NK Olimpija Ljubljana (2005)

NK Olimpija Ljubljana (2005)

Coordinates: 46°3′24.39″N 14°30′17.69″E / 46.056775°N 14.5049139°E / 46.056775; 14.5049139

Nogometni klub Olimpija Ljubljana (English: Football Club Olimpija Ljubljana), commonly referred to as NK Olimpija Ljubljana or simply Olimpija, is a professional association football club, based in the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Founded on 2 March 2005, under the name of NK Bežigrad, the club regard themselves as the spiritual continuation of the four times Slovenian champions Olimpija, who went bankrupt and was dissolved, following the 2004–2005 season. However, legally the current Olimpija is distinct and separate club, and is not entitled to claim the history and honours won by the old Olimpija. Football Association of Slovenia and the Association of 1. SNL do not recognize the titles and statistics before 2005. Neither does the legislation of the Republic of Slovenia.

The official standing of the Association of 1. SNL about the club is: The Association of 1. SNL treats NK Olimpija Ljubljana as according the applicable laws of the Republic of Slovenia and in the same way as the registration of the association/club was carried out by state authorities – that is as legal entity/organization, founded in 2005 who won its right to play in first league with the classification from the 2. MNZ Ljubljana all the way to winning the second tier championship 2. SNL in 2008/09 season and had completed licensing conditions to compete in First league. All that is clear from the archive of statistical data on our official web site – As of June 2010 NK Olimpija Ljubljana has had one (1) season in First division.

The club launched their own official website in September 2010 where it was clearly stated: NK Olimpija Ljubljana is a new club that was formed on 2 March 2005, under the name of Bežigrad. However, in the spring of 2011, days before 9 May and what would have been the claimed centennial of the dissolved Olimpija, the club suddenly changed the statement on their website and have rewritten the whole history paragraph, adding the whole history of the old Olimpija in their article. In the article the club celebrates 100 years of football in the city of Ljubljana and ignores the official standpoint of the Football Association of Slovenia and Association of 1.SNL and claims that it was demoted into the fifth league and that they have eventually returned to the 1.SNL after five seasons spent in the lower tiers of Slovenian football. They do, however, conclude the article with a statement that in 2009 they in fact started their first season in Slovenian top division, which they finished on fourth place. Because of their association with the dissolved club, Olimpija was heavily criticised on numerous occasions by Večer daily newspaper, third largest in the country by circulation, which questioned the legitimacy of Olimpija actions and even the fact that the club has a year 1911 inscribed on their crest. Ljubljana based Dnevnik daily newspaper also questions the inclusion of the year 1911 in the new Olimpija crest. For the same reason they were criticised by Ilirija, a football club established in 1911 and which history was unilaterally appropriated and claimed by the old Olimpija. The Football Association of Slovenia officially recognizes Ilirija as the sole club established in 1911.

Olimpija currently plays in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the country's highest division of football. After playing at the Bežigrad stadium in lower tiers of Slovenian football, it hosted opponents at a stadium ŽŠD Ljubljana in Slovenian second division, 2.SNL, and first year of top division. On 22 August 2010 Olimpija played its first match at the new Stožice stadium.