Nogometni klub Kovinar Maribor ( en, Kovinar Maribor Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Kovinar Maribor or simply Kovinar, was a Slovenian football club from Maribor. The club was dissolved in 2006.

History

Kovinar Maribor was founded on 25 May 1947 and was located in the Tezno District of Maribor. During the booming economy in Maribor after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the club was financially supported by the local engineering industry company Metalna Maribor and the vehicle manufacturer TAM, both based in Tezno. Between the end of World War II in 1945 and the independence of Slovenia in 1991, Kovinar spent a total of 18 years in the

Slovenian Republic Football League The Slovenian Republic Football League ( sl, Slovenska republiška nogometna liga) was the highest football league in Slovenia within the Yugoslav football system. During the time of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia it was known as the Ljubljana Suba ...

. In 1961, they helped the newly formed NK Maribor by giving them some players and sports equipment. After the bribery scandal, when NK Maribor was relegated to the third Yugoslav division and many foreign players left the club, Kovinar again helped them by providing footballers. Unlike other major clubs based in the city, namely NK Maribor and Železničar Maribor, Kovinar never played in the Slovenian first division after Slovenia's independence; the highest level they reached was the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

during the 1991–92 season. The club was dissolved in June 2006 due to financial problems. In August 2006, a new phoenix club, named NK Tezno Maribor, was founded.

Zlatko Zahovič Zlatko Zahovič (; born 1 February 1971) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. After making a name for himself in Europe in Portugal, most notably with Porto and Benfica where he amassed Primeira ...

, who is considered one of the best Slovenian footballers of all time, was a member of the club's youth selections in the late 1980s, before joining

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

from Belgrade.

Stadium

Kovinar Maribor played their home matches at Kovinar Stadium. The stadium can seat 200 spectators, while the overall capacity is around 1,000 (including standing areas). The stadium was once a

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

track.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovinar Maribor, NK Association football clubs established in 1947 Association football clubs disestablished in 2006 Football clubs in Yugoslavia 1947 establishments in Slovenia Defunct football clubs in Slovenia 2006 disestablishments in Slovenia Sport in Maribor