The first encyclopaedia of Slovenia, The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola (1689) describes boating, cave exploration, fishing, hunting, mountaineering, shooting and skiing as popular contemporary sports on the territory of today’s Slovenia. Its 17th century description of a skier from Bloke is the oldest written record of skiing in Central Europe. Despite such early sports records, Slovenian sports societies did not appear until nearly two hundred years later; the first Slovenian sports association Južni sokol (Southern Falcon) was founded in 1862.

In 1905 Slovenska sokolska zveza (the Slovenian Falcon League) was established, uniting 115 societies. Between the two World Wars the first professional sports leagues emerged, and for a while there was also a Slovenian subcommittee of the Yugoslav Olympic Committee. After the Second World War, Fizkulturna zveza (The Physical Culture Association) was founded, later becoming Športna zveza Slovenije (The Sports Association of Slovenia). In the ’seventies and ’eighties, there were special physical culture associations which financed sports activities. At that time, several gymnasiums and other sports facilities were built.

The year 1991 saw the founding of the Slovenian Olympic Committee, which was recognised a year later by the International Olympic Committee. Slovenian competitors took part under the Slovenian flag for the first time at the Albertville Olympic Games in 1992.