NK Celje

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

In 1992, one year after Slovenia gained independence from Yugoslavia, the club was renamed as Publikum due to sponsorship reasons. They reached the finals of Slovenian Cup in 1993 and 1995, but lost on both occasions, having been beaten by Olimpija and Mura, respectively. 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. 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. Celje were also in the finals the next year, but lost to Koper after a penalty shoot-out. In early 2007, they dropped Publikum from their name.

In 2020, Celje won its first Slovenian league title after winning the 2019–20 Slovenian PrvaLiga season. 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. 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. 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. In the same season, the club won the 2024–25 Slovenian Cup with a 4–0 win over Koper in the final. This granted Celje a spot in the qualifying stage of the 2025–26 UEFA Europa League, with the club eventually reaching the league phase of the UEFA Conference League for the second season in a row after eliminating Baník Ostrava in the play-offs.