It competes as a member of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which encompasses the countries of Europe.
They entered their first major international competition in 1994: the qualifying rounds for the 1996 UEFA European Football Championship.
The team won their first competitive match on 29 March 1995 when they defeated Estonia 3–0 in the 1996 European Championship qualifiers.
Slovenia made its first appearance in the qualifying rounds of the FIFA World Cup during the 1998 edition.
Boštjan Cesar holds the appearance record for Slovenia, having been capped 101 times between 2003 and 2018.