List of Bosnia and Herzegovina football champions

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.

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)

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

Season Champions (number of titles) Runners-up Third place Winning manager
2000–01 Željezničar (2) Brotnjo (1) Sarajevo (1)   Amar Osim
2001–02 Željezničar (3) Široki Brijeg (1) Brotnjo (1)   Amar Osim
2002–03 Leotar (1) Željezničar (1) Sarajevo (2)   Milan Jovin
2003–04 Široki Brijeg (1) Željezničar (2) Sarajevo (3)   Ivo Ištuk
2004–05 Zrinjski (1) Željezničar (3) Široki Brijeg (1)   Franjo Džidić
2005–06 Široki Brijeg (2) Sarajevo (4) Zrinjski (1)   Ivica Barbarić
2006–07 Sarajevo (2) Zrinjski (1) Slavija (1)   Husref Musemić
2007–08 Modriča (1) Široki Brijeg (2) Čelik (1)   Slaviša Božičić
2008–09 Zrinjski (2) Slavija (1) Sloboda Tuzla (1)   Dragan Jović
2009–10 Željezničar (4) Široki Brijeg (3) Borac (1)   Amar Osim
2010–11 Borac (1) Sarajevo (5) Željezničar (1)   Vlado Jagodić
2011–12 Željezničar (5) Široki Brijeg (4) Borac (2)   Amar Osim
2012–13 Željezničar (6) Sarajevo (6) Borac (3)   Amar Osim
2013–14 Zrinjski (3) Široki Brijeg (5) Sarajevo (3)   Branko Karačić
2014–15 Sarajevo (3) Željezničar (4) Zrinjski (2)   Dženan Uščuplić
2015–16 Zrinjski (4) Sloboda Tuzla (1) Široki Brijeg (2)   Vinko Marinović
2016–17 Zrinjski (5) Željezničar (5) Sarajevo (4)   Blaž Slišković
2017–18 Zrinjski (6) Željezničar (6) Sarajevo (5)   Blaž Slišković
2018–19 Sarajevo (4) Zrinjski (2) Široki Brijeg (3)   Husref Musemić
2019–20[b] Sarajevo (5) Željezničar (7) Zrinjski (3)   Vinko Marinović
2020–21 Borac (2) Sarajevo (7) Velež (1)   Marko Maksimović
2021–22 Zrinjski (7) Tuzla City (1) Borac (4)   Sergej Jakirović
2022–23 Zrinjski (8) Borac (1) Željezničar (2)   Krunoslav Rendulić
0League champions also won the Bosnian Cup, i.e. the domestic Double.0

Total titles won edit

By club edit

Teams in bold compete in the Premier League as of the 2023–24 season.

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

By city/town edit

City / Town Championships Clubs
Sarajevo 11 Željezničar (6), Sarajevo (5)
Mostar 8 Zrinjski (8)
Zenica 3 Čelik (3)
Banja Luka 2 Borac (2)
Široki Brijeg 2 Široki Brijeg (2)
Čitluk 1 Brotnjo (1)
Modriča 1 Modriča (1)
Trebinje 1 Leotar (1)

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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

  1. ^ Sijić, pag. 117
  2. ^ Milorad Sijić: "Football in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia" Archived 2012-05-12 at the Wayback Machine, pag. 142 (in Serbian)
  3. ^ Karel Stokkermans (29 October 2015). "Bosnia-Herzegovina - List of Champions". Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b "N/FSBiH History". www.nfsbih.ba. N/FSBiH. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  5. ^ 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