HNK RijekaHNK Rijeka traces its history to Club Sportivo Olimpia, a multi-sport organisation founded in 1904, and the earliest documented activity of its football section dates from 25 November 1906, which the club recognises as the beginning of its football history. The changes of name mirror the changes of power over the city: in 1926, after the fascist authorities forced a merger of Gloria Fiume and Olympia Fiume, US Fiumana was formed, which played in the Italian league system and won Serie C in 1941. After the war, in 1946, the club took the name Quarnero/Kvarner, in 1954 NK Rijeka, and in 1995 its present name, HNK Rijeka. The club's colours are white, sky blue and gold, and its nickname is Riječki bijeli (Rijeka's Whites).
Its first major trophies came in the second half of the 1970s. Under coach Dragutin Spasojević it won the Yugoslav Cup in 1977–78, its first major honour and the one that opened the way to European competition, as well as the Balkans Cup. A year later, under Marijan Brnčić, it retained the Yugoslav Cup, beating Partizan in the final. In 1987 it reached another final, but lost it on penalties. For two decades after 1979 it won no trophy, and the next came only in 2004–05, when it won the Croatian Cup.
The club's best European result came in 1979–80, when it reached the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup. In the first round it eliminated Germinal Beerschot of Belgium (2–1 on aggregate), and in the quarter-final it met Juventus: on 5 March 1980 at Kantrida, before 22,000 spectators, the match finished 0–0, and in the return leg in Turin, before 55,000, Rijeka lost 0–2. In 1984–85 the club reached the round of 32 of the UEFA Cup, where it met the eventual winners, Real Madrid, and in 2014–15 in the Europa League it faced another eventual winner, Sevilla. It reached the Europa League group stage in 2013–14, 2014–15, 2017–18 and 2020–21, and in 2025–26 it reached the round of 16 of the Conference League.
After independence Croatia created its own league, and Rijeka has played in it without a break since 1992, for the 35th season in a row in 2025–26. For a quarter of a century the club was regarded as a solid but not dominant member of the league, and the breakthrough came in 2016–17. Matjaž Kek's team beat Cibalia 4–0 on 21 May 2017, won its first Croatian championship with a match to spare and ended Dinamo Zagreb's run of eleven consecutive titles. A few days later it beat the same Dinamo 3–1 in the Croatian Cup final in Varaždin, with two goals from Mario Gavranović and one from Dario Župarić, and completed the first double in its history.
It repeated the feat in 2024–25, under coach Radomir Đalović. Rijeka held the better head-to-head record against Dinamo, so the title was decided on the final day, in May 2025. It was the club's second league title and second double, and in total it has won seven Croatian Cups (2004–05, 2005–06, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20 and 2024–25).
In September 2025 the American billionaire Bill Foley, through his platform Black Knight Football Club, which also includes England's Bournemouth, took a 25% stake in the club. Damir Mišković remained owner and president. The team's traditional home is the seaside Stadion Kantrida, and while it is being rebuilt the club has played at Stadion Rujevica since August 2015, which holds 8,279 spectators. In 2025–26 the team was coached by Matjaž Kek, who returned to the club's bench, and Rijeka finished the league in fourth place.
