo Football Subassociation. The winner had direct access to the Yugoslav Championship.[2]
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1921 | Hajduk Sarajevo |
| 1922 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1923 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1924 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1925 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1926 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1927 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1928 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1929 | Slavija Sarajevo |
| 1930 | Slavija Sarajevo |
| 1931 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1932 | Not Finished |
| 1933 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1934 | Not Finished |
| 1935 | Slavija Sarajevo SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1936 | Slavija Sarajevo |
| 1937 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1938 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1939 | SAŠK Sarajevo |
| 1940 | Hajduk Sarajevo |
| 1941 | Hajduk Sarajevo |
As part of Croatia (WWII)[edit]
Source:[3]
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1941 | Not Finished - SAŠK Sarajevo (9th place) |
| 1942 | SAŠK Sarajevo (Group D) |
| 1943 | SAŠK Sarajevo (Sarajevo championship) Hrvoje Banja Luka (Banja Luka championship) |
| 1944 | SAŠK Sarajevo (Sarajevo championship) Banja Luka (Banja Luka championship) |
National Competitions[edit]
War in Bosnia and Herzegovina[edit]
After the breakup of Yugoslavia, and following proclamation of independence in late winter 1992, the Bosnian Football Association (N/FSBiH) applied for membership with FIFA and UEFA.[4] Meanwhile, due to the outbreak of the Bosnian War in April 1992, no games were played in the 1992–93 season. In late 1993 some parts of the country re-launched football competitions with reduced scope. But just as the country was divided along ethnic lines, so was football.
In 1993, Bosnian Croats launched the Football Federation of Herzeg-Bosnia and its own First League of Herzeg-Bosnia, in which only Croat clubs competed on a parochial scale within the limits of West Herzegovina and few other enclaves. In the same year, Bosnian Serbs organized the First League of the Republika Srpska on a territory held by the Republika Srpska regime. Only football on territory under the control of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions and auspices the of the N/FSBiH, at the time consequently with Bosniak majority, apart from a brief competition for the season 1994–95 (won by Čelik), came to a standstill. Competition under N/FSBiH auspices did not resume until the 1995–96 season when the Bosnian First League was officially launched.[4]
First League (1994–2000)[edit]
| Season | Champions (number of titles) | Runners-up | Third place | Winning manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–95 | Čelik (1) | Sarajevo (1) | Bosna Visoko (1) |  Nermin Hadžiahmetović
|
| 1995–96 | Čelik (2) | Radnički Lukavac (1) | Sloboda Tuzla (1) | Nermin Hadžiahmetović
|
| 1996–97 | Čelik (3) | Sarajevo (2) | Bosna Visoko (2) | Kemal Hafizović
|
| 1997–98 | Željezničar (1) | Sarajevo (3) | —[a] | Enver Hadžiabdić
|
| 1998–99 | Sarajevo (1) | Bosna Visoko (1) | Rudar Kakanj (1) | Nermin Hadžiahmetović
|
| 1999–2000 | Brotnjo (1) | Budućnost (1) | —[a] | Ivo Ištuk
|
Premier League (2000–present)[edit]
| League champions also won the Bosnian Cup, i.e. the domestic Double. |
Total titles won[edit]
| Rank | Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning seasons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zrinjski | 8 | 2 | 2004–05, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2022–23 |
| 2 | Željezničar | 6 | 7 | 1997–98, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13 |
| 3 | Sarajevo | 5 | 7 | 1998–99, 2006–07, 2014–15, 2018–19, 2019–20 |
| 4 | Čelik | 3 | 0 | 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97 |
| 5 | Široki Brijeg | 2 | 5 | 2003–04, 2005–06 |
| Borac | 2 | 1 | 2010–11, 2020–21 | |
| 7 | Brotnjo | 1 | 1 | 1999–2000 |
| Modriča | 1 | 0 | 2007–08 | |
| Leotar | 1 | 0 | 2002–03 |
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b Champion was decided via a play-off between the best placed teams of the Bosnian First League and the First League of Herzeg-Bosnia.
- ^ 2019–20 Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina; season curtailed and final standings (including Sarajevo as champions) declared by a points-per-game ratio on 1 June 2020.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ Sijić, pag. 117
- ^ Milorad Sijić: "Football in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia" Archived 2012-05-12 at the Wayback Machine, pag. 142 (in Serbian)
- ^ Karel Stokkermans (29 October 2015). "Bosnia-Herzegovina - List of Champions". Retrieved 26 November 2015.
- ^ a b "N/FSBiH History". www.nfsbih.ba. N/FSBiH. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ^ F.Z. (1 June 2020). "Zvanično! Sarajevo prvak BiH drugu godinu zaredom, Čelik i Zvijezda ispadaju" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
External links[edit]
- Football Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Official Site (in Bosnian and English)
- League at UEFA (in English)
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| League system |
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| Domestic cups |
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