SAK Klagenfurt/Celovec
| Full name | Slovenski Atletski Klub Celovec/Klagenfurt |
|---|---|
| Founded | 18 April 1970 |
| Ground | SAK Sportpark Welzenegg |
| Capacity | 2,000 |
| Chairman | Marko Wieser |
| Manager | Goran Lučić |
| League | Austrian Regionalliga Central |
| 2022-23 Regionalliga Central | 16th relegated |
SAK Celovec/Klagenfurt (Slovenski Atletski Klub Celovec/Klagenfurt) is an Austrian football club based in Klagenfurt (Celovec), Carinthia. From the 2023/24 season, the SAK will play in the Carinthian League. It was founded in 1970 by members of the Klagenfurt Slovene secondary school (Gymnasium) around Valentin Inzko. The aim was to have the best Slovenian-speaking footballers in Carinthia play in a team, to celebrate sporting successes with the SAK and thus draw attention to the Slovenian ethnic group throughout Austria. [1]
History[change | change source]
The biggest opponents of the SAK in the 1970s were pro-German referees and the spectators. At that time, many games were more like political events for or against the rights of the Slovene minority than football games. In 1978/79 they were promoted to the Unterliga in 1982/83 to the Kärntner Liga. Reaching the ÖFB Cup quarter-finals with a win against LASK in front of 2,000 spectators in Klagenfurt-Annabichl on 28 March 1987 was also a great success.
After the re-introduction of the Regional League Central, SAK won the 1995 championship and was promoted to the First League. Nevertheless, the team was again relegated one year later to the Regional League, where they have played until 2001, from 2002 until 2003 and from 2005 until 2015. From 2001 until 2002 und from 2003 until 2005 the team played in the "Kaerntner Landesliga" ("Kaerntner Liga"). In the 2022-23 season they played in the Regionalliga Mitte but were relegated.