Sportul Municipal Vaslui, commonly known as SM Vaslui, or simply as Vaslui, was a Romanian football club based in Vaslui, Vaslui County. The club was founded in 1950 and over time underwent several name changes, such as 6 Martie, Progresul, Viitorul, Viitorul Mecanica, Mecanica, and Marvas. For three decades, from the 1970s through the 1990s, the team regularly competed in the second and third divisions of Romanian football.
Organized football in Vaslui dates back to the 1950 with the establishment of the "6 Martie" team, named after 6 March 1945, the date of the first communist government led by Petru Groza. Its home ground was located within the courtyard of the 25th Infantry Regiment, and the team initially competed in the Bârlad Regional Championship. In 1960, it was renamed "Progresul IER", being financially sustained by the ÃÂntreprinderea EconomicàRaionalà() and played in the IaÃÂi Regional Championship.
Progresul won the 1958âÂÂ59 season of the IaÃÂi Regional Championship, but due to the shutdown of Divizia C and the fact that no teams were promoted, Progresul stayed in the regional competition.
In 1968, the team was taken over by the Furniture Factory from Vaslui, renamed Viitorul, and played in the first season of the Vaslui County Championship. The team finished in 2nd place and won the following season but lost the promotion play-off against Olimpia Râmnicu SÃÂrat, the winner of the BuzÃÂu County Championship, 0âÂÂ1 on aggregate.
Led by Nicolae Oancea, Viitorul promoted to the third division at the end of the 1970âÂÂ71 season, winning the county title for the second time and securing promotion without a play-off due to the expansion of Divizia C.
In their first season in Divizia C, Viitorul finished in a respectable 6th place in Series II. The following season, Viitorul achieved promotion to Divizia B, finishing in 1st place, tied on points with Petrolul MoineÃÂti but with a better goal difference. Both teams were promoted to Divizia B following the expansion of the second division. The squad during this period included players such as Dumitru, Renghel, Iolea, V. GrigoraÃÂ, Dan Petraru, Rusu, Viorel ÃÂonea, AngheluÃÂÃÂ, Constantin Ion, M. GrigoraÃÂ, DorobÃÂÃÂ, Ursulescu, Bejan, Obreja, Lupu, StrÃÂoanu, DÃÂniciuc, DuÃÂu, Grigore, MÃÂrgÃÂrit, Albu, NicuÃÂor FrunzÃÂ, Tiron, and Vasiliu.
In the second division, Viitorul stayed for only one season, finishing 15th, tied on points with Constructorul GalaÃÂi, and was relegated due to goal difference. However, the team successfully returned to Divizia B the following season, once again winning Series II, finishing 6 points ahead of their rival from two seasons earlier, Petrolul MoineÃÂti.
Viitorul relegated once again, finishing 17th out of 18 in the 1975âÂÂ76 season of Divizia B, but managed to bounce back the following year, winning Series II of the third division for the third time in the 1976âÂÂ77 season.
During their most successful period in Divizia B, the team achieved solid results: 10th place in the 1977âÂÂ78 season, 5th in 1978âÂÂ79, 6th in 1979âÂÂ80, and 14th in both the 1980âÂÂ81 and 1981âÂÂ82 seasons. In the summer of 1982, the team was taken over by the Vaslui Mechanical Plant and renamed Viitorul Mecanica Vaslui. However, the change did not improve performance, as they were relegated to Divizia C at the end of the 1982âÂÂ83 season.
In 1983, the club dropped 'Viitorul' from its name and remained as Mecanica Vaslui. In the same year, Inter Vaslui, newly promoted from the County Championship, began to rise, sparking a great rivalry between the two teams. This rivalry intensified in 1988 when Inter adopted Mecanica's former name, Viitorul.
Mecanica continued to play in Series II of Divizia C without notable results in the following years: 5th place in the 1983âÂÂ84 season, 2nd place in the 1984âÂÂ85 season behind CSM BorzeÃÂti, and 3rd place in the 1985âÂÂ86 season behind Unirea Dinamo FocÃÂani and Inter Vaslui, 9th in the 1986âÂÂ87 season, 2nd place in the 1987âÂÂ88 season, 8th in the 1988âÂÂ89 season, 7th in Series I of the 1989âÂÂ90 season, and 11th in Series II of 1990âÂÂ91 season.
In the summer of 1991, another name change occurred, and the club became Marvas Vaslui. In the 1991âÂÂ92 season, the club finished in 4th place in Series III, the last position that allowed them to remain in the third division after the reduction in the number of teams following the reorganization of the competition system.
In 1992, the team was taken over by the Vaslui Municipality and was renamed Sportul Municipal. The club finished the 1992âÂÂ93 season in 18th place out of 20 in Series I of Divizia C, resulting in relegation.
After two seasons in the fourth division, Sportul Municipal won the 1994âÂÂ95 edition of Divizia D â Vaslui County and earned promotion to Divizia C by defeating ÃÂantierul Naval GalaÃÂi, the Divizia D â GalaÃÂi County winner, in the promotion play-off with a categorical 12âÂÂ1 on aggregate. However, the club encountered financial problems and withdrew during the 1995âÂÂ96 season, leading to another return to the county championship. Also, "Vasluienii" reached the Round of 32 of Cupa României in the 1995âÂÂ96 season, being eliminated by FC Argeà1âÂÂ3.
The 1997âÂÂ98 season brought another county championship title for Sportul Municipal Vaslui, but promotion to Divizia C slipped away after a narrow 2âÂÂ3 loss to Unirea BotoÃÂani in the play-off. Undeterred, the team claimed the county championship again in the 1998âÂÂ99 season and this time secured direct promotion to Divizia C, where it competed for the next three consecutive seasons, finishing 11th (1999âÂÂ2000), 12th (2000âÂÂ01), and 4th (2001âÂÂ02). The financial problems led to the dissolution of the club in the summer of 2002, paving the way for FC Vaslui.