Association of 1. SNL

Združenje nogometnih klubov 1. SNL (English: Association of football clubs of 1. SNL), commonly referred to as Združenje 1. SNL (Association of 1. SNL), is an organization founded by the Slovenian top division clubs, and was the governing body of Slovenian highest level of football, 1. SNL, between 1996 and 2012. Their members are professional football clubs that are participating in the Slovenian first division and each club has one representative. Branko Florjančič is the current president of the organization. The history of Slovenian first division, 1. SNL, started in 1991 after the independence of Slovenia when the best Slovenian clubs were joined into a league, then governed by Football Association of Slovenia who were governing the league up until January 2001 when Association of 1. SNL effectively took over. The change happened in compliance with the rules of Football Association of Slovenia, UEFA and FIFA. Since early 2012 the league is again governed by the Football Association of Slovenia. Association of 1. SNL, founded in 1993, remains as the organization which combines the interests of all clubs, members of the first division.

The Association of 1. SNL is a voluntary, independent and non-profit organization of football clubs of Slovenian first division, 1. SNL, who's vision is meant to exercise its activities, development of work and business connected with organizing and implementation of the league, including mutual improvements of conditions of the game and the competing system, mutual development of human resources policy and other mutual common interests in development and progression of the game of football.

The association has been criticised by the media, that is demanding a reorganization of the league's governing body and increasing the influence of Football Association of Slovenia. One of the criticism is that the league is without the main general sponsor for couple of seasons now, and it does not look like that Association of 1. SNL will find any anytime soon. According to the media the Association that governs the league of a country that is continuously fighting and qualifying to the biggest international tournaments, should not have any problems in convincing and finding a general sponsor if they would do their job properly. Especially since some countries, such as Latvia, Faroe Islands, Malta, Luxembourg etc. and also Kosovo, which is not even an UEFA member, have general sponsors in their respective leagues while their national team and clubs does not enjoy any major success on international stage. The other main concern for the league is that the league's clubs are struggling, season after season, with huge financial difficulties and some of them are barely surviving by the end of the season. After every season clubs that gain promotion from Slovenian second division, 2. SNL, are rejecting the possibility of advancing into top division.NK Primorje, a team that played in the 2010–11 Slovenian PrvaLiga, is the last case of financial troubles that Slovenian clubs are facing and, due to a financial debt, did not gain a license from the Football Association of Slovenia to compete under their jurisdiction (top three tiers of Slovenian football).Zlatko Zahovič director of football at the most successful Slovenian club, NK Maribor, recently made a comment that the Association of 1. SNL should be disbanded or that at the very least Branko Florjančič, then president of the organization, should resign and give the chance to someone more competent. Zahovič also stated that the Association in its current form serves no purpuse. On 4 April 2012 Branko Florijanič, who was at the head of the organization since 1996, was elected as president of the Association of 1. SNL for the fifth time in a row. On the same day NK Olimpija Ljubljana made an official press statement where they declared their likely departure from the Association, stating that they do not see a reason why would they continue to be a member of the organization which has not done anything for the club and the league itself in the past. On 17 April 2012 Branko Florijanič was taken into custody by Koper police in suspicion of tampering with evidence regarding the corruption during the construction of the Bonifika Stadium.

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