Viljandi JK Tulevik, commonly known as Viljandi Tulevik, or simply as Tulevik, is a
football club
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...
based in
Viljandi
Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...
, Estonia, that competes in the
Esiliiga
The Esiliiga is the second division in the Estonian football league system. The Esiliiga is ranked below the Meistriliiga and above the Esiliiga B.
As in most countries with low temperatures in winter time, the season starts in March and ends i ...
, the second tier of
Estonian football. The club's home ground is
Viljandi linnastaadion.
Founded in 1912 as Sports Association Tulevik (Future), the club was disbanded in 1940 and re-established in 1992 as one of the founding members of the Meistriliiga.
History
Early history
Founded in 1912 as Sports Association Tulevik (Future), in part, by
Heinrich Aviksoo
Heinrich Aviksoo (18 December 1880 – 10 April 1942) was an Estonian educator, journalist, sports figure, and politician. In 1912, Aviksoo was a founder and the first chairman of the Viljandi JK Tulevik football club. He also served as the may ...
, they began playing football in 1913 on a field by
Lake Viljandi
Lake Viljandi ( et, Viljandi järv) is a lake in Viljandi County, Estonia. The lake is in the deep primeval valley of the Viljandi town, depth , length , width , and surface area . The Uueveski and Valuoja streams and a number of springs flow int ...
, where
Viljandi linnastaadion was built in 1928. Interrupted by
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and the
Estonian War of Independence
The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik wes ...
, Tulevik didn't resume playing football until 1927. In 1937, they won the Central division of the regional B klass. Following the
Soviet occupation of Estonia
The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an National delimitation in ...
in 1940, Tulevik was disbanded.
In 1977, Viljandi Linnameeskond was formed. The team was promoted to the Soviet Estonian Championship in
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...
and spent the next decade within the top two tiers of Estonian football.
Tulevik's revival
In 1992, after Estonia had regained its independence, Viljandi Linnameeskond was first renamed JK Viljandi, and then JK Tulevik, and became a founding member of the
Meistriliiga
Meistriliiga (, known as the A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football (soccer), football championship. The league was founded in 1992, and was initially semi-p ...
. After two seasons, the club was relegated to the
Esiliiga
The Esiliiga is the second division in the Estonian football league system. The Esiliiga is ranked below the Meistriliiga and above the Esiliiga B.
As in most countries with low temperatures in winter time, the season starts in March and ends i ...
. In 1997, Tulevik became a part of the
Flora
Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
system and returned to the Meistriliiga, while
Sergei Ratnikov was appointed as manager. In June 1998, Ratnikov was replaced by
Tarmo Rüütli.
The club made their European debut in the
1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup
The 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were won by Valencia, Werder Bremen, and Bologna. All three teams advanced to the UEFA Cup. The 1998 tournament saw Spanish clubs debut in the competition and also the return of English clubs, since the controve ...
, losing to
St. Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website ...
3–9 on aggregate in the first round. Under Rüütli, Tulevik reached the 1998–99
Estonian Cup
The Estonian Cup ( et, Eesti Karikas) is the national knockout competition in Estonian football. In 2012, the competition was unofficially rebranded as Evald Tipner's Cup. The winner will compete in UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifyi ...
final, losing to
Levadia
Livadeia ( el, Λιβαδειά ''Livadiá'', ; grc, Λεβάδεια, Lebadeia or , ''Lebadia'') is a town in central Greece. It is the capital of the Boeotia regional district. Livadeia lies north-west of Athens, west of Chalkida, south-eas ...
2–3, and finished the
1999 Meistriliiga season as runners-up. Tulevik faced
Club Brugge
(), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,062. in the 1999/00 UEFA qualifying rounds, but lost 0–5 on aggregate. In November 1999, Rüütli left the club to manage Flora and the
Estonia national team, and was replaced by his assistant
Aivar Lillevere
Aivar Lillevere (born 23 January 1962) is an Estonian football manager and former football player.
Lillevere has managed Tulevik, Elva, and Estonian under-16, under-17, under-18, and under-19 national sides.
In February 2000, Lillevere mana ...
. Tulevik reached the Estonian Cup final again in the
following season, but were defeated by Levadia again 0–2.
In 2011, Tulevik ended their affiliation with Flora. As a result, the newly formed
FC Viljandi took their place in the Meistriliiga and Tulevik were relegated to the
II liiga
II liiga is the fourth level of football league competition in Estonia arranged by the Estonian Football Association. It consists of 28 teams, divided geographically into two divisions with 14 teams respectively in group North/East and South/Wes ...
. In January 2013, Aivar Lillevere returned to the club as manager. Tulevik finished the
2014 Esiliiga in fifth place and defeated
Lokomotiv 1–1 on aggregate on away goal in the promotion play-offs, thus earning promotion to the Meistriliiga.
The team's stay in the top division proved short-lived as the club finished the
2015 season in last place and were relegated. Tulevik won the
2016 Esiliiga
The 2016 Esiliiga is the 26th season of the Esiliiga, second-highest Estonian league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 25 February 2016 and concluded on 6 November 2016.
Tulevik won the league, ...
and were once again promoted to the Meistriliiga. Lillevere resigned in November 2017 and was replaced by
Marko Kristal
Marko Kristal (born 2 June 1973) is an Estonian football manager and former player. He is the assistant manager of Nõmme Kalju.
Kristal played as a midfielder for Lõvid, Sport Tallinn, Flora, FC Lahti and the Estonia national team. With Fl ...
in the following month. In April 2018, Kristal's contract was terminated after disappointing results in the league, with
Sander Post taking over as manager.
Under Sander Post, Tulevik established themselves in the Meistriliiga, finishing the
2018 season and
2019 season in 7th place and
2020 season in 6th place. In November 2020, Sander Post announced that he would be stepping down as manager and continue as the sporting director of Tulevik. Jaanus Reitel was announced as his replacement as manager. Viljandi Tulevik finished the
2021 season in 8th place. On 8 December 2021, Tulevik announced they will leave top-flight football due to financial reasons, with club president Raiko Mutle saying the
Covid pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...
had made the club's economic situation extraordinarily difficult and Tulevik would now take the time to focus on improving their sustainability and youth system.
In the following
2022 season, Viljandi Tulevik entered Esiliiga, the second of tier of Estonian football. With the team consisting mostly of club's youth players, Tulevik finished the season in 9th place.
Stadium

Tulevik initially played on a field by
Lake Viljandi
Lake Viljandi ( et, Viljandi järv) is a lake in Viljandi County, Estonia. The lake is in the deep primeval valley of the Viljandi town, depth , length , width , and surface area . The Uueveski and Valuoja streams and a number of springs flow int ...
. In 1928, a stadium was built on the same site. Renovated in 2010, Viljandi linnastaadion (Viljandi City Stadium) is a
multi-purpose stadium
A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...
with a capacity of 1,068. The stadium is located at Ranna 1, Viljandi.

In autumn 2021, a state of the art indoor football facility was opened in Viljandi. Costing nearly 3 million euros, the sports complex facilitates footballers during the snowy winter and spring months.
Players
Current squad
Out on loan
Reserves and academy
Club officials
Coaching staff
Managerial history
Honours
League
*
Meistriliiga
Meistriliiga (, known as the A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons) is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football (soccer), football championship. The league was founded in 1992, and was initially semi-p ...
** Runners-up (1):
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...
*
Esiliiga
The Esiliiga is the second division in the Estonian football league system. The Esiliiga is ranked below the Meistriliiga and above the Esiliiga B.
As in most countries with low temperatures in winter time, the season starts in March and ends i ...
** Winners (1):
2016
* B klass (Central Division)
** Winners (1): 1937
Cups
*
Estonian Cup
The Estonian Cup ( et, Eesti Karikas) is the national knockout competition in Estonian football. In 2012, the competition was unofficially rebranded as Evald Tipner's Cup. The winner will compete in UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifyi ...
** Runners-up (2):
1998–99,
1999–2000
*
Estonian Supercup
** Runners-up (1): 2000
Seasons and statistics
Seasons
Europe
References
External links
*
Viljandi JK Tulevikat Estonian Football Association
at UEFA.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tulevik
1912 establishments in Estonia
Association football clubs established in 1912
Football clubs in Estonia
Meistriliiga clubs
Sport in Viljandi