NK Celje

Nogometni klub Celje (English: Celje Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Celje or simply Celje ([ˈtsɛ̀ːljɛ]), is a professional football club from Celje, Slovenia. They play in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the top tier of Slovenian football. Together with Maribor, they are the only club that have participated in every season of the Slovenian PrvaLiga since its formation in 1991.^[3] Celje won their first league title in the 2019–20 season, a feat they have repeated four years later. They have also won two Slovenian Cups, in 2004–05 and 2024–25.

The club was formed in 1919 as SK Celje.^[1][2] Soon after World War II, in 1946, the club changed its name to NK Kladivar (expressionistic term in Slovene for a blacksmith).^[2] In 1964 they qualified for the Yugoslav Second League, where they played for one year.^[2]

In 1992, one year after Slovenia gained independence from Yugoslavia, the club was renamed as Publikum due to sponsorship reasons.^[2] They reached the finals of Slovenian Cup in 1993 and 1995, but lost on both occasions, having been beaten by Olimpija and Mura, respectively.^[4] In 2003, Celje was in a title race with Maribor until the last two rounds, but in the end finished second and also lost the Slovenian cup final against Olimpija during the same season.^[5] Two years later, in 2005, the club reached the final for the fourth time and this time they finally lifted their first trophy, defeating Gorica 1–0 in front of their own fans at the Arena Petrol.^[6] Celje were also in the finals the next year, but lost to Koper after a penalty shoot-out.^[7] In early 2007, they dropped Publikum from their name.^[8]

In 2020, Celje won its first Slovenian league title after winning the 2019–20 Slovenian PrvaLiga season.^[9] After struggling in the following two seasons, they managed to finish second in 2022–23, before once again winning the league title in the 2023–24 season.^[10] As champions, Celje managed to reach the league phase of the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League, their first ever appearance in the main stage of any European competition.^[11] After a moderate performance in the league phase, they reached the quarter-finals of the competition, a feat achieved for the first time by any Slovenian club in a major European club contest.^[12]

For most of its early years, the club played at the Glazija Stadium, and also acquired the Skalna Klet after merging with ŽŠD Celje in 1967. As the Glazija Stadium was demolished in the early 1980s, the club permanently moved to the Skalna Klet.^[13] However, the stadium was in poor condition and could not meet UEFA stadium regulations, so the club's officials decided to build a new stadium. In 2003, the main stand of the new Arena Petrol was built. The capacity at the time was 3,600 covered seats. After 2003, three new separate stands were built, and when the last one opened in 2008, the stadium was completed. The current capacity of the stadium is 13,059 seats, of which around 50% are covered.^[14] In July 2017, the stadium was renamed to Stadion Z'dežele.^[15]

As of 3 July 2025^[16]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

League

• Slovenian First League (since 1991)
  • Winners (2): 2019–20, 2023–24
  • Runners-up (3): 2002–03, 2014–15, 2022–23
• Slovenian Republic League (prior 1991)
  • Winners (1): 1963–64
  • Runners-up (6): 1936–37, 1950, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1970–71, 1973–74

Cup

• Slovenian Cup (since 1991)
  • Winners (2): 2004–05, 2024–25
  • Runners-up (9): 1992–93, 1994–95, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2020–21
• Slovenian Republic Cup (prior 1991)
  • Winners (1): 1964
• MNZ Celje Cup
  • Runners-up: 1991–92

Key

All results (home and away) list Celje's goal tally first.

• Official website (in Slovene)
• NK Celje at PrvaLiga (in Slovene)
• NK Celje at UEFA