The Slovenia national football team traces its roots to 1921, when the Ljubljana Football Subassociation — the direct forerunner of today's Football Association of Slovenia — fielded a regional side that played its first match against France under the framework of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. During the Yugoslav era, Slovenian football developed largely within the broader Yugoslav league structure, with a handful of Slovenian players, including Branko Oblak and Srečko Katanec, earning places in the Yugoslavia national team.
With Slovenia's independence in 1991, the national team was formally reconstituted, and played its first official international as a sovereign nation against Estonia in 1992. The team's early years were marked by steady development, culminating in qualification for UEFA Euro 2000 — the first major tournament appearance for the newly independent nation. That momentum carried into the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where Slovenia made their debut on the world stage.
After a lengthy absence from major tournaments, the team returned to the international spotlight by qualifying for UEFA Euro 2024, demonstrating that Slovenian football had maintained a competitive standard within UEFA. The Football Association of Slovenia oversees the domestic game, with NK Maribor and NK Olimpija recognised as the country's two most prominent club sides.
Slovenia's footballing identity is defined by punching above its weight as a small nation, drawing on a tradition that stretches from the Austro-Hungarian era through the Yugoslav period and into the modern era of independent international competition.