FC Fakel Voronezh
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| Full name | Football club «Fakel» Voronezh | |
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| Nickname(s) | Факелоны (Fakelony) | |
| Founded | 1947 | |
| Ground | Central Stadium of Trade Unions, Voronezh | |
| Capacity | 32,750 | |
| President | Roman Askhabadze | |
| Head Coach | Sergei Tashuyev | |
| League | Russian Premier League | |
| 2022–23 | 14th | |
| Website | Club website | |
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FC Fakel Voronezh (Russian: Футбольный клуб "Факел" Воронеж) is a Russian professional football club based in Voronezh. Founded in 1947, the club has played in the Soviet Top League and the Russian Premier League. The club returned to the Russian Premier League in the 2022–23 season. The club holds the record for fan attendance in Eastern Europe.
History
The club was founded in 1947 at a then classified airplane plant. For reasons of secrecy, the team was not officially given a name and was referred to as the Voronezh city team. In 1959 the team became a part of Trud sports society and was renamed Trud Voronezh. In 1977 the team was renamed Fakel, meaning "Torch".
The team played in the Soviet League since 1954:
- 1954–1960 in Class B
- 1961 in Class A (Soviet Top League)
- 1962 in Class B
- 1963–1970 in Class A, Group 2
- 1971–1978 in Second League
- 1979–1984 in First League
- 1985 in Top League
- 1986–1987 in First League
- 1988 in Second League
- 1989–1991 in First League
The club's best results were 15th place in the Top Division in 1961 and 17th in 1985. Fakel reached the semifinal of the Soviet Cup in 1984.
In the Russian league, Fakel played in various divisions, only on two occasions staying in the same division for more than two consecutive seasons:
- First Division: 1993, 1995–1996, 1998–1999, 2002–2003, 2005–2006, 2011–2012, 2015–2022
- Second Division: 1994, 2004, 2010, 2012–2015
- Russian Amateur Football League: 2007–2008
The best finish achieved by Fakel in the Premier League was 13th in 2000. The club has won 3 Second Division titles.
Fakel has also experienced several short-lived name changes: to Fakel-Profsoyuz in 1992, Voronezh in 2002 and Fakel-Voronezh in 2002–2003.
Fakel and
A new club called FC Fakel Voronezh technically independent from the club that played in 2009 as FC Fakel-Voronezh Voronezh was founded in 2010 and played in the
Before the 2011–12 season
They finished in the relegation zone once again in the 2018–19 season, but due to failure of FC Sakhalin Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and FC Anzhi Makhachkala to acquire a 2019–20 license, they were not relegated.[3][4]
The 2019–20 season was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia with Fakel once again in relegation spot. However, due to the pandemic, none of the teams, including Fakel, were relegated.
Fakel finished 2nd in the
The club's return to the top division was marked by high attendance levels at home matches, fiery support from the stands and loud crowd singing of the biggest hits of Sektor Gaza, a famous local punk rock band. Fakel came 3rd by average attendance in the 2022–23 Russian Premier League just behind FC Zenit Saint Petersburg and FC Krasnodar.
Fakel finished their first season upon return in 14th place, qualifying for relegation play-offs against FC Yenisey Krasnoyarsk.[6] They managed to keep their Premier League spot after defeating Yenisey 3–0 on aggregate.[7]
Current squad
- As of 20 February 2024[8]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve squad
Fakel's reserve squad played professionally as FC Fakel-d Voronezh in the
Notable players
Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Fakel.
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Coaching staff
| Position | Staff |
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| Manager | Vacant |
| Assistant Manager |  Sergei Tomarov
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| First-Team Coach | Valeri Klimov
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| Goalkeeper Coach | Vladimir Sychyov
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| Fitness Coach | Dmitry Sorokin
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| Team Leader | Stanislav Sukhina
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| Physiotherapist | Alexey Muzalevsky
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| Masseur | Alexey Melnikov Vladimir Yakushin
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| Administrator | Ruslan Taratukhin Vladimir Kopaev
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References
- Sport-Express. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- ^ Клубы ФНЛ получили лицензии (in Russian). Russian National Football League. 30 May 2018.
- ^ "Сахалин" выиграл первенство ПФЛ в зоне "Восток", но не сыграет в ФНЛ [Sakhalin won the PFL East zone, but will not play in the FNL] (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Анжи" не будет выступать в ФНЛ в следующем сезоне [Anzhi will not play in the FNL next season] (in Russian). Sport Express. 29 May 2019.
- ^ ""ТОРПЕДО" – ПОБЕДИТЕЛЬ ОЛИМП-ФНЛ, "ФАКЕЛ" СТАЛ ВТОРЫМ" (in Russian). Russian Football National League. 21 May 2022.
- ^ "«Пари НН» и «Факел» сыграют в переходных матчах за места в Мир РПЛ-2023/24" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 3 June 2023.
- ^ "«Пари НН» и «Факел» сохранили места в РПЛ" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 10 June 2023.
- ^ According to the Premier League website
External links
- Official website (in Russian)