 | ||||
| Full name | Football Club Koper | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Kanarčki (The Canaries) Rumeno-modri (The Yellow and Blues) | |||
| Founded | 1920; 105 years ago (1920)[1] (asCircolo sportivo Capodistriano) | |||
| Ground | Bonifika | |||
| Capacity | 4,047 | |||
| President | Ante Guberac | |||
| Head coach | Zoran Zeljković | |||
| League | Slovenian PrvaLiga | |||
| 2024–25 | Slovenian PrvaLiga, 3rd of 10 | |||
| Website | fckoper | |||
Football Club Koper, commonly referred to asFC Koper or simplyKoper, is a Slovenian football club based inKoper that competes in theSlovenian First League, the top flight ofSlovenian football. The club was founded in 1920.[1] They won the Slovenian First League once, in the2009–10 season, and theSlovenian Cup four times, most recently in2021–22.
The club's home ground isBonifika Stadium, which has a capacity for 4,047 spectators.
The club was formed asCircolo sportivo Capodistriano in 1920.[2] The team was made up of students, workers and fishermen. Its colours were black and white.[2] In 1928, the club was renamed asUnione sportiva Capodistriana. Six years later, the club was renamed asLibertas.[2]
AfterWorld War II, the club became part of a larger sports association and renamed asAurora.[2] By 1948, there were five clubs operating in the Koper area: Aurora, Meduza, Partizan, Edilit, and Adria.[2] In 1955, Aurora and Meduza merged, creatingNK Koper.[2] The club played under this name in different Yugoslav leagues until 1991 and was one of the most successful Slovenian clubs. After Slovenia's independence, the club played in theSlovenian PrvaLiga. At the beginning of the 1990s, the club was achieving mid-table success. By the end of the 1990s, the club had been relegated to thesecond division twice, had serious financial problems, and renamed as FC Koper. With the advent of the new millennium, Koper consistently achieved positions in the upper half of the table. In 2002, they competed in the2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup, their first international competition. Two years of mid-table anonymity and significant financial difficulties followed, in part because the former owner, Georg Suban, left substantial debts to the club and took half of the team with him when he moved to the other Slovenian PrvaLiga team,Mura.[citation needed]
The fans took control of the club and tried to improve its finances to save it from going bankrupt like three other major Slovenian clubs (Olimpija, Mura andLjubljana), with reasonable success. In the 2005–06 season,Mladen Rudonja returned to the club and brought with him the Serbian-American businessmanMilan Mandarić, who paid off all the remaining debts. After the first half of the season, before the arrival of the new patron, Koper was battling against relegation, but in the second part of the season, with a new coach,Milivoj Bračun, the club started an unbeaten run that led them to reach the third place in the Slovenian PrvaLiga and to win theSlovenian Cup for the first time.[3] This also qualified the team to play in theUEFA Cup qualifying rounds in the2006–07 season. The following seasons were more difficult, with the club narrowly avoiding relegation in 2009. In the2009–10 season, the team was expanded and, under the leadership of veteran playerMiran Pavlin, eventually won the Slovenian PrvaLiga championship for the first time,[4] securing a place in theUEFA Champions League qualifiers, where they were defeated byDinamo Zagreb 5–4 on aggregate (1–5, 3–0).[5] In the aftermath, Pavlin left the club.
Following the2016–17 season, Koper failed to obtain a competition licence and was excluded from the Slovenian top division.[6][7]
Bonifika Stadium is the team's home ground, named after the area where it is situated in the town ofKoper. The stadium was built in 1948.[10] In 2010, the stadium underwent extensive reconstruction[11] and its current capacity is 4,047 seats.[10]
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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League
Cup
League
Cup
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| Season | League | Position | Pts | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–92 | 1. SNL | 8 | 43 | 40 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 38 | 33 | Round of 16 |
| 1992–93 | 1. SNL | 8 | 35 | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 41 | 45 | Round of 16 |
| 1993–94 | 1. SNL | 7 | 32 | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 43 | 38 | First round |
| 1994–95 | 1. SNL | 11↓ | 26 | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 24 | 34 | First round |
| 1995–96 | 2. SNL | 6↑ | 41 | 29 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 33 | 30 | Round of 16 |
| 1996–97 | 1. SNL | 10↓ | 31 | 36 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 61 | did not qualify |
| 1997–98 | 2. SNL | 2↑ | 68 | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 75 | 20 | First round |
| 1998–99 | 1. SNL | 11↓ | 32 | 33 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 34 | 61 | did not qualify |
| 1999–2000 | 2. SNL | 1↑ | 72 | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 76 | 21 | Round of 16 |
| 2000–01 | 1. SNL | 6 | 46 | 33 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 43 | 43 | did not qualify |
| 2001–02 | 1. SNL | 3 | 56 | 33 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 45 | 26 | Round of 16 |
| 2002–03 | 1. SNL | 5 | 45 | 31 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 41 | 41 | First round |
| 2003–04 | 1. SNL | 4 | 50 | 32 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 41 | 32 | Round of 16 |
| 2004–05 | 1. SNL | 11 | 36 | 32 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 38 | 41 | Round of 16 |
| 2005–06 | 1. SNL | 3 | 57 | 36 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 49 | 39 | Winners |
| 2006–07 | 1. SNL | 6 | 45 | 36 | 10 | 15 | 11 | 51 | 46 | Winners |
| 2007–08 | 1. SNL | 2 | 64 | 36 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 68 | 50 | Semi-finals |
| 2008–09 | 1. SNL | 8 | 42 | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 39 | 47 | Runners-up |
| 2009–10 | 1. SNL | 1 | 73 | 36 | 21 | 10 | 5 | 59 | 35 | Round of 16 |
| 2010–11 | 1. SNL | 3 | 60 | 36 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 57 | 43 | Semi-finals |
| 2011–12 | 1. SNL | 4 | 58 | 36 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 48 | 35 | Quarter-finals |
| 2012–13 | 1. SNL | 4 | 55 | 36 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 52 | 42 | Quarter-finals |
| 2013–14 | 1. SNL | 2 | 69 | 36 | 21 | 6 | 9 | 52 | 36 | First round |
| 2014–15 | 1. SNL | 8 | 40 | 36 | 12 | 4 | 20 | 35 | 58 | Winners |
| 2015–16 | 1. SNL | 8 | 40 | 36 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 40 | 54 | Quarter-finals |
| 2016–17[a] | 1. SNL | 6↓ | 50 | 36 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 43 | 40 | Round of 16 |
| 2017–18 | Littoral League | 1↑ | 65 | 23 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 118 | 2 | Round of 16 |
| 2018–19 | 3. SNL | 1↑ | 71 | 28 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 111 | 15 | Quarter-finals |
| 2019–20[b] | 2. SNL | 1↑ | 44 | 20 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 42 | 13 | Quarter-finals |
| 2020–21 | 1. SNL | 9 | 42 | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 41 | 56 | Semi-finals |
| 2021–22 | 1. SNL | 2 | 67 | 36 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 54 | 38 | Winners |
| 2022–23 | 1. SNL | 6 | 50 | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 46 | 40 | Quarter-finals |
| 2023–24 | 1. SNL | 5 | 48 | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 51 | 49 | Quarter-finals |
| 2024–25 | 1. SNL | 3 | 66 | 36 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 60 | 35 | Runners-up |
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| Winners | Runners-up | Promoted ↑ | Relegated ↓ |
All results (home and away) list Koper's goal tally first.
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Agg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Intertoto Cup | 1R |  Helsingborgs IF | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| 2003 | Intertoto Cup | 1R |  Zagreb | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 |
| 2R |  Dubnica | 1–0 | 2–3 | 3–3 (a) | ||
| 3R |  Egaleo | 2–2 | 3–2 | 5–4 | ||
| SF |  Heerenveen | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | ||
| 2006–07 | UEFA Cup | 1Q |  Litex Lovech | 0–1 | 0–5 | 0–6 |
| 2007–08 | UEFA Cup | 1Q |  Široki Brijeg | 2–3 | 1–3 | 3–6 |
| 2008–09 | UEFA Cup | 1Q |  Vllaznia | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| 2010–11 | UEFA Champions League | 2Q | Dinamo Zagreb | 3–0 | 1–5 | 4–5 |
| 2011–12 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Shakhter Karagandy | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Čelik Nikšić | 4–0 | 5–0 | 9–0 |
| 2Q |  Neftchi Baku | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | ||
| 2015–16 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Víkingur Reykjavík | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| 2Q | Hajduk Split | 3–2 | 1–4 | 4–6 | ||
| 2022–23 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 2Q |  Vaduz | 0–1 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | 1–2 |
| 2025–26 | UEFA Conference League | 1Q | Željezničar | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 |
| 2Q |  Viking | 3–5 | 0–7 | 3–12 |
