2018–19 Croatian First Football League  The 2018–19 Croatian First Football League (officially Hrvatski telekom Prva liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 28th season of the Croatian First Football League, the national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 27 July 2018 and finished on 26 May 2019. The league is contested by 10 teams. On 23 April 2018, Croatian Football Federation announced that the first stage of licensing procedure for 2018–19 season was complete. For the 2018–19 Prva HNL, only eight clubs were issued a top level license: Dinamo Zagreb, Gorica, Hajduk Split, Inter Zaprešić, Lokomotiva, Osijek, Rijeka and Slaven Belupo. All of these clubs except Gorica were also issued a license for participating in UEFA competitions. In the second stage of licensing, clubs that were not licensed in the first stage can appeal on the decision. Each team plays home-and-away against every other team in the league twice, for a total of 36 matches each played. At the end of the season, ninth placed team Istra 1961 will contest a two-legged relegation play-off tie against Šibenik, runners-up of the 2018–19 Croatian Second Football League. "Istra 1961 won 3–1 on aggregate."