The year 2020 is a special one for Slovene football in that it sees the sport's national governing body celebrate its centenary and Slovenia Post marks this special occasion with a philatelic issue. The key event in making football dreams reality came in 1920, with the foundation of the first governing body covering the territory of present-day Slovenia. The first championship was also played that year.
Although the origins of football in Slovenia date back to earlier times, the organization of the football clubs was postponed due to the First World War and did not begin again until towards the end of the decade, with the establishment of the Football Association of Yugoslavia in Zagreb in 1919.
Today the Football Association of Slovenia is responsible for twelve men's teams and five women's teams from all over the country. Since Slovenia gained independence, the men's national team has qualified for three major competitions – two World Cups and one European Football Championship – which is an incredible achievement for a small team like Slovenia's. The current president of UEFA, Aleksander Čeferin, is from Slovenia. The country also has an elite category football referee, Damir Skomina, who has refereed Champions League and Europa League finals and a European Football Championship quarter-final.
See also other football stamps.
