Asociația Club Sportiv Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe, commonly known as Sepsi OSK (), Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe (), or simply Sepsi, is a Romanian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

based in

Sfântu Gheorghe Sfântu Gheorghe (; or ''Szentgyörgy'' ; ; English lit.: ''Saint George'') is a city that serves as the seat of Covasna County in Transylvania, Romania. Located in the central part of the country, it lies on the Olt River in a valley between ...

Covasna County Covasna County (, , ) is a county (județ) of Romania, in eastern Transylvania, with the county seat at Sfântu Gheorghe. Demographics In 2011, it had a population of 210,177, making it the second least populous of Romania's 41 counties and the ...

, that competes in the

Liga II The Liga 2, most commonly spelled as Liga II, is the second level of the Romanian football league system. The league changed its name from Divizia B just before the start of the 2006–07 Liga II, 2006–07 football season. It is currently Sponso ...

. Founded in 2011, it achieved promotion to the top tier in six years by quickly climbing through the Romanian league system. Sepsi thus became the first team from Covasna—a county with a majority of Székely ethnics—to play in the Liga I. Since its promotion, it qualified for three

Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...

finals, claiming the trophy in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons. As cup holders, Sepsi also participated in the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and the

2023 Supercupa României The 2023 Supercupa României was the 25th edition of the Supercupa României, an annual football super cup contested by the winners of the previous season's Liga I and Cupa României competitions. The game featured Farul Constanța and Sepsi O ...

, winning both. Sepsi's club colours are red and white in honour of the local football tradition. After playing during its first years at the

Municipal Stadium Municipal Stadium may refer to: Europe and Asia * Beirut Municipal Stadium, Lebanon * Herzliya Municipal Stadium, Israel * Hiroshima Municipal Stadium (1957), Japan * Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala or Municipal Stadium, Pakistan * Kfarjoz Municipal Sta ...

in Sfântu Gheorghe, the squad was moved to the namesake Sepsi Arena Stadium in 2021.

History

Formation and ascent (2011–2017)

László Diószegi and Dávid Kertész decided to start a new football club in the summer of 2011. They picked the red and white colors to honor the football traditions of

and chose the name OSK as an

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

reminiscent of the defunct ''Olt Sport Klub''. They wanted the name of the city to be also included in the club's name, so they chose the prefix Sepsi form ''Sepsiszentgyörgy'', which is the Hungarian name of the city. In order to be able to enroll to

Liga V Liga V is the fifth level of the Romanian football league system. Current format Liga V has 42 divisions. The divisions are regionalised and are organised by every county association. Each team plays in their own county. The county associatio ...

they signed a collaboration agreement with Clubul Sportiv Școlar from Sfântu Gheorghe and formed a junior team. In their debut season, they won the Liga V competition of Covasna County and were promoted to

Liga IV Liga IV is the fourth level of the Romanian football league system and is run in all 41 counties and in the Municipality of Bucharest. It was known as the Regional Championship, County Championship, Divizia C – County Phase and Divizia D. Its ...

. They finished second in their first Liga IV season, eight points behind local Viitorul Sfântu Gheorghe.

Valentin Suciu Valentin Dumitru Suciu (born 25 September 1980) is a Romanian professional football manager, who is currently the youth center director of Liga I club Sepsi OSK.Liga III The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. It was founded in 1936 and was called Divizia C until 2006. An exception was the seasons 1992–93 to 1996–97, in which the league was call ...

promotion play-off, where they faced the champion of

Vrancea County Vrancea () is a county (județ) in Romania, with its seat at Focșani. It is mostly in the historical region of Moldavia but the southern part, below the Milcov (Siret), Milcov River, is in Muntenia. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2 ...

, Selena Jariștea. Following a 1–1 draw after extra time, they won 6–5 on penalties, being subsequently promoted to the third division. After a satisfying third place in the

2014–15 Liga III The 2014–15 Liga III season is the 59th season of the Liga III, the third tier of the Romanian football league system. The season began on 30 August. There is a new system, with five series of 13/14 teams that will play a regular season as a rou ...

, promotion to

was set as the objective for the next season. They won the

2015–16 Liga III The 2015–16 Liga III is the 60th season of the Liga III, the third tier of the Romanian football league system. The season began on 28 August. Teams At the end of 2014-15 season, Bucovina Pojorâta (Seria I), Dunărea Călărași (Seria II), FC ...

and were promoted, which represented a notable performance for the team at the time. In the summer of 2016,

Attila Hadnagy Attila László Hadnagy (born 8 September 1980) is a Romanian former footballer who played as a forward and serves as the general director of Liga I club Sepsi OSK. Career Oltul Sfântu Gheorghe Hadnagy started his career at hometown club Ol ...

joined the team and became its captain. As he scored 28 goals in 31 games, the unexpected happened in the season which followed. They finished second in the

2016–17 Liga II The 2016–17 Liga II was the 77th season of the Liga II, the second tier of the Romanian football league system. The season began on 6 August 2016. A total of 20 teams contested the league. It was the first Liga II season with a single series. Th ...

and were promoted to

Liga I Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1 and officially known as SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Romania and the highest level of the Romanian football league system. Contested by 1 ...

, the top tier of the

Romanian football league system The Romanian football league system, also known as the football pyramid, refers to the system in Romanian club football that consists of several football leagues bound together hierarchically by promotion and relegation. The first three leagues ar ...

Top league years (2017–present)

As a last step in becoming fully professional in 2017, the club started a series of investments into infrastructure which included the creation of training grounds for its youth center and building a UEFA Category 4 stadium. In the years which followed the promotion, Sepsi OSK managed to stay in the Liga I, qualifying for the first time to the championship play-offs in the 2018–19 season. In the summer of 2020, Sepsi reached the Cupa României final for the first time, but lost it 0–1 to

FCSB Fotbal Club FCSB (), formerly named and still sometimes referred to as FC Steaua București, is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the Liga I, the top flight of the Romanian football le ...

at the

Ilie Oană Stadium The Ilie Oană Stadium (Romanian: ''Stadionul Ilie Oană'') is a football stadium in Ploiești, Romania. It has been the home ground of Petrolul Ploiești since its inauguration in September 2011, and has a capacity of 15,073 spectators. The st ...

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Ble ...

. On their route to the last game of the competition, Sepsi eliminated Ripensia Timișoara,

Astra Giurgiu Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian football club last based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'', it spe ...

, Petrolul Ploiești and Politehnica Iași; in all but one of the five matches "the Székelys" scored at least three goals. In the 2020–21 season, Sepsi entered the championship play-offs for the second time in their history. They finished fourth place and went on to defeat

Viitorul Constanța ''Viitorul'' ("The Future") was a daily newspaper published in the Kingdom of Romania, out of Bucharest, as a central organ of the National Liberal Party (PNL). It was formed just months after peasants' revolt of March 1907, being originally li ...

1–0 in the European play-offs, which meant they would take part for the first time in European competitions. Sepsi was drawn against Slovakian side

Spartak Trnava FC Spartak Trnava () is a professional football club based in Trnava, Slovakia. The club competes in Slovak First Football League, the top flight in the Slovak league system, having participated in more seasons than any other club. Founded in ...

in the second round of the

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...

, but were eliminated due to a 3–4 penalty shoot-out loss after two draws. The club secured a European spot again at the end of the 2021–22 campaign by winning the Cupa României final—left midfielder

Marius Ștefănescu Marius Ștefănescu (; born 14 August 1998) is a Romanian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Winger, winger or an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder for Liga I club FCSB. ...

scored a double to bring Sepsi a 2–1 win over

Voluntari Voluntari () is a town in Ilfov County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located at a distance of 1 km from the northern border of Bucharest (on the DN2 road towards Urziceni) and is thus frequently viewed as a suburb of Bucharest. The population ...

at the Stadionul Rapid-Giulești in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. The club went on to win the

2022 Supercupa României The 2022 Supercupa României was the 24th edition of the Supercupa României, an annual football super cup contested by the winners of the previous season's Liga I and Cupa României competitions. It was the first Supercupa României edition to use ...

with the same score against league champions

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

. On 24 May 2023, Sepsi claimed its second consecutive national cup after a 5–4

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

defeat of

Universitatea Cluj Asociația Sportivă Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj (), commonly known as Universitatea Cluj or simply U Cluj, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the L ...

at the

Stadionul Municipal Stadionul Municipal may refer to several sports stadiums: Moldova * Stadionul Municipal (Hîncești), a football stadium * Stadionul Municipal (Tiraspol), a multi-use stadium Romania * Stadionul Municipal (Alexandria), a multi-use stadium, home ...

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

, with goalkeeper

Roland Niczuly Roland Csaba Niczuly (born 21 September 1995) is a Romanian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Liga I club Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe, Sepsi OSK. Career A youth product ...

saving three penalty shots. The club also repeated its performance in the

Supercupa României The Supercupa României () is a Romanian football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Liga I and the Cupa României. It is usually played at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. The competition started off in 1994 Supe ...

, winning the 2023 edition 1–0 against Farul Constanța.

Ownership and finances

Co-founder and present owner László Diószegi is an entrepreneur who runs the Diószegi chain of bakeries. After starting with a bakery shop opened in Sfântu Gheorghe by his family and another associate in the 1990s, the business grew to sell bakery products through several shops in Romania and England. In comparison to other Liga I teams at the end of 2019, Sepsi OSK stood out with by far the highest revenue obtained from corporate sponsorship deals and having the least debt. Some of the companies that have or had sponsorship deals with Sepsi OSK include Hungarian firms Gyermelyi,

OTP Bank OTP Bank Group is the largest commercial bank of Hungary and one of the largest independent financial service providers in Central and Eastern Europe, with banking services for private individuals and corporate clients. The OTP Group comprises su ...

and MOL. Sepsi OSK was granted in total 2 billion

Hungarian forint The forint (, sign Ft; code HUF) is the currency of Hungary. It was formerly divided into 100 fillér, but fillér coins are no longer in circulation. The introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step in the post-World War II s ...

s between 2017 and 2018 by the

Hungarian government The Government of Hungary () exercises executive (government), executive power in Hungary. It is led by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Prime Minister, and is composed of various ministers. It is the principal organ of public administration. The Pr ...

to be used for developing club infrastructure, thus contributing with approximately €6 million to build a youth center and the new stadium.

Grounds

Municipal Stadium

Sepsi OSK holds its home games at the

. Located in the Simeria neighbourhood, it has a capacity of 5,200 seats. After the Liga I promotion of Sepsi OSK the Municipal Stadium did not meet the Liga I licensing requirements. As a result, Sepsi OSK was forced to hold all of its autumn 2017 home games at the Silviu Ploeșteanu Stadium in

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

and the first two 2018 home games at the

. Meanwhile, the structure of the stand was fortified to support TV-radio cabins in 2017. Also the seating capacity was increased the same year with 1,500 seats donated to Sepsi OSK from the demolished

Ferenc Puskás Stadium The Ferenc Puskás Stadium (), or formerly People's Stadium (''Népstadion''), was a multi-purpose stadium in the 14th district (Zugló) of Budapest, Hungary. It was situated between the Puskás Ferenc Stadion and the Keleti pályaudvar me ...

. The old floodlight system of DAC was also donated to Sepsi OSK and installed in the stadium in 2018. As a result, Sepsi OSK was able to play its first ever Liga I game in Sfântu Gheorghe on 19 March 2018. Ownership of the stadium was transferred from the Romanian Ministry of Youth and Sport to the City Council of Sfântu Gheorghe in 2019.

Sepsi OSK Stadium

The construction of a new UEFA Category 4 stadium with a capacity of 8,450 seats was started on a lot near

Sepsi Arena Sepsi Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded o ...

in the summer of 2018. The new Sepsi OSK Stadium was opened with a league match against

FC Voluntari Fotbal Club Voluntari (), commonly known as FC Voluntari or simply Voluntari, is a Romanian professional football club based in Voluntari, Ilfov County, that competes in the Liga II, the second tier of the Romanian league system. Founded in 2 ...

in 2021.

Support

Being the first team from Covasna County—a county with a majority of ethnic Szeklers/Hungarians—to achieve promotion to the top tier of Romanian football, Sepsi OSK is widely supported among Hungarians. In the 2018–19 season home game attendance fluctuated between 2,000 and 3,500, with an average of 2,682 spectators per game. The only known organised supporter group of the club is named ''Székely Légió'' which is Hungarian for "Szekler Legion". The group traces its origins to the supporters of the defunct Olt Sport Klub from the 1970s. Members of the group are known for showing their support for Sepsi OSK through singing before, during and after the game regardless of the result.

Honours

Domestic

Leagues

**Runners-up (1): 2016–17 *

Liga III The Liga 3, most often spelled as Liga III, is the third level of the Romanian football league system. It was founded in 1936 and was called Divizia C until 2006. An exception was the seasons 1992–93 to 1996–97, in which the league was call ...

**Winners (1): 2015–16 * Liga IV – Covasna County **Winners (1): 2013–14 **Runners-up (1):

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

–

**Winners (1): 2011–12

Cups

** Winners (2): 2021–22,

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

** Runners-up (1): 2019–20 *

** Winners (2):

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Players

First-team squad

Other players under contract

Out on loan

Club officials

Board of directors

* Last updated: 6 September 2022 * Source

/small>

Current technical staff

* Last updated: 29 April 2025 * Source

/small>

Records and statistics

League and cup history

European record

;Notes: * QR: Qualifying round * 2QR: Second qualifying round * 3QR: Third qualifying round

Player records

Bold indicates players who play still at the club.

Most appearances

Top scorers

Managers

:Listed according to when they were appointed manager of Sepsi OSK. ''(c)'' means caretaker.

Notable former players

The footballers enlisted below have had at least 50 league appearances for Sepsi OSK or they have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at senior level and at least 20 league appearances for Sepsi OSK. ;Romania *

Mihai Bălașa Mihai Alexandru Bălașa (born 14 January 1995) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Liga I club Farul Constanța. Club career Viitorul Constanța Bălașa made his professional debut for Viitorul Constanța on 20 ...

* Denis Ciobotariu *

Andres Dumitrescu Andres Mihai Dumitrescu (; born 11 March 2001) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Liga I club Sepsi OSK, on loan from Czech First League club Slavia Prague. Club career Early career / Sepsi OSK Born in Slatina, ...

* István Fülöp * Ion Gheorghe *

Cătălin Golofca Cătălin Gheorghiță Golofca (born 21 April 1990) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a winger or an attacking midfielder for Liga III club Unirea Alba Iulia. Career Early career / Botoșani Golofca joined FC Botoșani of the ...

Bogdan Mitrea Bogdan Alexandru Mitrea (born 29 September 1987) is a former Romanian professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Career statistics Club International International goals Honours SESO Iara * Liga IV – Cluj County: 2007–08 ...

Claudiu Petrila Claudiu Adrian Mihai Petrila (born 7 November 2000) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as a winger or an attacking midfielder for Liga I club Rapid București. Club career Born in Sânnicolau Român, Bihor County, Petrila started h ...

Răzvan Tincu Răzvan Tincu (born 15 July 1987) is a Romanian footballer who plays as a defender for Liga III club Minaur Baia Mare. Career statistics Club Honours Politehnica Iași *Liga II: 2011–12, 2022–23 Concordia Chiajna *Cupa Ligii runne ...

* Alexandru Tudorie *

Ionuț Ursu Ionuț Andrei Ursu (born 21 March 1989) is a Romanian footballer who plays as a centre back for FC Bacău. Club career He made his debut on the professional league level in the Liga I for Botoșani on 21 July 2013 as a starter in a game against ...

* Gabriel Vașvari ; Albania * Sherif Kallaku ;Algeria *

Rachid Bouhenna Rachid Ahmed Bouhenna (; born 29 June 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender. Born in France, he played for the Algeria national team at under-23 international level. Club career In June 2015, Bouhenna signed a three-year c ...

;Argentina * Jonathan Rodríguez ;Bulgaria *

Radoslav Dimitrov Radoslav Bonchev Dimitrov (; born 12 August 1988) is a Bulgarian professional footballer who plays as a right-back. Club career Dimitrov began his football career at the Litex Lovech's Youth Academy. He failed to break into the first team, and ...

* Stefan Velev ;Costa Rica * Dylan Flores ;Croatia * Adnan Aganović ;Guinea * Boubacar Fofana ;Hungary *

Ákos Kecskés Ákos Kecskés (born 4 January 1996) is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays for AEL Limassol as a centre-back. Club career On 29 July 2021, he signed a two-year contract with Russian Premier League club Nizhny Novgorod. On 4 August ...

Kevin Varga Kevin Varga (born 30 March 1996) is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Club career Debrecen On 18 August 2017, Varga played his first match for Debrecen in a 4–1 win against Vasas in the Hungarian League. Kası ...

* Roland Varga ;Ivory Coast *

Ousmane Viera Ousmane Viera Diarrassouba (born 21 December 1986) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

;Mali *

Ibrahima Tandia Ibrahima Tandia (born 12 July 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Saudi club Al-Tai. Born in France, he represents Mali at international level. Club career Born in Longjumeau, Tandia began his career playing for l ...

;Moldova * Vitalie Damaşcan ;Netherlands * Anass Achahbar ;North Macedonia *

Isnik Alimi Isnik Alimi (; born 2 February 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Chinese Super League club Dalian Yingbo and for the North Macedonia national team. A former international for Macedonia U19, he played for ...

Stefan Ashkovski Stefan Ashkovski (, born 24 February 1992) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Cypriot First Division club Ethnikos Achna and the North Macedonia national team. Club career Born in Skopje, Macedonia, Ashkovski sta ...

Marko Simonovski Marko Simonovski (; born 2 January 1992) is a Macedonian footballer who plays as a forward for KF Gostivari. Club career On 23 February 2016, Simonovski signed for Kazakhstan Premier League side FC Zhetysu. On 5 July 2016, Simonovski joined FC ...

;Philippines * Daisuke Sato ;Slovakia *

Branislav Niňaj Branislav Niňaj (born 17 May 1994) is a Slovak professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Liga I club Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe, Sepsi OSK. Early career In summer 2012, he moved ...

Pavol Šafranko Pavol Šafranko (born 16 November 1994) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a forward for Azerbaijan Premier League club Sabah. Club career Tatran Prešov Born in Stropkov, eastern Slovakia, Šafranko began his football career in t ...

;Spain *

Eder González Eder González Tortella (born 7 January 1997) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Super League Greece, Greek Super League club Asteras Tripolis F.C., Asteras Tripolis. Career statistics Club ...

;Sudan * Yasin Hamed ;Switzerland * Goran Karanović ;Venezuela *

Mario Rondón Mario Junior Rondón Fernández (; born 26 March 1986) is a Venezuelan former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Born in Los Teques, Miranda, Rondón arrived in Portugal at age 18, finishing his junior career with A ...

References

External links

* *
Club profile
on UEFA.com
Club profile
on LPF.ro {{DEFAULTSORT:Sepsi OSK Sfantu Gheorghe Association football clubs established in 2011 Football clubs in Romania Football clubs in Covasna County Liga I clubs Liga II clubs Liga III clubs Liga IV clubs 2011 establishments in Romania Sfântu Gheorghe