FC Orenburg
- Leagues Played
- Russia Division 1 184 Russia Premier League 150 Russia Cup 37 Russia Premier League Play-Offs 2
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- Related Teams
- FC Orenburg II FC Orenburg U20
FC Orenburg
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Wikipedia - FC Orenburg
FC Orenburg (Russian: ФК «Оренбург») is a Russian professional football club based in Orenburg. Founded in 1976, it earned promotion to the Russian Premier League in 2022–23 season.
History
It played professionally as Gazovik from 1976 to 1982 and from 1989 on. Before 1976 another Orenburg team, Lokomotiv Orenburg, played professionally, including three seasons in the second-highest Soviet First League in 1960–62. In 1989 Gazovik was called Progress Orenburg. Gazovik began Russian League at Zone 5 of Second League and relegated from Zone 6 from one to Third League in 1993. They stayed in Zone 5 of Third League until 1997 season, when they returned to third level. They finished Ural Povolzhye (Volga Region in Russian) as runner-up in 2006, 2007 and 2008 seasons and finally promoted to the Russian First League in 2010.
On 2 May 2016, the club secured top-two finish in the 2015–16 Russian National Football League and with that, the promotion to the Russian Premier League for the 2016–17 season for the first time in club's history.
On 25 May 2016, the club was renamed from its historical name FC Gazovik Orenburg to FC Orenburg.
The club was relegated back to the second tier at the end of the 2016–17 season after losing a penalty shootout in the relegation playoffs to FC SKA-Khabarovsk. It was promoted back to the Russian Premier League after one season in the second tier. It was relegated at the end of the 2019–20 Russian Premier League season. They were forced to forfeit two games late in the season due to COVID-19 infections in the squad and play more games with a weakened line-up. On 8 May 2021, they secured a second-place finish in the FNL and return to the Russian Premier League after one season in the second tier. However, Russian Football Union rejected the club's application for a RPL license on 5 May 2021 due to the stadium not passing capacity requirements and other conditions, and their appeal was rejected on 12 May 2021. The club considered filing a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. On 24 May 2021, the club announced they will not file a lawsuit with CAS and will accept the RFU decision. They also announced that the club will begin the stadium reconstruction in June 2021 to bring it up to Premier League standards.
In the 2021–22 season, Orenburg led the FNL for most of the season, before dropping out of the direct promotion spot to the 3rd place on the last matchday. That qualified Orenburg for the promotion play-offs against FC Ufa, which finished 14th in the Premier League. Orenburg won the play-offs 4–3 on aggregate thanks to the second-leg added-time goal by Andrei Malykh and returned to the Russian Premier League after two seasons in the second tier. They finished their first season upon return in 7th place.
The team plays their home matches at the Gazovik Stadium, which has a seating capacity of over 5,000 spectators. The team's colors are black and white, and their mascot is a fierce eagle.
FC Orenburg has a passionate fan base that supports the team through thick and thin. The team has a reputation for playing an exciting and attacking style of soccer, with a focus on teamwork and determination.
Over the years, FC Orenburg has produced many talented players who have gone on to represent the Russian national team. The team has also had success in domestic competitions, including winning the Russian National Football League in 2015.
Overall, FC Orenburg is a respected and competitive team in Russian soccer, known for their strong work ethic and commitment to success on the field.