Fudbalski klub à ½eljezniÃÂar Sarajevo (; ), commonly referred to as à ½eljo, is a professional football club, based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The name à ½eljezniÃÂar means "railway worker", originating from their establishment by a group of railway workers in 1921. Throughout its history, the club has cultivated a reputation for producing talented home-grown players through its youth school.
During the days of socialist Yugoslavia, FK à ½eljezniÃÂar were national champions in the 1971âÂÂ72 season, qualifying for the European Cup during the 1972âÂÂ73 season. The club has also finished as runners-up once in the league, and contested the 1980âÂÂ81 Yugoslav Cup final. In Europe, the club reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals during the 1984âÂÂ85 season and the quarter-finals during the 1971âÂÂ72 season. The former remains the most successful European campaign by any club from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Alongside FK Sarajevo, à ½eljezniÃÂar is the most successful football team from Bosnia and Herzegovina, having won six Bosnian championships, six Bosnian Cups and three Bosnian Supercups, in addition to the Yugoslav First League title in 1972. The club's so far best post-war European result was qualifying to the 2002âÂÂ03 Champions League third qualifying round, losing to Newcastle United. Their biggest rival is FK Sarajevo with whom they contest the biggest football match in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sarajevo derby.
à ½eljezniÃÂar was formed by a group of railway workers. During the early 20th century, there were several football clubs in Sarajevo. They were rich and usually backed by various organizations, most of them on an ethnic basis: Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Croats, Bosnian Jews, unlike à ½eljezniÃÂar. Since it was a financially poor club, they used to organize dance nights and all the profits made were later used to buy shoes and balls.
Financial problems were not the only ones. The club's embrace of members of all ethnic backgrounds was seen as a threat by many at the time, so à ½eljezniÃÂar was suppressed in various ways. Despite that, the club managed to survive, and even beat wealthier clubs. The first official match, a friendly, was played at KovaÃÂiÃÂi, a Sarajevo settlement, on 17 September 1921 against SAà  K Napredak which resulted in a 5âÂÂ1 defeat. The next day another game was played, a 2âÂÂ1 loss against Sarajevski à  K.
In 1941, World War II came to Sarajevo, and all football activity was stopped. Many footballers were members of the resistance troops, and some of them were killed. After the war, à ½eljo was reborn, and in 1946, it won the Bosnian Republic championship which was one of the 7 regional leagues formed in order to provide participants to the restored Yugoslav championship starting next season. As winners, à ½eljezniÃÂar became one of the Bosnian representatives in the Yugoslav top-flight. Soon after, the Sarajevo citizens formed a new club called FK Sarajevo, the club that has remained a major annoyance to à ½eljezniÃÂar's fans (known as The Maniacs) until today. That had an influence on the club, so it needed several years to come back to the first division. For most of the time, à ½eljezniÃÂar played in the top level. It was relegated four times (the last time in the 1976âÂÂ77 season), but every time (except the first time in 1947) it returned quickly.
In 1964, the Football Association of Yugoslavia found à ½eljezniÃÂar guilty for match fixing. Alongside à ½eljezniÃÂar, Hajduk Split and Treà ¡njevka were found guilty and were ejected from the First Yugoslav League. Among others, à ½eljezniÃÂar players Ivica Osim and Mià ¡o Smajloviàwere banned from football for one year, and executives from à ½eljezniÃÂar including then club president Nusret Mahiàwere banned from football for life. After a month it was decided that the clubs will stay in the league but points will be deducted, six from à ½eljezniÃÂar and five from Hajduk and Treà ¡njevka each.
The club first appeared in European competitions during the 1963 Mitropa Cup, however serious competitions had to wait until the early 1970s when the team finished the 1970âÂÂ71 Yugoslav First League season in 2nd place, a result which allowed the club to play in the 1971âÂÂ72 UEFA Cup where they made the quarter-finals on their very first appearance losing to Ferencvárosi in a penalty shootout.
1971âÂÂ72 Yugoslav First League table (top 5 only):
à ½eljezniÃÂar's greatest domestic success at the time came in the 1971âÂÂ72 season when the team won the championship title, their only top-tier title in the Yugoslav period, which qualified the club for the European Cup during the 1972âÂÂ73 season where they were eliminated in the first round by Derby County.
à ½eljezniÃÂar also finished in third place in the top-tier league on two occasions in a league traditionally dominated by the big four clubs (Red Star Belgrade, Partizan, Hajduk Split and Dinamo Zagreb).
In the 1980âÂÂ81 season, à ½eljezniÃÂar reached the Yugoslav cup final (Marshal Tito Cup), but lost 2âÂÂ3 to another Bosnian side Veleà ¾ Mostar with both Mehmed Baà ¾dareviàand Vahid Halilhodà ¾iàscoring a brace for their respective teams. The venue for the final was the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade played in front of 40,000 fans. That season, à ½eljezniÃÂar finished the 1980âÂÂ81 Yugoslav First League in a disappointing 14th position which meant the club did not play in Europe even though it made the Yugoslav Cup final.
à ½eljezniÃÂar's best international result was recorded in the 1984âÂÂ85 season. The team, led by manager Ivica Osim, reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup (renamed to UEFA Europa League since the 2009âÂÂ10 season) where they were eliminated by Hungarian team Videoton. à ½eljezniÃÂar finished the domestic championship in third place in the season before, qualifying them for the competition. à ½eljezniÃÂar appeared to have had the result at home, leading 2âÂÂ0 (3âÂÂ3 on aggregate) against the Hungarians that would send them into a final against Spanish club Real Madrid on the away goals rule; however, two minutes from full-time Videoton scored a crucial goal, eliminating the home side 4âÂÂ3 on aggregate. Edin Bahtiàfinished the competition as second-top scorer with 7 goals, one short of József Szabó.
Prior to this success, the team played the quarter-final stage of the inaugural year of the UEFA Cup competition.
After the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, war broke out and football stopped. The game between à ½eljezniÃÂar and FK Rad scheduled to be played on 5 April 1992 at Stadion Grbavica as part of Round 26 of the 1991âÂÂ92 Yugoslav First League was abandoned 35 minutes (14:55 p.m. local time) before kick-off due to gunfire around the stadium, a result of the first attack on Sarajevo. Ultimately, the club's final completed match in the Yugoslav Championship was a 6âÂÂ1 defeat on 29 March 1992 in Belgrade against Partizan. Players like Mario StaniÃÂ, Rade BogdanoviÃÂ, Gordan VidoviÃÂ, Suvad Katana and many others had days earlier went abroad to escape the horror of war, leaving it up to junior players to play out remaining rounds of the championships. However, all of à ½eljezniÃÂar's matches in the 2nd half of the 1991âÂÂ92 season were declared void due to rule, as the club could not play out remaining matches due to the ensuing war. In 25 (out of possible 33) rounds completed, the club collected 6 wins, 4 draws and 15 losses, with a 22:42 goal difference.
The stadium was right on the front lines, and on 7 May 1992, the western side was destroyed along with SD à ½eljezniÃÂar premises near by, however à ½eljezniÃÂar managed to take part in the 1994âÂÂ95 First League of Bosnia and Herzegovina championship, playing its home matches in Grbavica. The fourth-place result was not as important as simply taking part.
The war ended in 1995 so a regular championship was formed contested only by Bosniak and Croatian clubs with Serb clubs joining some years later.
During the 1997âÂÂ98 championship, a play-off was held and the final match on 5 June saw two big city rivals playing for the trophy. FK Sarajevo played well, their shots were cleared from the goal-line twice. In the 89th minute, one ball was intercepted on the left side, and after a couple of passes it came to à ½eljezniÃÂar forward Hadis Zubanoviàwho scored a dramatic winner. That was the only goal of the game which brought his club its first championship title in independent Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among à ½eljezniÃÂar club fans, this day, titled "Zubandan", is celebrated every year.
For a long time, à ½eljezniÃÂar were the only club that were able to defend their title in the Bosnian Premier League, as champions in the 2000âÂÂ01 and 2001âÂÂ02 season under the command of Ivica Osim's son, Amar Osim. The club repeated this success again in the early 2010s. Under Amar's command, à ½eljezniÃÂar also won the 2000âÂÂ01 national cup, which completed the double, the first time any club in Bosnia and Herzegovina achieved that, securing also the 2001 Bosnian Supercup. In the 2001âÂÂ02 season, they were runners-up in the cup, but were not able to defend their Bosnian Supercup title (even though they won the league) as it was discontinued. Amar was dismissed from the club in October 2003 after the club was runner-up in the 2002âÂÂ03 season, won the 2002âÂÂ03 national cup and reached the club's biggest European success since competing as part of the Bosnian Premier League, that is the 2002âÂÂ03 Champions league third qualifying round which they lost against Newcastle United. They continued their journey in the UEFA Cup, losing to Málaga due to a penalty they scored in the second leg. à ½eljezniÃÂar finished as runners-up both seasons after Amar Osim's departure. After they secured qualification for the 2005âÂÂ06 UEFA Cup through their league position, they failed to get a licence for European competition, missing out on substantial financial gain from UEFA. This led to many problems for the club, and over the next four seasons à ½eljezniÃÂar struggled in the middle of the league.
As the best Bosnian club, the club played in European cups every year. The best result (for Bosnian club football as well since independence) came in 2002, when à ½eljezniÃÂar reached the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, having eliminated Akraness and Lillestrøm in previous rounds to get there. Sir Bobby Robson's Newcastle United, captained by Alan Shearer, were too strong, winning 5âÂÂ0 on aggregate when Sanel Jahiàreceived a red card in the 69th minute of the reverse leg at St James' Park. The game was held at Koà ¡evo Stadium in front of 36,000 fans from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to this day is among the best attended games in Bosnian club football history, although short of a match at the same stadium between the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team's 2âÂÂ1 friendly win over Italy in November 1996, which was attended by 40,000. Newcastle United reached the second group stage of the tournament later on in the season.
The club, as result of losing to Newcastle United, entered the UEFA Cup first round, but lost to Málaga who were an eventual quarter-finalist.
With the return of Amar Osim in the summer of 2009, à ½eljezniÃÂar once more claimed the title in the 2009âÂÂ10 season, but failed to take the double as they lost in the final of the 2009âÂÂ10 Bosnian cup to Borac Banja Luka on away goals, while remaining undefeated. In the following 2010âÂÂ11 season, the club failed to defend their Premier League title, finishing third. However, à ½eljezniÃÂar managed to win the national cup instead, their fourth, against ÃÂelik Zenica. During the 2011âÂÂ12 season, they brought back the league title to Grbavica, their sixth domestic league title, three rounds before the end of the season, breaking many records on the way (run of 35 games without loss; 12 straight league wins; 3 seasons in Bosnian Cup competition without loss). à ½eljezniÃÂar also won the 2011âÂÂ12 Bosnian cup, claiming their second double in their history, both won under the managing of Amar Osim. As a result, Amar Osim became the most successful manager in terms of trophies won since the creation of the club, with nine. The club was for a long time undefeated in the Bosnian Cup matches since the first round of the 2008âÂÂ09 Bosnian Cup season, having won two Cup finals and losing one on aggregate since the 2008âÂÂ09 season.
During the 2010âÂÂ11 season, à ½eljezniÃÂar won their fourth cup title. They advanced to the final beating à  iroki Brijeg on 3âÂÂ0 aggregate. In the final they clash with rivals from the former Yugoslav League, ÃÂelik Zenica. The first game was played at Grbavica Stadium which finished 1âÂÂ0 in favor of the home team. The second game was played at Bilino Polje Stadium which à ½eljezniÃÂar won 3âÂÂ0 and won 4âÂÂ0 on aggregate. That concluded à ½eljezniÃÂar's season in which they were automatically gave to compete in the UEFA Europa League. à ½eljezniÃÂar were able to celebrate their 90th birthday with a trophy.
In the 2011âÂÂ12 season, à ½eljezniÃÂar won their 6th title in the team's existence. They won the title with three rounds left in the competition. They repeated the successful campaign in cup competition also when they won the title with 1âÂÂ0 on aggregate against à  iroki Brijeg. That was the first double for any club since unified Bosnia and Herzegovina football competitions started in 2002âÂÂ03 season. In the 2012âÂÂ13 season, à ½eljezniÃÂar won their 7th title in the club's history, 6th Bosnian one, once again under the guidance of Amar Osim.
Between 2013 and 2018, à ½eljezniÃÂar was trophyless, despite finishing 2nd on three occasions. The trophy drought ended in May 2018, as the club won the 2017âÂÂ18 Bosnian Cup under the guidance of manager Admir Adà ¾em. Following a string of poor results, manager Milomir Odoviàresigned in October 2018. On 31 December 2018, Amar Osim returned for a second time to manage the club, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club.
The 2019âÂÂ20 Bosnian Premier League season ended abruptly on 1 June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with à ½eljezniÃÂar having to settle with a second spot finish on table. City rivals Sarajevo won the title even though à ½eljezniÃÂar won six points from two derby matches played during the league season. In the 2019âÂÂ20 Bosnian Cup, they finished at the semi-final stage as the competition was also cancelled due to the pandemic.
The club started the 2020âÂÂ21 season strongly, winning their four opening matches, however their run in the 2020âÂÂ21 UEFA Europa League was affected due to the pandemic. The first qualifying round match between Maccabi Haifa, originally scheduled to be played on 27 August 2020 was postponed due to five members from à ½eljezniÃÂar's delegation testing positive for COVID-19 and the whole team being put into quarantine by the Israeli authorities. Originally six players earlier tested positive and did not travel, being left in Sarajevo. The team returned to Sarajevo before UEFA made a decision to finally play the match on 9 September at Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa. à ½eljezniÃÂar traveled again but lost 3âÂÂ1 (thus eliminated after revised rules due to the pandemic) after being in quarantine 9 days prior with little to no training and no competitive matches since a shock loss at home to Mladost Doboj Kakanj in the 5th round on 21 August of the 2020âÂÂ21 Bosnian Premier League season. During an eight-game winless run in the league, which had culminated with a home draw against Mladost Doboj Kakanj, Amar Osim was sacked by the club on 11 April 2021.
Following lackluster showings and mid-table finishes in the 2020âÂÂ21 and 2021âÂÂ22 seasons, à ½eljezniÃÂar qualified for the 2023âÂÂ24 UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers in the 2022âÂÂ23 season. The 2023âÂÂ24 season was the club's most unsuccessful one in its post-war history, as it ended up in an unexpected relegation battle. Dino ÃÂurbuzoviàwas appointed as à ½eljezniÃÂar's caretaker manager in April 2024, and helped the side avoid relegation with three games remaining. The 2024âÂÂ25 season turned out to be far better for the club, as à ½eljezniÃÂar finished in fourth, winning its biggest amount of points in over ten years and securing a spot in the 2025âÂÂ26 UEFA Conference League qualifying phase. However, it also marked yet another trophyless season, with the club reaching the 2024âÂÂ25 Bosnian Cup semi-finals, before getting eliminated by à  iroki Brijeg.
In December 2025, BosnianâÂÂAmerican businessman Sanin Mirviàjoined à ½eljezniÃÂar as its strategic partner and financial investor.
The club had no stadium upon its foundation as other clubs would not allow à ½eljezniÃÂar to use the existing football grounds in Sarajevo. The club played their first matches at a military training pitch called Egzercir which wasn't actually a football ground, however, it was the best ground available and will always be remembered as the club's first pitch. Egzercir was located in a part of Sarajevo known as ÃÂengiàvila. In 1932, a new ground was built in PofaliÃÂi (yet another part of Sarajevo), close to the railway station. It wasn't much better than the last one, but it was built by the club and because of that it had a special meaning.
After World War II, à ½eljezniÃÂar played at the "6th April" Stadium in Marijin Dvor (there is a building now on the spot, behind the technical sciences secondary school) until 18 June 1950. Authorities planned to build a street, so the club made another move to military stadium in Skenderija. Club staff was tired of all that moving and they decided to build its own stadium in Grbavica neighborhood which just started to be redeveloped and urbanized. Friends, supporters, members of the club and even military, all helped in construction. Stadium was officially opened on 13 September 1951 with the second league match between à ½eljezniÃÂar and à  ibenik. à ½eljezniÃÂar won 4âÂÂ1.
Ever since, Grbavica has been a place of joy and sorrow for the club and its supporters. Symbolically, the old railway line passed over the hill behind the stadium, and every time a train went by during a match it would sound its whistle to salute the fans. The stadium had a south side and a small east side while a wooden grandstand with a roof was on the west side. The grandstand was relocated from the "6th April" Stadium on the same year when à ½eljezniÃÂar moved. Because of the reconstruction, à ½eljezniÃÂar moved again in 1968 to Koà ¡evo Stadium and even won the club's only Yugoslav title in 1972 playing there.
Grbavica was reopened yet again on 25 April 1976, and in 1986 a modern northern stand was added which is still in use. Unfortunately, war began in spring 1992 and à ½eljezniÃÂar was forced, yet again, to play on Koà ¡evo Stadium until 1996 when it came back to Grbavica. During the 1990s war, the stadium suffered heavy structural damage. The stadium was located between the first front lines and endured heavy fighting. Bosnian Serbs' forces burned down the wooden grandstand under which all the club facilities were located consequently burning down most of the club's records and trophies in the process as well. It was not until 2 May 1996 that a football match would be played on Grbavica Stadium again. Symbolically, the first match after the war was the Sarajevo derby. The wooden grandstand that burned up during the war was never fully reconstructed and on its place, on the west side of the stadium, a much smaller wooden stand was built under which, yet again, all the club facilities are located. In 2016, the wooden stand was reconstructed and slightly expanded in a way that all the wood elements were replaced with anti-slip metal in order to meet the UEFA Stadium requirements.
Before the war capacity of the stadium was more than 20,000 unseated, but now it officially has 13,146 seated places with room for around 4,000 more patrons in standing areas.
à ½eljezniÃÂar was formed as Rà  D à ½eljezniÃÂar (RadniÃÂko à ¡portsko druà ¡tvo, eng. Workers' sports society). à ½eljezniÃÂar means railwayman or railway worker. Later it was known as FK à ½eljezniÃÂar (Fudbalski klub, eng. football club), and was a part of SD à ½eljezniÃÂar (Sportsko druà ¡tvo, eng. sports society) which includes the clubs in other sports (basketball, handball, volleyball, chess, bowling, etc.) with the same name. In 1993, the initial acronym was changed to NK (Nogometni klub, eng. football club). In Bosnian, both fudbal and nogomet are equally used as a word for football. The word fudbal is dominant in the eastern and northern parts of the country, while nogomet is more used in its western parts. Since 2000, the club has officially been using the initial FK in its name.
In modern times, there is a restaurant named after the club's name. Such example is a ÃÂevapithe national dishrestaurant in Baà ¡ÃÂarà ¡ija, Sarajevo's old bazaar, called ÃÂevabdà ¾inica "à ½eljo".
Blue is traditionally the colour of railway workers in this part of Europe. Since the club was founded by the railway workers, blue was a logical choice. Navy blue was always on the club's crest, but that was not always the case with kits. Sometimes they were light blue, sometimes regular blue, and sometimes navy blue, like the crest. Sometimes kits were blue with white vertical stripes. For some games in the 1999âÂÂ00 season, the kits were striped horizontally, and in 2002âÂÂ03 season they were dark grey, without any traces of blue. The away kit has always been white.
On the left side of the kit, by the heart, stands a crest. Since the foundation of the club, standard elements of the crest were ball and wings, also a traditional railway symbol. These standard elements were changed in design several times in the past. Some other elements were added or excluded in some periods of history. For example, a circle around the original crest was added in the 1990s. From 1945 to 1992 red five-pointed star stood in place of the ball, and the words "Sarajevo", "1921" and others were moved from one part of the crest to another many times. The current design dates back to 2000.
FK à ½eljezniÃÂar main supporter group are called The Maniacs. There is also subgroups like Blue Tigers, Joint Union, Urban Corps, Stari Grad and Vendetta.
In popular culture, Stole AnÃÂelovià(Stole iz Bora) â a passionate club supporter from Bor, Serbia, is known decades (over 40 years) for traveling 450 km to attend most FK à ½eljezniÃÂar Sarajevo home games, and was a long time supporter of Yugoslav national team as well as fan of Ivica Osim.
A passionate group of fans from 1921.ba TV upload regular à ½eljezniÃÂar league and European match reports as well as interviews with players and staff to online stream media; YouTube.
à ½eljezniÃÂar has a fierce rivalry with their city-rivals Sarajevo, which is known as the Sarajevo derby, the biggest derby in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is contested regularly since both teams are part of the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During the 2015âÂÂ16 season the club beat Sarajevo both home at Grbavica and away, a first time the club has beaten Sarajevo away at Koà ¡evo in 12 years. During the 2017âÂÂ18 league season, à ½eljezniÃÂar beat Sarajevo in 3 out of 4 league matches, the most in one season and didn't even lose that season as there was also 1 draw. In the 2018âÂÂ19 league season, à ½eljezniÃÂar lost against Sarajevo in 2 out of 3 league matches, the most in one season and didn't even win that season as there was also 1 draw.
The most recent match was played on 7 December 2025, where à ½eljezniÃÂar lost to Sarajevo 4âÂÂ0 at Koà ¡evo.
Also another notable rivalry started to shape in recent years. Since the season 2008âÂÂ09, the time when Borac started to be standard in the Premier League once again, a great rivalry started to develop between the two teams. Starting from the 2009âÂÂ10 season the two teams mainly competed against each other for one of the titles (the league title or national cup) and even the attendance almost got on pair with the Sarajevo derby. The rivalry also has a root in the fact that Sarajevo and Banja Luka are, by a good margin, the two biggest cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the first being also the capital of the whole country while the second takes the role as the de facto capital of Republika Srpska entity.
FK à ½eljezniÃÂar Sarajevo is the most decorated club from Bosnia and Herzegovina having won six Bosnian Cups, six Bosnian Premier League titles, three Bosnian Supercups and one Yugoslav First League title.
<small>P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goals difference. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.</small>
Academy players that received a first-team squad call-up.