FC Enikon Augsburg

The FC Enikon Augsburg was a German football club from Augsburg, Bavaria that was active from the late 70s until the mid-90s.

History

The club was formed in 1978 by Croatian migrants and languished in the lower leagues of the Schwaben football league system for most of its short existence. It climbed into higher-level competition through the financial support of Croatian construction company Enikon.

The team rose rapidly through the early 1990s, earning four consecutive promotions. A championship in the Bezirksliga Schwaben-Süd (VII) in 1992 advanced the side to the Bezirksoberliga Schwaben (VI). After finishing second there, they won promotion to the Landesliga Bayern-Süd (V) through the promotion play-off. Another second-place result and a successful promotion round with the other Landesliga runners-up gained the team entry to the Bayernliga (IV) for the 1994–95 season.

''Enikon's'' primary objective was to one day play league games against the long established and well-known local side ''FC Augsburg''. They narrowly missed that goal as ''FCA'' was promoted ahead of them to the Regionalliga Süd (III).

The club found competition in the ''Bayernliga'' to be more difficult and struggled for survival there. After a promising start in which ''Enikon'' won their first two matches of the season, the club quickly fell into the relegation zone. They finished in 16th place with a record of ten wins, nine draws and fifteen defeats and would have been immediately sent down if not for the withdrawal of '' 1. FC Amberg'' from the league allowing ''Enikon'' to take ''Amberg's'' spot in the relegation play-offs.Bayernliga table 1994-95
Weltfussball.de, accessed: 1 May 2011 They won their first round match over ''Alemannia Haibach'' (2:1), but were sent back down to Landesliga play after losing to ''SpVgg Weiden''.

Disbanding of the club

As the club's Bayernliga campaign was coming to a close it became clear that sponsor Enikon could not continue its support and that without their financial backing the team could not afford to carry on in the upcoming season. The decision was made to withdraw and ''FC'' was disbanded after the 1994–95 season. A proposal to merge with ''TSG Augsburg'' to retain a Landesliga spot for an Augsburg team did not materialize as ''TSG'' were themselves struggling financially.

Legacy

Like many immigrant-based clubs in Germany, ''Enikon'' suffered from the lack of a home ground and training facilities throughout its existence, having to share facilities with other clubs in Augsburg.

The club was well recognized in the region for the technical skill of its players, who were mostly, but not exclusively, of Croatian origin. Support for this is found in the club's rapid rise, and its 1994 win in the Schwaben indoor football championship followed by a second-place result in the Bavarian championship. ''FC Enikon'' remains to this day the most successful non-Turkish migrant club in Bavaria.

Honours

The club's honours:

League

* Landesliga Bayern-Süd (IV)
** Runners up: 1994
* Bezirksoberliga Schwaben (V)
** Runners up: 1993
* Bezirksliga Schwaben-Süd (VI)
** Champions: 1992

Indoor

* Bavarian indoor football championship
** Runners up: 1994
* Schwaben indoor football championship
** Champions: 1994

References

Sources

*''Das Fussball Jahresjournal'', an annual publication by the ''Schwaben Football Association'' (SFV)

External links

FC Enikon Augsburg at fussballdaten.de

Das deutsche Fussball Archiv

{{DEFAULTSORT:Augsburg, FC Enikon
Defunct football clubs in Germany
Association football clubs established in 1978
Association football clubs disestablished in 1995
Defunct football clubs in Bavaria
FC Enikon
Football in Swabia (Bavaria)
1978 establishments in West Germany
1995 disestablishments in Germany
Migrant workers football clubs in Germany
Croatian sports clubs outside Croatia