Football in Croatia was played since 1873, when it was presented by English factory workers in Rijeka. In 1895, a match was played in Nova Gradiška, and the next year further matches were played in Trogir and other cities.

Croatian youth started playing football in 1880 in Županja, after the invitation of the nine English wood industry workers. That football is kept in the museum, and records exist of football being played in Zadar, Istria, Slavonia, and other parts of Croatia.

The first edition of the Rules of the Game in Croatian was printed in 1896 in Zagreb. Milovan Zoričić asked professional assistance from England, and football was at first played under the supervision of the gymnastics organization Hrvatski sokol (The Croatian Hawk). The first football club was PNIŠK, founded in 1903.

The English Northern University team toured Europe before WW1, and after winning three matches, lost to HAŠK in Zagreb 1:0. After the WW1, Hajduk Split played a couple matches against English war ships' teams. The first professional coaches came from England in 1914: James Donelly and Arthur Gaskhell coached Građanski, the team that beat famous Liverpool 5:1 in 1936.

The political circumstances in the regions did not support the founding of the Football Federation at the beginning of the 20th century, but after the first match between HAŠK and PNIŠK (1:1) in 1906, in 1909 the Croatian Sports Federation was founded. In 1910, the Rules were approved, and two years later, on June 13th, Milovan Zoričić was elected as the head of the football section.

After the WW1, Croatian clubs demanded the foundation of the Croatian Football Federation, but in 1919, at the inaugural session, the Yugoslav Football Federation was founded. The same thing happened with other Croatian sports institutions.

Croatian Football Federation was again formed in 1939, and Ivo Kraljević became the first president, but after the WW2 it struggled for equality within the Yugoslav organization.

When Croatia declared independence in 1990, Croatian Football Federation was given the chance to create an optimal setting for the development of this, most popular sport. Since July 3rd, 1992, CFF has been a member of FIFA, while full membership at UEFA was activated on June 17th, 1993.