The Bosnia and Herzegovina Hockey League (BHL) is the top league for ice hockey in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is organized by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Ice Hockey Federation.
Hockey developed slowly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, all of it being concentrated in Sarajevo. By the later 1980s, one team, HK Bosna, made it to the Yugoslav Hockey League. With the end of Yugoslavia came the end of hockey in the country, for some time. War and economic difficulties prevented the organization/formation of a league for some time. The first season of the league was held in 2002âÂÂ03, with four teams. After the season three teams simply were not able to remain active. With their demise, the league went into a hiatus for six years until the 2009âÂÂ10 season. The league is strictly amateur at this time with a low/developmental level of play with no body checking.
All hockey games in BiH are played out in the country's biggest city and capital, Sarajevo, at Olympic Hall Zetra. A second rink at Skenderija that fell in disrepair was not ready in time for the 2009 season. Reconstruction started in February 2010. Currently, no other city has a regulation sized ice-rink. For the start of the 2011âÂÂ12 season it was announced that HK Bosna and left the league to play in the newly formed Open Championship of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an international league with teams from Bulgaria, Greece, and the Republic of Macedonia. The league also changed its abbreviation from "BHL" to "BHHL" and HK Ilidà ¾a 2010 changed its name to HK Ajkule Ilidà ¾a 2010.
The 2002âÂÂ03 season had four teams competing â HK Bosna, HK Ilidà ¾a 2010, HK Jahorina, and HK à  ampion. However following the end of the season both HK Jahorina and HK à  ampion folded and the league went on hiatus. When the league returned in for the 2009âÂÂ10 season two new teams, HK Stari Grad and HK Alfa, joined the league with HK Bosna. The 2010âÂÂ11 season has four teams competing in Sarajevo with the three teams competing from the previous season and the return of HK Ilidà ¾a 2010. The 2011âÂÂ12 season was reduced to three teams after HK Bosna left the league, returning in later seasons.