| Full name | FC Vítkovice | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1919 | ||
| Ground | Městský stadion (Capacity: 15,163) |
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| Chairman | Oldřich Sedláček | ||
| Manager | Lubomír Vlk | ||
| 2010-11 | 16th, Moravian-Silesian Football League (withdrew; relegated) | ||
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FC Vítkovice is a football club from Vítkovice, Ostrava, Czech Republic. It was founded in 1919 and announced bankruptcy in 2011. The club won the Czechoslovak First League in the 1985–86 season.
The club is somewhat overshadowed by the town's main team FC Baník Ostrava who compete in the Czech 1. Division. Both teams have mutual rivalry, as Baník is based in the Silesian part of the city, while Vítkovice are located in the Moravian part of Ostrava. FC Vítkovice however still maintain a small local fan base.
They also hold a rivalry with regional side FK Fotbal Třinec from Třinec.
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The club was founded in 1919 as SK Slavoj Vítkovice and played their matches in Kunčičky district of Ostrava. The club however vanished due to the financial problems and was succeeded in 1922 by SK Vítkovice. The club became from the beginning one of the strongest teams in Ostrava region. In 1937-1938 a new stadium was constructed in Vítkovice district. It was supposed to be opened to public in October 1938 but it was unable to proceed due to the German occupation of the city. The stadium was opened a few years later.
The club played in the highest division from 1950 to 1952. In 1952 the league underwent the reorganization and Vítkovice were forcibly relegated to lower division. The club won the promotion to the top flight again in 1981. In the 1985-1986 came the biggest success in the club's history, as Vítkovice led by manager Ivan Kopecký won the Czechoslovak First League. Vítkovice played European cups for the first time in their history. The club, strongly financially supported by local iron and steel works, fell into the financial crisis after the Velvet Revolution of 1989. The industry withdrew some of its support and the club was forced to merge with FC Karviná in 1994. Afterwards the club was relegated to the Second Division. The merger was overturned a year later but the downfall continued and Vítkovice struggled in the middle of the Second Division table. After persistent financial problems, the club dropped to the Third Division in 2010.
On 9 February 2011, the club announced its withdrawal from the second half of the MSFL season due to insolvency.[1][2]