Pärnu Jalgpalliklubi Vaprus, commonly known as Pärnu Vaprus or simply Vaprus, is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n 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 based in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

that competes in the

Meistriliiga Meistriliiga (), officially known as A. Le Coq Premium Liiga for sponsorship reasons, and commonly known as the Premium Liiga, is the highest division of the Estonian Football Association annual football championship. The league was founded i ...

, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home ground is

Pärnu Rannastaadion Pärnu Rannastaadion () is a multi-purpose stadium in Pärnu, Estonia, and the home ground of Pärnu JK Vaprus. The stadium was opened after reconstruction in 2016 and seats 1,501. It is located next to the Pärnu Beach and approximately 200 metre ...

. Founded in 1922, Pärnu Vaprus was dissolved after a merger in 1937 and re-established in 1999. The club has played in the Meistriliiga in 2006–2008, 2017–2018 and again since 2021.

History

Vaprus was formed in May 1922, as Spordiselts Vaprus ('). The club was active in various sports and credited for organising the first intercity running competitions from Pärnu to

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

and from Pärnu to

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. In football, Vaprus competed in the local Pärnu football championships, winning in 1927 and 1934. However, the club failed to reach the heights of their rivals Pärnu Tervis and in 1937, Vaprus merged with several other local sporting clubs to form Pärnu Kalev. The club was re-established in 1999 as an amateur team playing in the lower leagues. In 2003, several local clubs merged with Vaprus, including former top league club Pärnu Levadia, forming a working football club. Vaprus won the 2005 Esiliiga season and was, for the first time in the club's history, promoted to Estonia's top-flight football league

. The club finished their first Meistriliiga season in 7th place. Vaprus finished the

2008 Meistriliiga The 2008 season of Meistriliiga, the first level in the Estonian football system, was the 18th season in the league's history. It began on 8 March 2008 and ended on 15 November 2008. The defending champions were Levadia. Promotion and relegatio ...

season in 10th place, but managed to avoid direct relegation due to disbandment of TVMK. However, the club was still relegated after losing the relegation play-offs against

Paide Linnameeskond Paide Linnameeskond, or simply Paide, is an Estonian professional football club based in Paide that competes in the Meistriliiga, the top flight of Estonian football. The club's home ground is Paide linnastaadion. Founded in 2004, the club has ...

. In 2010, Vaprus formed a united team Pärnu Linnameeskond with

Pärnu JK Pärnu Jalgpalliklubi, commonly known as PJK, or simply as Pärnu, was a women's football team based in Pärnu, Estonia. Having won a record 13 Naiste Meistriliiga titles, 6 Estonian Women's Cups and 7 Estonian Women's Supercups, the team step ...

and Pärnu Kalev. Vaprus itself continued to only operate in youth football until 2014, when they entered their senior team to Estonian lower leagues. Pärnu Linnameeskond reached Estonian top flight in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, but broke up after two seasons with Pärnu Vaprus inheriting their league spot for

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. After an eight-year absence, Vaprus returned to top-flight football and moved to the newly renovated 1,501 seater Pärnu Rannastaadion. The club finished the season in last place, but managed to avoid relegation due to

Sillamäe Kalev Sillamäe (Estonian for 'Bridge Hill'; also known by the Germanised names of ''Sillamäggi'' or ''Sillamägi'') is a town in Ida-Viru County in the northeastern part of Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. It has a population o ...

's bankruptcy. Pärnu Vaprus was relegated in the following 2018 season. Vaprus won Esiliiga in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, and returned to Meistriliiga, where they again finished last in the

2021 season 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 ...

. However, the club again avoided relegation due to Viljandi Tulevik leaving top-flight football for financial reasons. Vaprus finished the 2022 season in 10th place, but once again, avoided relegation due to TJK Legion leaving top-flight football for financial difficulties. Pärnu Vaprus appointed

Igor Prins Igor Prins (born 21 October 1966) is an Estonian football manager and former professional player. International career Prins made his international debut for the Estonia national team on 3 June 1992 in a historic 1–1 draw against Slovenia in ...

as their manager for the following 2023 season and recorded their most successful season in the club's history, surprisingly occupying 3rd place until matchday 27 and finishing the season in 6th place with 48 points, despite being considered as clear relegation candidates at the start of the year. Vaprus finished the following year in 7th place.

Stadium

The club's home ground is the 1,501-seat Pärnu Rannastaadion. First opened in 1929, it was the home of Vaprus until its dissolution in 1937 and again since the early 2000s after the club's re-establishment. The stadium was completely reconstructed in 2015–2016. Vaprus plays their home matches during winter and early spring months at the Pärnu Rehepapi artificial turf ground and uses the adjacent indoor football facility ''Pärnu Jalgpallihall'', which opened in 2023 and cost over €4.7 million, as training centre during the snowy winter period.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Players

First-team squad

''For season transfers, see transfers summer 2024.''

Reserves and academy

Personnel

Current technical staff

Managerial history

Honours

Esiliiga The Esiliiga is the second division in the Estonian football league system. The Esiliiga is ranked below the Meistriliiga and above the Esiliiga B. As in most countries with low temperatures in winter time, the season starts in March and ends ...

** Winners (1):

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

II Liiga II liiga is the fourth level of football league competition in Estonia arranged by the Estonian Football Association. It consists of 28 teams, divided geographically into two divisions with 14 teams each in group North/East and South/West. Until ...

** Winners (1): 2004 * III Liiga ** Winners (1): 2000

Seasons and statistics

References

External links

Official website

Team (2020–)
at Estonian Football Association
Team (2001–2019)
at Estonian Football Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaprus Parnu Pärnu JK Vaprus Football clubs in Estonia Meistriliiga clubs Sport in Pärnu Association football clubs established in 1922 1922 establishments in Estonia