| Competition: | Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga |
| Season: | 2020–21 |
| Dates: | 14 August 2020 – 22 May 2021 |
| Winners: | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Relegated: | Varaždin |
| Continentalcup1: | Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Continentalcup2: | Europa Conference League |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | Osijek Rijeka Hajduk Split |
| League Topscorer: | Ramón Miérez (22) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Dinamo Zagreb 6–0 Lokomotiva |
| Biggest Away Win: | Varaždin 0–5 Dinamo Zagreb |
| Highest Scoring: | Gorica 3–4 Dinamo Zagreb Gorica 3–4 Rijeka |
| Matches: | 180 |
| Total Goals: | 456 |
| Prevseason: | 2019–20 |
| Nextseason: | 2021–22 |
The 2020–21 Croatian First Football League (officially Hrvatski Telekom Prva liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 30th season of the Croatian First Football League, the top national championship for men's association football teams in Croatia, since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 14 August 2020 and finished on 22 May 2021.
The season began with games being played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
On 20 May 2020, Croatian Football Federation announced that the first stage of licensing procedure for 2020–21 season was complete. For the 2020–21 Prva HNL, ten clubs were issued a top level license: Dinamo Zagreb, Gorica, Hajduk Split, Istra 1961, Lokomotiva, Osijek, Rijeka, Slaven Belupo, Šibenik and Varaždin. All of these clubs except Šibenik and Varaždin were also issued a license for participating in UEFA competitions.[2] In the second stage of licensing, clubs that were not licensed in the first stage could appeal on the decision. On 17 June 2020, Croatian Football Federation announced that the licensing procedure for 2020–21 season was complete. Inter Zaprešić and Orijent 1919 were also issued a top level license after appeal process.[3]
| Dinamo Zagreb | Gorica | Hajduk Split | Istra 1961 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadion Maksimir | Gradski stadion Velika Gorica | Stadion Aldo Drosina | ||
| Capacity: 35,123 | Capacity: 5,000 | Capacity: 34,198 | Capacity: 9,800 | |
| Lokomotiva | < | --CLUBS--> | Osijek | |
| Stadion Kranjčevićeva | Stadion Gradski vrt | |||
| Capacity: 5,350 | Capacity: 17,061 | |||
| Rijeka | Slaven Belupo | Šibenik | Varaždin | |
| Stadion Rujevica | Stadion Šubićevac | Stadion Varteks | ||
| Capacity: 8,279 | Capacity: 3,205 | Capacity: 3,412 | Capacity: 8,850 | |
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35,123 | [4] | |||
| 8,000 | [5] | |||
| 34,198 | [6] | |||
| 9,800 | [7] | |||
| Zagreb | Kranjčevićeva1 | 5,350 | [8] | |
| 17,061 | [9] | |||
| 8,279 | [10] | |||
| 3,205 | [11] | |||
| 3,412 | [12] | |||
| 8,850 | [13] | |||
| Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Sponsors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Adidas | Lana grupa | |||
 | FCG | — | |||
 | Macron | Tommy | |||
| Istra 1961 | Kelme | Croatia Osiguranje | |||
| Adidas | — | ||||
| 2Rule | DOBRO, Stadler | ||||
| Joma | Sava Osiguranje | ||||
| Adidas | Belupo | ||||
| Šibenik | Marko Bulat | Jako | Krka National Park | ||
| Varaždin | Legea | Radnik, Derma |
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Replaced by | Date of appointment | Position in table | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Istra 1961 | [14] | Contract expired | (caretaker)[15] | Pre-season | |||
| Hajduk Split | [16] | Signed by Juventus | [17] | 3rd | |||
| Istra 1961 | (caretaker) | Signing of Budicin | [18] | 10th | |||
| Osijek | [19] | Sacked | [20] | 8th | |||
| Hajduk Split | [21] | Sacked | [22] | 6th | |||
| Varaždin | [23] | Sacked | 9th | ||||
| Gorica |  [24] | Signed by Ludogorets | [25] | 3rd | |||
| Lokomotiva | [26] | Resigned | [27] | 8th | |||
| Hajduk Split | Removed from position | [28] | 5th | ||||
| Istra 1961 | [29] | Sacked | [30] | 10th | |||
| Rijeka | [31] | Resigned | [32] | 4th | |||
| Lokomotiva | [33] | Removed from position | [34] | 10th | |||
| Dinamo Zagreb | [35] | Resigned | 1st | ||||
| Šibenik | [36] | Sacked |  Sergi Escobar[37] | 6th |
Each team plays home-and-away against every other team in the league twice, for a total of 36 matches each played.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ramón Miérez | Osijek | 22 |
| 2 | Mario Gavranović | Dinamo Zagreb | 17 |
| 3 | Mislav Oršić | Dinamo Zagreb | 16 |
| 4 | Kristijan Lovrić | Gorica | 15 |
| 5 | Franko Andrijašević | Rijeka | 13 |
| 6 |  Deni Jurić | Šibenik | 11 |
| 7 | Mijo Caktaš | Hajduk Split | 9 |
 Ognjen Mudrinski | Gorica | ||
| Bruno Petković | Dinamo Zagreb | ||
| 10 | Ivan Krstanović | Slaven Belupo | 8 |
| Robert Murić | Rijeka |
| Award[39] | Club | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player of the Season | Bruno Petković | Dinamo Zagreb | |
| Manager of the Season | Nenad Bjelica | Dinamo Zagreb | |
| Young Player of the Season | Joško Gvardiol | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Team of the Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb) | ||||
| Defence |  Igor Silva (Osijek) | Mile Škorić (Osijek) | Joško Gvardiol (Dinamo Zagreb) | Rasmus Lauritsen (Dinamo Zagreb) | |
| Midfield | Lovro Majer (Dinamo Zagreb) | Arijan Ademi (Dinamo Zagreb) | Luka Ivanušec (Dinamo Zagreb) | Mislav Oršić (Dinamo Zagreb) | |
| Attack | Bruno Petković (Dinamo Zagreb) | Ramón Miérez (Osijek) | |||