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| Full name | FC Kuressaare | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Kure Viikingid (The Vikings)[1] | ||
| Founded | 14 March 1997; 28 years ago (1997-03-14)[1] | ||
| Ground | Kuressaare linnastaadion[2] | ||
| Capacity | 2,000[3] | ||
| President | Priit Penu[1] | ||
| Manager | Sander Post | ||
| League | Meistriliiga | ||
| 2025 | Meistriliiga, 9th of 10 | ||
| Website | http://www.fckuressaare.ee | ||
FC Kuressaare, commonly known asKuressaare, is anEstonian professionalfootball club based inKuressaare,Saaremaa island. The club's home ground isKuressaare linnastaadion.
Founded on 14 March 1997, the club competes in theMeistriliiga, the top tier ofEstonian football. Kuressaare debuted in the Estonian top division in 2000 and were known as ayo-yo club throughout the first decade of the 21st century, as they were promoted and relegated for eight consecutive seasons. Since then, the club has played in the Meistriliiga in 2009–2013 and again since 2018.
Kuressaare was founded on 14 March 1997. Its predecessor was a youth club B.B. Sport, coached by Johannes Kaju. Kuressaare joined theEstonian football league system and began competing in the Western division of theIII liiga. The club's first president and manager wasAivar Pohlak.
Kuressaare was promoted to theEsiliiga for the1998 season and finished in 6th place under the new manager Jan Važinski. Most of the team were Saaremaa locals who were reinforced by players from Kuressaare's parent clubFlora. Kuressaare won the Esiliiga in the1999 season and was promoted to theMeistriliiga.
Kuressaare finished the2000 season, its maiden season in the Estonian top-flight, in 7th place. The club finished the2001 season in 10th place under new manager Zaur Tšilingarašvili and was relegated to the Esiliiga. In 2002, Sergei Zamogilnõi was hired as manager. Kuressaare finished the2002 season as runners-up, qualifying to the promotion play-offs. Kuressaare won the play-offs againstLootus and returned to the Meistriliiga. Kuressaare's stay in the top-flight was cut short again as the club finished the2003 season in 8th place and was relegated. The team was restructured in 2004, using players from reserve teamSörve and was promoted back to the Meistriliiga despite finishing in 5th place due to the expansion of the league.
The2005 season was the most successful in the club's earlier history, winning 7 and drawing 6 matches out of 36. The 8–1 victory overDünamo became the new club record. Despite that, the team finished 9th and was relegated after losing the relegation play-offs againstAjax. Kuressaare earned its way back to the Meistriliiga in the2006 season, but was once again relegated in the following Meistriliiga season. The team finished the2008 season as runners-up and was promoted to the Meistriliiga. Kuressaare remained in the Meistriliiga for the next five seasons from2009 to2013, when the club was relegated to Esiliiga after finishing the season in 10th place.[4] After the2015 season, Kuressaare were relegated toEsiliiga B, which they won the following season.
After finishing 5th in the Estonian second tier Esiliiga during the 2017 season, FC Kuressaare were unexpectedly offered the chance to return to Meistriliiga, due toFC Infonet andSillamäe Kalev leaving top-flight football andMaardu Linnameeskond andRakvere Tarvas, who both finished in front of Kuressaare in the 2017 Esiliiga season, opting to not fill the vacant Meistriliiga spots. Jan Važinski returned to the manager role and Kuressaare finished the2018 Meistriliiga season in ninth place, beatingFC Elva in the relegation play-offs to maintain their spot in Estonian top-flight football. The following2019 season concluded in a similar way, with Kuressaare finishing in ninth place and this time beatingPärnu Vaprus in the play-offs.
With the introduction of solidarity mechanisms in 2020,Marco Lukka became the first ever fully professional football player of the club.[5] Kuressaare also appointed Roman Kozhukhovskyi as the manager. Again, Kuressaare finished the season in 9th place and won the relegation play-offs againstMaardu. The2021 season proved to be successful for the club, as they finished in seventh place. Otto-Robert Lipp's goal against FC Flora in their 2–2 draw also won the Meistriliiga's 'goal of the season' award.
The2022 season was the most successful in FC Kuressaare's history, as the club finished 5th and accumulated 50 points in 36 matches.
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2018 | Joma | Saaremaa Lihatööstus | [6] |
| 2019 | Nike | Euronics | |
| 2020–2023 | – | ||
| 2023– | Visit Saaremaa |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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