Yugoslav Handball Championship

The Yugoslav Handball Championship was the highest level competition in men's team handball in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, played regularly for almost four decades between 1953 and 1991, before being abandoned due to the breakup of Yugoslavia.

The first five editions from 1953 to 1957 were decided via a finals play-off tournament contested by clubs who had qualified in regional competitions, before a regular round-robin league format was introduced for the 1957–58 season. The league featured clubs from all of Yugoslavia's federal subjects, with the most successful being RK Bjelovar with 9 titles, followed by RK Borac and RK Metaloplastika with 7 titles each.

Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the competition was eventually succeeded by the following handball leagues:

• Handball Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Croatian Premier Handball League
• Macedonian Handball Super League
• Montenegrin First League of Men's Handball
• Handball League of Serbia
• Slovenian First League of Handball

Title holders

.....1953 Medveščak .....1954 Medveščak .....1955 Crvena Zvezda .....1956 Crvena Zvezda .....1957 Prvomajska 1957-58 Partizan Bjelovar 1958-59 Borac Banja Luka 1959-60 Borac Banja Luka 1960-61 Partizan Bjelovar 1961-62 Prvomajska

1962-63 Prvomajska 1963-64 Medveščak 1964-65 Zagreb 1965-66 Medveščak 1966-67 Partizan Bjelovar 1967-68 Partizan Bjelovar 1968-69 Crvenka 1969-70 Partizan Bjelovar 1970-71 Partizan Bjelovar 1971-72 Partizan Bjelovar

1972-73 Borac Banja Luka 1973-74 Borac Banja Luka 1974-75 Borac Banja Luka 1975-76 Borac Banja Luka 1976-77 Partizan Bjelovar 1977-78 Željezničar 1978-79 Partizan Bjelovar 1979-80 Slovan 1980-81 Borac Banja Luka 1981-82 Metaloplastika

1982-83 Metaloplastika 1983-84 Metaloplastika 1984-85 Metaloplastika 1985-86 Metaloplastika 1986-87 Metaloplastika 1987-88 Metaloplastika 1988-89 Zagreb 1989-90 Proleter 1990-91 Zagreb

Championships by club

Titles	Club	City	Republic	Notes
9	Partisan Bjelovar	Bjelovar	CRO	Formerly known as "RK Partizan" 1955–1991
7	Borac Banja Luka	Banja Luka	BIH
7	RK Metaloplastika	Šabac	SRB
6	RK Zagreb	Zagreb	CRO
4	RK Medveščak	Zagreb	CRO	Formerly known as "RK Prvomajska" 1952–1963
2	RK Crvena Zvezda	Belgrade	SRB
1	RK Crvenka	Crvenka	SRB
1	RK Željezničar	Sarajevo	BIH
1	RD Slovan	Ljubljana	SLO
1	RK Proleter	Zrenjanin	SRB

European success

Traditionally one of the strongest handball leagues in Europe, several Yugoslav clubs went on to compete with considerable success in the European Cup (present-day EHF Champions League), the premier continental handball competition. Prior to the breakup of Yugoslavia, six Yugoslav clubs had managed to reach the European finals 11 times, winning four titles.

Club	W	RU	SF	Years won	Years runners-up	Years semi-finalists
Metaloplastika	2	1	3	1984–85, 1985–86	1983–84	1982–83, 1986–87, 1987–88
Bjelovar	1	2	2	1971–72	1961–62, 1972–73	1967–68, 1970–71
Borac Banja Luka	1	1	—	1975–76	1974–75
Medveščak	—	1	—		1964–65
Slovan	—	1	—		1980–81
Proleter	—	1	—		1990–91
Crvenka	—	—	1			1969–70

Notable clubs

(at least 10 top-flight seasons or at least one title)

SR Bosnia and Herzegovina Borac, Banja Luka Željezničar, Sarajevo Krivaja, Zavidovići Bosna, Sarajevo Sloga, Doboj  SR Croatia Medveščak, Zagreb Partizan, Bjelovar RK Zagreb, Zagreb  SR Macedonia Pelister, Bitola

SR Montenegro  SR Serbia Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade Crvenka, Crvenka Dubočica, Leskovac Dinamo, Pančevo Železničar, Niš Metaloplastika, Šabac Proleter, Zrenjanin Partizan, Belgrade  SR Slovenia Slovan, Ljubljana