Fotbal Club Viitorul Constanța (), commonly known as Viitorul Constanța or simply Viitorul, was a Romanian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in Ovidiu,

Constanța County Constanța () is a Counties of Romania, county (județ) of Romania on the Bulgaria–Romania border, border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța. Demographics In 2021, it had a population of 655,997 ...

. They last played their home matches in blue and black

kits KITS (105.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "Live 105") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock radio format known as "Live 105". The studios ...

at the Stadionul Viitorul, situated a few kilometres north of the city of

Constanța Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...

. Founded in 2009 by Gheorghe Hagi, the team was particularly known for promoting young talents from its

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, which earned them the nickname "Hagi's Kids". With the former Romanian international also acting as a coach, Viitorul Constanța had its first major success in the 2016–17 campaign, when it became the first side from the region of

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...

to win the national title. Two years later, it also won the

Romanian Cup Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

and the Romanian Supercup. In June 2021, owner Gheorghe Hagi, chairman Gheorghe Popescu and Farul Constanța owner Ciprian Marica announced in a press conference that their two clubs have merged; second division club Farul Constanța therefore took Viitorul's berth in the first league from the 2021–22 Liga I season.

History

Founding and early years (2009–2012)

Viitorul Constanța was founded in the summer of 2009 and enrolled in the

Liga III The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. It was founded in 1936 and was called Divizia C until 2006. An exception was the seasons 1992–93 to 1996–97, in which the league was call ...

, the third tier of the

Romanian football league system The Romanian football league system, also known as the football pyramid, refers to the system in Romanian club football that consists of several football leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation. The first three leagues ar ...

, after acquiring the playing rights of CSO Ovidiu. It has been owned since its creation by former Romanian international Gheorghe Hagi. During the team's first season in Romanian football, they achieved promotion to the 2010–11

Liga II The Liga 2, most commonly spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07 football season. It is currently Sponso ...

in round 33 after a fierce battle with ACS Berceni towards the end of the campaign. In the 2011–12 Liga II, Viitorul finished second in the standings and were promoted to the top-flight the following season.

Domestic trophies and European participations (2012–2021)

In the 2012–13 season, Viitorul made its first appearance in

Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

in the club's history. With 8 victories, 12 draws, and 13 defeats, it finished in 13th place with 36 points thereby avoiding relegation. Viitorul had notable victories, but was ever-present in relegation battles for the following two campaigns. In

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, Viitorul finished in 5th place, earning a spot in the third qualifying round of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. Drawn against Belgian side Gent in their first European match, Viitorul was defeated 0–5 at the Ghelamco Arena. On 13 May 2017, Viitorul managed to win the

after a 1–0 home victory over

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

. It was the first major trophy in the club's history and ensured qualification for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

. With an average age of 22.2 years, "Hagi's Kids" were the season's youngest league champion in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In the third qualifying round of the Champions League, after a 1–0 win against APOEL at home, Viitorul once again suffered a harsh away defeat (0–4 a.e.t.).

Merger with Farul (2021)

On 21 June 2021, Gheorghe Hagi, owner and founder of Viitorul, Gheorghe Popescu, chairman of Viitorul, and Ciprian Marica, owner of Farul Constanța, announced in a press conference that their two clubs from

have merged. Farul took Viitorul's place in the Liga I, while Viitorul virtually disappeared in the process of the merger. With the Farul Stadium in an advanced state of degradation, the new entity moved to the Viitorul Stadium in Ovidiu.

Youth program

Viitorul Constanța was known for developing young players in Romania and having some of the best facilities in the country. The academy was inherited by Farul Constanța following the 2021 merger.

Grounds

Viitorul returned to the newly expanded Stadionul Viitorul in Ovidiu in the summer of 2015, on which it played until the club's disappearance in 2021.

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

**Winners (1): 2016–17 *

**Runners-up (1): 2011–12 *

**Winners (1): 2009–10

Cups

Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...

**Winners (1): 2018–19 *

Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994 Supe ...

**Winners (1):

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

**Runners-up (1):

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Records and statistics

European Cups history

;Notes * 1Q: First qualifying round * 2Q: Second qualifying round * 3Q: Third qualifying round * PO: Play-off round

European cups all-time statistics

League history

References

External links

*
Club profile
on UEFA's official website
Club profile
on LPF's official website () {{DEFAULTSORT:Viitorul Constanta Football clubs in Constanța County Sport in Constanța Ovidiu Association football clubs established in 2009 Association football clubs disestablished in 2021 Liga I clubs Liga II clubs Liga III clubs 2009 establishments in Romania 2021 disestablishments in Romania *