FK Vardar

FK Vardar (Macedonian: ФК Вардар), commonly referred to as Vardar, is a football club based in the capital city of Skopje, in the Republic of Macedonia . Founded in 1947, they have been members of the Macedonian First Football League since its inception in 1992. Vardar (named after the eponymous river) is the most popular and renowned Macedonian football club both domestically and abroad, winning 8 national championships and 5 national cups. Its home venue is the Philip II Arena, with a capacity of 33,460.

History

Beginnings

FK Vardar was created with the merger of city rivals FK Pobeda and FK Makedonija, in the hall of cinema "Vardar" on 22 July 1947. The foundation assembly had decided the club color to be blue and it was, but already at the next assembly the decision was changed to red and white. FK Pobeda has competed in the first season of the Yugoslav First Federal League after the World War II, finished at the 8th place and won the relegation play-offs against FK Sloga from Novi Sad, so Vardar was a member of the Yugoslav First League from the very beginning. However, during the following decade they were several times relegated and promoted back again. The present recognizable red and black color was adopted after the 1963 Skopje earthquake.