1901-1930 The first championship in 1901 was contested by
BTC,
MUE,
FTC,
Műegyetemi AFC, and
Budapesti SC, with the latter winning the championship. Although the two first championships were won by
Budapesti TC, the other titles that decade were won by FTC and MTK, with the latter doing so undefeated in 1906 and 1908. In the 1910s and 1920s, the championship was dominated by Ferencváros and MTK. The green and whites won 7 league titles between 1905 and 1913, while MTK won 9 consecutive national championships, a recording standing to this day. In 1929 MTK claimed their 13th league title, expanding the gap between their trophy cabinet and that of Ferencváros. With 13 championships at the time, MTK were the record champions.
1930-1950 In the 1930s, the rivalry between Ferencváros and MTK Budapest expanded with another club,
Újpest FC (at that time not part of Budapest). Újpest became the first club to break the duopoly of Ferencváros and MTK in the league in 26 years, as they won the 1930 Hungarian 1st Division, for the first time in the club's history. Újpest would defend their title the following season, eventually closing out the decade with 5 titles. In 1932 Ferencváros won the league with a 100% win rate, winning all 20 of their games. One of the most iconic figures of the 1930s Hungarian football was Újpest's
Zsengellér who managed to top goalscorer three times in a row in the 1930s. Ferencváros's
Sárosi and MTK Budapest's
Cseh and Újpest's Zsengellér were the embodiment of the rivalry of the three clubs from Budapest, named
Budapest derby. In 1941 Ferencváros won their 16th national championship, to overtake MTK as the record champions. In the 1940s,
Csepel could win its first title which was followed by two other titles in
1942 and
1943. During
World War II, there were no interruptions in the Hungarian league. Due to the expansion of the territories of the country, new clubs, from the new cities Hungary had, could re-join the league such as
Nagyvárad and
Kolozsvár, which are both nowadays in Romania. The second half of the 1940s was dominated by Újpest by winning the championship in
1945,
1946, and
1947. The 1940s also saw
Nagyvárad winning the league, marking the only time the Hungarian league was won by a team that nowadays is not from a city located in Hungary (Nagyvárad, also known as Oradea is nowadays located in Romania.).
1950-1980 In the 1950s, the dominance of Ferencváros and MTK were weakened by the emergence of
Honvéd with players such as
Puskás,
Bozsik,
Czibor, and
Budai. Later these players played in the final of the
1954 FIFA World Cup. In the 1950s, Honvéd managed to win the championship five times. During the early 1950s, Honvéd players formed the backbone of the legendary
Mighty Magyars. In
1956, the Hungarian league was suspended due to the
Hungarian Revolution. The league was led by Honvéd after 21 rounds but the championship was never been finished. In 1957 Vasas won their first ever national title. In the first season (
1955–56) of the
European Cup,
MTK Budapest reached the quarter-finals while in the
1957–58 season
Vasas Budapest played in the semi-finals of the European Cup.
Vasas won four titles in the 1960s (
1960–61,
1961–62,
1965, and
1966). In 1963
Győr became the first non-Budapest club of the post-war era to win the national championship. The western Hungarian side were champions due to their superior goal difference, as they finished equal on points with both Ferencváros and Honvéd. During the 1966 season Vasas laid claim to the championship undefeated, becoming the first team since FTC 34 years prior to do so. In 1967 Ferencváros became the first club to win 20 national championships, as the 9th districtian side finished 8 points above arch-rivals Újpest. with
Vasas legend
Mészöly in the 1960s Újpest dominated the 1970s under former legendary headcoach of the national team,
Lajos Baróti, winning seven consecutive titles, between 1969 and 1975. Under the guidance of Péter Várhidi, Újpest won the 1978 season, and successfully defended their championship in 1979, closing out the decade with 9 leaguetitles overall.
1980-2000 In
1982,
Győr won the championship becoming the first non-Budapest team who could win the Hungarian league numerous times. Győr managed to add another title to their tally, as they went on to repeat the triumph in the following year in
1983. However, the 1980s was dominated by Honvéd who celebrated its second heyday during the 1980s. In 1980 Honvéd ended their 25-year wait for a leaguetitle under headcoach, and former player legend, Lajos Tichy. Between 1984 and 1986, the side from the 19th district completed a three-peat under coach István Komora, also winning the 1988 and 1989 editions of the tournament under Bertalan Bicskei and József Both, respectively. In 1987 MTK won their first league-title in 29 years, the longest championship-drought in the club's history. Due to the collapse of
communism, Hungarian football clubs lost the support of the state. Therefore, many clubs were faced with financial problems the effects of which are still present in Hungarian football. However, the 1990s were still dominated by the 'traditional' clubs of the championships such as Ferencváros, MTK and Újpest. Ferencváros finished in the top three for every season of the decade, except for the 1993–94 season, when they finished 4th. The green and whites added 3 championships to their tally throughout the '90's decade. In 1994
Vác FC won their first and only leaguetitle in club history, finishing 3 points clear off of Honvéd under coach
János Csank. MTK suffered their first ever relegation in 1994, after finishing 16th during the 1993/94 season, however, the white and blues quickly bounced back, and won their 20th national championship in 1997, and their 21st in 1999. During both seasons, MTK achieved the first and second highest ever point tallies (87 and 85, respectively) in the history of the Hungarian League. Újpest started off the 1990s decade by winning the league under headcoach Péter Várhidi, after a dramatic titlerace against MTK, which saw both clubs finish on equal points on the last day of the season. The club from the North of Pest saw little success in the ensuing 4 years, finishing as low as 14th in 1993, narrowly avoiding relegation. Off of the back of a bronze-medal, and two runner-up finishes, in 1998 Újpest won their 20th national championship, defeating Budapest Honvéd 2–0 on the last day of the season. The financial problems affected the performance of the clubs outside the Hungarian League as well. Hungarian clubs could not compete with their European counterparts. Moreover, the
Bosman ruling also had a deep impact on the Hungarian League. Since big European clubs could invest loads of money into football, clubs from the
Eastern Bloc were restricted to employing only home nationals.
2000- In the 2000s, new clubs became champions, mainly from rural Hungary. In
2002,
Bozsik's
Zalaegerszeg won the championship for the first time in the club's history.
Debreceni VSC, a team that spent over 5 decades in the 2nd division and had never won a national championship prior to the 21st century, remarkably won the Hungarian league in
2005,
2006,
2007,
2009, and
2010, becoming the first non-Budapest dynasty in the history of the league. In 2009 they also qualified for the Champions League. In
2008 MTK managed to win their 23rd league title with head coach
József Garami. The dominance of the rural clubs continued in the 2010s. In
2011 and
2015,
Székesfehérvár's
Videoton won the championship for the first time in the club's history. In
2012 Debreceni VSC won the league under
Elemér Kondás undefeated, while spending every single gameweek atop the table. In
2013,
Győr won their fourth championship overall, and their first one since 1983, under
Attila Pintér. In
2014, Debreceni VSC won their seventh Hungarian League title. In
2016 Ferencváros claimed their first league trophy in 12 years, winning the league with 6 games left. In 2017 it was another team from the capital, Budapest Honvéd, who ended an over decade-long title-drought, as they snatched the trophy on the last day of the season from Videoton, defeating the Fejér-county side 1–0. The following year Videoton won their third leaguetitle, ironically confirming their championship after beating defending champions Honvéd 2–0 on 27 May 2018. In 2019, Ferencváros won their 30th national title, finishing 13 points ahead of MOL Vidi FC. The green and whites have won every single league title ever since, being champions throughout six successive seasons, a club record. In 2025, Ferencváros won their 36th national title, finishing 3 points ahead of Puskás Akadémia. == Sponsorship ==