Organised football in Kosovo traces its roots to 1922, when the first clubs were founded in Gjakova and Prishtina. After World War II, the Kosovo Province League was established in 1945 as a regional tier within the Yugoslav football pyramid, allowing Kosovar clubs to compete domestically while a small number — most notably KF Trepça in 1977–78 and FC Prishtina across much of the 1980s — reached the Yugoslav top flight.
A defining chapter in Kosovar football identity opened in 1991, when the Football Federation of Kosovo broke from the Yugoslav structure in response to the Milošević regime's suppression of Albanian institutions. The first independent match was played on 13 September 1991 at Prishtina's Flamurtari Stadium, launching what became known as the Independent League of Kosovo. For nearly a decade, clubs competed on school pitches and improvised village grounds, denied access to municipal facilities, in what participants regarded as an act of cultural and national preservation. The league ran until the Kosovo War made regular play impossible in 1998–99.
After the conflict ended, the FFK re-established a unified championship in 1999 under the name Superliga e Kosovës. Prishtina have been the most consistent force, appearing in every Superleague season since 1999 and claiming 11 titles. Drita, Feronikeli, and Ballkani have also shaped the modern era — Ballkani notably becoming the first Kosovar club to reach a UEFA group stage when they qualified for the 2022–23 Europa Conference League.
Kosovo's admission to UEFA and FIFA in May 2016 was a watershed moment, opening European competition to Superleague clubs for the first time and giving the national football identity formal international recognition.