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| Full name | Asociația Fotbal Club Odorheiu Secuiesc | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Odorheienii (The People from Odorhei) Secuii (TheSzékelys) | |||
| Short name | Odorhei, SZFC | |||
| Founded | 1922; 103 years ago (1922) asTextila Odorheiu Secuiesc 2006; 19 years ago (2006) asAFC Odorheiu Secuiesc | |||
| Ground | Municipal | |||
| Capacity | 5,000 | |||
| Owner | Odorheiu Secuiesc Municipality | |||
| Chairman | Attila Berkeczi | |||
| Manager | Norbert Demény | |||
| League | Liga III | |||
| 2024–25 | Liga III, Seria VI, 1st | |||
| Website | https://szfc.ro/ | |||
Asociația Fotbal Club Odorheiu Secuiesc, commonly known asAFC Odorheiu Secuiesc (Hungarian:Székelyudvarhely FC) or simplyOdorheiu Secuiesc, is a professional Romanianfootball club based inOdorheiu Secuiesc,Harghita County and also geographically placed in the historic and ethnographic region ofSzékely Land, an area inhabited mainly bySzékelys, a subgroup of theHungarian people.
The team was founded in 1922 asTextila Odorheiu Secuiesc and played for most of its existence in the third tier of theRomanian football league system. The only period inLiga II was spent during the1973–74 season when the club was ranked 17th of 18 and was relegated back toLiga III. In 2004 the club was relegated toLiga IV and after some struggles, it was declared bankrupt and dissolved. On 12 December 2006, the new entity,AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc, was founded in order to try to ensure the continuity of the football tradition in Odorheiu Secuiesc. The club was recognized and accepted unanimously by supporters thus becoming the official successor of the old entity, Textila Odorheiu Secuiesc.
History of the professional football started inOdorheiu Secuiesc in 1922, when it was founded the first team of the city,Textila.[1] For nearly fifteen years, the club competed in the district and regional championships without achieving any notable results, but that was about to change in the summer of 1968 when, after astrong campaign, Lemnarul Odorheiu Secuiesc earned its first-ever promotion toDivizia C by winning Series II of theMureș Regional Championship[1]
In theirdebut season in the third division, Lemnarul finished 4th out of 16 in Series VIII. Thefollowing year saw a 5th-place finish in the same series, followed by another 4th-place finish in Series VIII during the1970–71 season. Renamed Textila, the club maintained its competitive form, finishing 4th once again in Series XII in the1971–72 season, and then securing 2nd place in Series XI at the end of the1972–73 campaign, just behindGaz Metan Mediaș, thus earning promotion toDivizia B for the first time in its history.[2] This beautiful dream lastedonly one season, as Textila proved unprepared for the challenges of this level, finishing 17th out of 18 teams under the leadership ofTiberiu Bone.[3]
In the summer of 1974, after the relegation fromDivizia B, the leadership of the club decided to bring some fresh air inside the team and one of the measures was to change its name, from Textila Odorheiu Secuiesc toProgresul Odorheiu Secuiesc.[1] After being ranked 8th at the end of the1974–75 season, followed another second place in 1976, but this time was not a promoting place, the neighbors from Oltul Sfântu Gheorghe being the team which was going up.[4][5] After four seasons in which at its best the team was ranked 3rd, Progresul finished again second, two times in a row, at the end of the1980–81 and1981–82 seasons, first time behind ICIM Brașov, then right afterPrecizia Săcele. In these conditions when the team seemed to force the promotion to the second tier again, relegated unexpectedly in1983, after finishing 15th of 16.[6] Interestingly, it's the same year in which the other team fromHarghita County,Tractorul Miercurea Ciuc also relegated. Progresul promoted back afteronly one year of absence and for the next seven years imposed itself as a strong opponent, being ranked generally in top five of its series, two times even finishing in second place (1987–88 and1988–89).[7][8]
| Name | Period |
| Textila Odorheiu Secuiesc | 1922–1960 |
| Lemnarul Odorheiu Secuiesc | 1960–1971 |
| Textila Odorheiu Secuiesc | 1971–1974 |
| Progresul Odorheiu Secuiesc | 1974–1991 |
| Harghita Odorheiu Secuiesc | 1991–1998 |
| Budvar Odorheiu Secuiesc | 1998–2006 |
| AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc | 2006–present |
In the summer of 1991, the club changed its name again, this time from Progresul Odorheiu Secuiesc toHarghita Odorheiu Secuiesc.[9]Odorheienii continued theirDivizia C spell but at its best, the team was ranked third. After two weak seasons, 1996–97 – 15th and 1997–98 – 18th, the team has gone through some administrative changes and in the summer of 1998 changed its name from Harghita Odorheiu Secuiesc toBudvar Odorheiu Secuiesc.[10] In six years as "Budvar" the team finished only one time in top 10 (2000–01 – 5th), the mediocre results culminating in a relegation toDivizia D at the end of the 2003–04 season, after exactly 20 years spent in the third tier.[11] During the next two years the football from the city struggled to survive, in 2006, the team of SC Roseal SA company, CS Roseal Odorheiu Secuiesc promoted toLiga III, but can't survive at this level and after only one season relegated back.
On 12 December 2006, at the initiative of some local football managers and supporters, a new entity, namedAFC Odorheiu Secuiesc, was founded to be the successor of the old club, known over time asTextila,Progresul,Harghita orBudvar.[12] The founding members of the football club, in its current form, were: Csaba Albert, Lajos Balázs, Attila Berkeczi, Csaba Dénes and Domokos Jankó.[12]
Odorheienii promoted to Liga III at the end of 2008–09 season, but after only three seasons relegated back to Liga IV, in the last one,2011–12, being even excluded from the league until the winter break due to financial problems.[12] After another three seasons spent in the county league, theSzékelys promoted to the third tier in 2015 after winning its county league and the promotion playoff match against Nemere Ghelința,Covasna County champions, 7–1 on aggregate.[13]
After promotion the black and orange team obtained the following rankings: 12th (2015–16), 12th (2016–17) and 11th (2017–18).
AFC Odorheiu Secuiesc plays its home matches onMunicipal Stadium inOdorheiu Secuiesc, with a capacity of 5,000 seats.[14]
Regional Championship
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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Board of directors[edit]
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Tiberiu Bone (1973–1974)
