| Full name | Fudbalski klub Sloboda Užice | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Ere | |||
| Founded | 1925 | |||
| Ground | Gradski Stadion na Begluku Užice, Serbia (Capacity: 12,000) |
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| President | Dragan Subotić | |||
| Head coach | Ljubiša Stamenković | |||
| League | Serbian SuperLiga | |||
| 2010–11 | Serbian SuperLiga, 7th | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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FK Sloboda Užice (Serbian Cyrillic: ФК Слобода Ужице) is a football club from Užice, Serbia. In 2010 Sloboda merged with Sevojno Point, which had just been promoted to the Super Liga, and from then the club plays in the Super Liga, under the new name FK Sloboda Point Sevojno, until the name "Sloboda Užice" was restored as the club's official name on October 13, 2011.[1]
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The club was founded in spring 1925 as part of sports society named URSK Sloboda (Užički radnički sportski klub Sloboda). The founders were communist activists Miloš Marković (who was two years earlier the founder of FK Radnički Niš) and Josip Šiber. From the very beginning, football had a priority over other sports in the newly founded sports society.
The first official match was played on 24 June 1926 against FK Mladi Radnik from Kragujevac ending in a 2-2 draw. In the 1928-29 season the club began participating in the regional Western Morava county league, along with other area clubs such as FK Era from Užice, Car Lazar and Obilić from Kruševac, Ibar from Kraljevo, Jedinstvo from Čačak and Takovo from Gornji Milanovac.
In 1929 the club officially got accepted under the umbrella of the Yugoslav Football Association as well as the Workers' Sports Union.
Due to financial difficulties, the club didn't compete in the early 1930s, playing only friendly matches. The club scaled down its football activities in this period, turning its focus towards politics. Due to its ties to worker unions, the club got infiltrated by members and sympathizers of the banned Yugoslav Communist Party (KPJ), becoming in essence the focal point for communist activity in the city of Užice. Authorities reacted by forcing the club to drop the term "radnički" (reference to workers) from its name in early 1932. For the May Day that year, Sloboda's co-founder Josip Šiber placed the Red flag on the club's facilities. While the authorities conducted an investigation into the event, the flag re-appeared on the cliff overlooking the city. In December 1932, Sloboda ended up losing its license by the national police of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and was forced to shut down because of "spreading communist ideas".
Soon after, the club resumed its activities under new name - USK Građanski (Užički sportski klub Građanski) - which was the authorities' attempt to distance the club from its ties to workers as well as fostering a new civic identity. FK Era, the other club from the city, merged into Građanski. In the season 1936-37 Građanski became champion of the regional Western Morava county league, but still failed to qualify to the national level second-tier Yugoslav Second League, losing the playoff tie. During those qualification matches, the club supporters traveled by bus to Kragujevac to support their team against the local Erdoglija in what is considered to be the first supporters trip outside Užice.
In 1938, the club was again banned by the authorities, but a year latter, the ban got lifted, and the club continued this time under yet another new name Budućnost. However, Second World War began soon. During the occupation of the country by Axis forces, the club didn't have any activity, and most of its players participated in fighting to liberate the country. Many of them perished during the war.[2]
On 5 May 1945 the club was reestablished under its original name, Sloboda and was now named FK Sloboda Titovo Užice. Next year the club won the local league and played for several years in the regional Serbian League. After the restructure of the Football Association, it became a member of the Kragujevac sub-division of the Football Federation. Until 1947 the club played its matches on the field in Krčagovo, but from then on began playing in a new stadium in Begluk, where under floodlights played its first night match against Metalac Belgrade.
In 1956 the club reached its greatest achievement until then, by playing in the so-called IV Zone League (one of the 5 leagues forming the Yugoslav Second League) among other teams like Radnički Niš, Radnički Kragujevac, Rabotnički Skopje, Pobeda Prilep, Trepča Kosovska Mitrovica, and others. The club suffered relegation after that season, but in that period it managed to accomplish some stability as regular participant in the Kragujevac Association League.
In the season 1962-63 played the qualifications for the Yugoslav Second League against FK Bor, and after each team winning its home matches by 2-0, the final was played in Belgrade´s JNA stadium, where it failed to win.
It was finally in its fourth attempt, in 1965, that the club managed to qualify to the Yugoslav Second League as second-place team in the Serbian League group South. In the qualifications it managed to overcome Belgrade's FK Železnik and Tetovo's FK Teteks. One of the club's most memorable nights during this period came on February 19th 1967 when the club held Yugoslavia's most successful club, Red Star Belgrade to a 1-1 draw in the Yugoslav cup before losing 1-2 in extra time in front of 14,000 spectators. The following two seasons are remembered by the fans as the most successful until then. The club menaged to conclude the first half of the championship in first place in both seasons, but on both occasions failed to reach the First League qualifications at the end.
Following this period, the league was restructured and some poor results saw the club drop down to the Serbian League (Yugoslav 3rd tier) where they remained until 1980, when it was promoted to the Yugoslav Second League group East (the Second League was back then divided into two groups, East and West). Promotion was achieved with a crushing win over FK Topličanin by 5-0. In this period the club achieved stability, and in the season 1987/88 by finishing in the top half of the league table achieved qualification to the newly formed unified Second League. In this period, the late 1980s, the level of football played in Yugoslavia is by many considered the best ever.[3]
In the season 1991-92 the club was at the top of the Second League for a long period, but at the end failed to gain promotion to the top league, achieving that in the following season, 1992–93 and qualified to play in the First League of FR Yugoslavia for the 1993-94 time. Despite wins in Čačak against FK Borac Čačak by 4-1, and in Pljevlja against FK Rudar Pljevlja by 1-0, because of the restructuring of the league it only played in 1995 against the best teams of the First League.
In June 1995 it managed to stay in the First League by winning in the promotion/relegation matches the Second League FK Novi Pazar in Novi Pazar in a penalty shoot-out. The following season, 1995-96 it ended in 4th place in the B First League, qualifying to play in the A First League in the second part of the championship. But, at the end, it finished last, despite wins against FK Proleter Zrenjanin and FK Mladost Lučani.
In the following seasons the club suffered a series of relegations, and despite few participations in the Second League, the club ended up mostly playing in the Srpska Liga (third national tier) during the 2000s.[4]
In 2010 the club announced its merge with FK Sevojno, that achieved promotion to the Serbian SuperLiga, and a new era in the club seemed to begin.[5]
The stadium FK Sloboda Point Užice on Begluk is the ground of the club in Užice, Serbia. The stadium is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium has a capacity for 12,000 spectators and was built in 1946, while it was reconstructed in 1980.
On the existing stadium in Užice is planned the reconstruction of the entire western stands with 5200 seats and stands of northern and southern extension panels. The project will be financed by the Government of the Republic of Serbia, together with the city authorities of Užice.
As of December 2011.[6]
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For recent transfers, see List of Serbian football transfers summer 2011.
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