| Competition: | MAXtv Prva liga |
| Dates: | 15 July 2016 – 27 May 2017 |
| Season: | 2016–17 |
| Winners: | Rijeka |
| Relegated: | RNK Split |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Rijeka |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Dinamo Zagreb Hajduk Split Osijek |
| League Topscorer: | Márkó Futács (18) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Dinamo Zagreb 6–0 Cibalia Hajduk Split 6–0 Inter Zaprešić |
| Biggest Away Win: | Hajduk Split 0–4 Dinamo Zagreb |
| Highest Scoring: | Rijeka 5–2 Dinamo Zagreb Hajduk Split 6–1 Cibalia Hajduk Split 5–2 RNK Split Dinamo Zagreb 5–2 Rijeka |
| Matches: | 180 |
| Total Goals: | 435 |
| Longest Wins: | Dinamo Zagreb (8) |
| Longest Unbeaten: | Rijeka (31) |
| Longest Winless: | Inter Zaprešić (17) |
| Longest Losses: | Cibalia (7) |
| Highest Attendance: | 29,109 Hajduk Split 0–4 Dinamo Zagreb |
| Lowest Attendance: | 45 Hajduk Split 1–1 Slaven Belupo Hajduk Split 3–0 Cibalia |
| Attendance: | 494,941[1] [2] |
| Average Attendance: | 2,750 |
| Prevseason: | 2015–16 |
| Nextseason: | 2017–18 |
| Updated: | 27 May 2017 |
The 2016–17 Croatian First Football League (officially MAXtv Prva liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 26th season of the Croatian First Football League, the national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. The fixtures were announced on 15 June 2016.[3] The season started on 15 July 2016 and finished on 27 May 2017.[4] The league was contested by 10 teams. Rijeka won their first ever title, which broke Dinamo Zagreb's dominance of eleven consecutive titles.
On 22 April 2016, Croatian Football Federation announced that the first stage of licensing procedure for 2016–17 season was complete. For the 2016–17 Prva HNL, only seven clubs were issued a top level license: Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Istra 1961, Lokomotiva, Rijeka, Slaven Belupo and NK Zagreb. These clubs were also issued a license for participating in UEFA competitions.[5] In the second stage of licensing, clubs that were not licensed in the first stage appealed the decision. On 23 May 2016, it was announced that all remaining Prva HNL clubs were granted top level license. Only two teams from Druga HNL acquired the top level license: Cibalia and Šibenik.[6]
The following teams participated in the 2016–17 Prva HNL.
| Stadium | City | Home club | Licensed club(s) | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38,079[7] | ||||
| 34,448[8] | ||||
| 22,050[9] | ||||
| 9,958[10] | ||||
| 8,923[11] | ||||
| Zagreb | Zagreb | 8,850[12] | ||
| 6,134[13] | ||||
| 5,228[14] | ||||
| Split | 4,075[15] | |||
| 3,134[16] | ||||
| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Sponsors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cibalia |  | Jako | |||
| Dinamo Zagreb | Puma | ||||
| Hajduk Split |  | Macron | Tommy | ||
| Inter Zaprešić | Joma | Veleučilište Baltazar Zaprešić | |||
| Istra 1961 | Nike | Croatia Osiguranje | |||
| Lokomotiva | Nike | Crodux | |||
| Osijek | Nike | Osječko | |||
| Rijeka | Jako | Sava Osiguranje | |||
| Slaven Belupo | adidas | Belupo | |||
| RNK Split | | Jako | Skladgradnja |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lokomotiva | Signed by Persepolis | [17] | Pre-season | |||
| Hajduk Split | Removed from position | [18] |  | Pre-season | ||
| Dinamo Zagreb | Signed by Al-Nassr | [19] | [20] | Pre-season | ||
| Lokomotiva | Removed from position | [21] | (caretaker) | – | Pre-season | |
| Istra 1961 | Resigned | [22] | [23] | 6th | ||
| RNK Split | Resigned | [24] | 10th | |||
| Lokomotiva | (caretaker) | Signing of Ivković | – | [25] | 7th | |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Resigned | [26] | (caretaker) | – | 3rd | |
| Dinamo Zagreb | (caretaker) | Signing of Petev | – | [27] | 3rd | |
| Lokomotiva | Signed by Al-Faisaly | [28] | 6th | |||
| Cibalia | Removed from position | [29] | Siniša Sesar (caretaker) | – | 9th | |
| Istra 1961 | Signed by Shenzhen | [30] | (caretaker) | – | 5th | |
| Hajduk Split | | Removed from position | [31] | | [32] | 3rd |
| Istra 1961 | (caretaker) | Signing of Tot | – | [33] | 8th | |
| Cibalia | Siniša Sesar (caretaker) | Signing of Pacult | – |  | [34] | 10th |
| RNK Split | Resigned | [35] | | [36] | 9th | |
| | Resigned | [37] | | [38] | 10th | |
| Istra 1961 | Removed from position | [39] | (caretaker) | – | 7th | |
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 Cibalia qualified for a two-legged relegation play-off tie against Gorica, runners-up of the 2016–17 Croatian Second Football League.
Cibalia won 5–1 on aggregate.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Márkó Futács | Hajduk Split | 18 |
| 2 | El Arabi Hillel Soudani | Dinamo Zagreb | 17 |
| 3 | Franko Andrijašević | Rijeka | 16 |
| Armin Hodžić | Dinamo Zagreb | ||
| 5 |  Muzafer Ejupi | Osijek | 14 |
| 6 | Alexander Gorgon | Rijeka | 12 |
| 7 | Roman Bezjak | Rijeka | 11 |
| Ante Erceg | Hajduk Split | ||
| Mario Gavranović | Rijeka | ||
| Jakov Puljić | Inter Zaprešić | ||
| Award[43] | Winner | Club | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Franko Andrijašević | Rijeka | |
| Manager of the Season | Matjaž Kek | Rijeka | |
| Young Player of the Season | Lovro Majer | Lokomotiva |
| Team of the Year[44] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) | |||||||
| Defence | Stefan Ristovski (Rijeka) | Marko Lešković (Dinamo Zagreb) | Josip Elez (Rijeka) | Borna Barišić (Osijek) | ||||
| Midfield |  Hillal Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb) | Josip Mišić (Rijeka) | Franko Andrijašević (Rijeka) | Filip Bradarić (Rijeka) | ||||
| Attack |  Mario Gavranović (Rijeka) | Márkó Futács (Hajduk Split) | ||||||