| Founded | 1991; 34 years ago (1991) |
|---|---|
| Region | Slovenia |
| Qualifier for | UEFA Europa League |
| Current champions | Celje (2nd title) |
| Most championships | Maribor (9 titles) |
| Website | nzs.si |
TheSlovenian Football Cup (Slovene:Pokal Nogometne zveze Slovenije,pronounced[pɔˈkáːlnɔɡɔˈméːtnɛˈzʋéːzɛslɔˈʋèːnijɛ]) is the top knockout tournament ofSlovenianfootball and the second most important football competition in Slovenia after theSlovenian PrvaLiga championship. The cup was established in 1991 following thebreakup of Yugoslavia. Since 2020, it has been known as Pokal Pivovarna Union after its headline sponsor, theUnion Brewery. Between 2004 and 2012, the competition was namedPokal Hervis due to sponsorship reasons.[1]
As of 2025, a total of 18 clubs have reached the cup final, with 12 of them winning the title; the most successful side in the history of the competition isMaribor, who have triumphed 9 times in their 15 cup final appearances. They are followed byOlimpija (1945),Koper, andOlimpija (2005), who won four titles each.Primorje hold the record for most appearances in the final without winning the title, finishing as runners-up in three consecutive finals between 1996 and 1998.Aluminij,Nafta 1903 andGorica are the only sides from outside the top flight which managed to reach the cup final, having finished as runners-up in 2002, 2020 and 2024, respectively.
Celje are the current champions, having beaten Koper 4–0 in the 2025 final for their second title.
Until 2021, the Slovenian Cup was contested by a total of 28 clubs: 18 lower league sides that qualified via regional cups organised by the Intercommunal Football Associations, and 10 teams that competed in theSlovenian PrvaLiga the previous season. In the first round proper, 18 lower league clubs were joined by the six lower placed top flight clubs. The twelve winners were then joined by the best four top flight clubs who automatically entered the second round proper. The games were played in a single leg knock-out format until the quarter-finals and semi-finals, when home and away matches were played and the aggregate score was taken into account.
From the 2022–23 season onwards, the number of teams in the first round has increased from 24 to 120, and any registered team in the country can participate in the preliminary rounds.[2] Four teams that represent Slovenia inUEFA competitions joins the competition in the second round. Only one match is played in all rounds, withextra time andpenalty shoot-out if necessary. The draw is no longer delegated with seeded and unseeded teams. Up to and including the round of 32, if two clubs from different leagues are drawn as opponents, the lower league team automatically plays at home, unless it decides not to.[3]
Since 2005, the final is held as a single-legged match, although it was a two-legged affair in the period between 1994 and 2004.[4]
Key
| Match won afterextra time | |
| Match decided by apenalty shoot-out after extra time | |
| Match decided on aggregate score in atwo-legged tie | |
| Italic | Team from outside the top flight |
Teams shown initalics are no longer in existence.
| Club | Winners | Last final won | Runners-up | Last final lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maribor | 9 | 2016 | 6 | 2023 |
| Olimpija[a] | 4 | 2003 | 3 | 2001 |
| Koper | 4 | 2022 | 2 | 2025 |
| Olimpija Ljubljana[a] | 4 | 2023 | 1 | 2017 |
| Gorica | 3 | 2014 | 2 | 2024 |
| Celje | 2 | 2025 | 9 | 2021 |
| Domžale | 2 | 2017 | 1 | 2010 |
| Interblock | 2 | 2009 | 0 | — |
| NK Mura[b] | 1 | 1995 | 1 | 1994 |
| Rudar Velenje | 1 | 1998 | 0 | — |
| NŠ Mura[b] | 1 | 2020 | 0 | — |
| Rogaška | 1 | 2024 | 0 | — |
| Primorje | 0 | — | 3 | 1998 |
| Aluminij | 0 | — | 2 | 2018 |
| Korotan Prevalje | 0 | — | 1 | 2000 |
| Dravograd | 0 | — | 1 | 2004 |
| Nafta 1903 | 0 | — | 1 | 2020 |
| Bravo | 0 | — | 1 | 2022 |
Potem ko je bil v prejšnji sezoni finale odločen že po prvi tekmi, je NZS spremenila način tekmovanja in v finalu se je ponovno igrala ena tekma za naslov pokalnega prvaka.