Football in Slovakia
Slovakia has participated in international football as an independent nation ever since 1993 when Czechoslovakia was divided into two new states.[1][2][3] Slovakia qualified to the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2010, where the side upset perennial power Italy and lost in the Round of 16.[4] Since independence, they qualified for the UEFA European Championship for their first time in 2016.The Slovak Football Association was a member of FIFA from April 1939 to 1945 and resumed in 1994.The first Slovak football league was formed in its current form in 1993, when the Czechoslovak league was discontinued after the end of the federation with the Czech Republic.Examples of players that have succeeded in notable leagues are Marek Hamšík, former captain of Italian club SSC Napoli, Peter Pekarík who captains Bundesliga side Hertha BSC and Martin Škrtel, a well-known former Liverpool centre-back.Moreover, over the last few years more and more youngsters have been given the chance to perform regularly in the league before being transferred abroad.For example Leon Bailey, Milan Škriniar, Stanislav Lobotka and Samuel Kalu all played in the Slovak league.In 2010, MŠK Žilina became the third Slovak club to participate in the Champions League, where they were eliminated in the group stage.It is organized annually by the Slovak Football Association (Slovenský futbalový zväz, SFZ).The cup has been held since the 1969/70 season, the first winner was Slovan Bratislava, who is also the record holder, with 17 titles.The men's national team qualified as group winners for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.At the final tournament, the Slovak team surprisingly won against the world champions Italy 3–2, the Slovaks also qualified for the knockout stages, where they were eliminated after a 2–1 defeat against the eventual finalists Netherlands.