In this paper the author deals with the question of politicization of professional football in contemporary Croatia. Due to the breadth and complexity of the topic, the paper focuses on top professional football because of its importance and its spillover effect on Croatian society. The paper sets out two main goals: (1) to identify what are the dominant forms of politicization of professional football in contemporary Croatia, and (2) to determine what are the effects of politicization on society as a whole. The main research tool was a structured interview method and qualitative data analysis. From December 2016 to April 2017, an extensive empirical material of experts' perceptions of the relationship between football and politics was collected. Using a desk-based method, the author analyzes the media's most prominent cases of the relationship between football and politics. The initial assumptions were confirmed in the analysis; the politicization of professional football in contemporary Croatia is intense and ubiquitous, and in addition, the politicization of professional football in contemporary Croatia increases social conflict more than homogenizes society. Finally, the author concludes that the dominant forms of politicization of professional football have changed in contemporary Croatia. The dominant forms of politicization of football today are the use of football by political actors as a means of self-promotion and pursuing particular interests, the use of football as a stage for the expression of (usually extreme) political ideologies, and a clientelistic, relationship with Croatian football.