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Clubul Sportiv CIL Blaj commonly known as CIL Blaj, is a Romanian football club based in Blaj, Alba County, currently playing in the Liga III, the third tier of the Romanian football, following their promotion at the end of the 2023–24 season.
History
The football club from Little Rome was founded in 1961 as CIL Blaj, coinciding with the opening of the Combinatul de Industrializare a Lemnului (lit. 'Wood Industrialization Combine') in the town, which also supported the team. The club initially competed in the Mediaș District Championship, the fifth tier of Romanian football, and the second tier of the Brașov Regional Championship at that time.
The club reached the Round of 16 in the 1963–64 season of Cupa României, defeating Chimica Târnăveni 2–0, Gaz Metan Mediaș 2–1, Rapid Târgu Mureș 2–0 and managing one of the biggest surprises in Romanian Cup history by eliminating Petrolul Ploiești 1–0 (a.e.t.), the winner of the trophy in the previous season and one of Romania's best teams of that period. However, in the Round of 16, CIL suffered a heavy defeat, losing 0–12 to Steaua București.
In their first season in Divizia C, CIL Blaj finished 4th in Series IX. In the following seasons, the team narrowly avoided relegation by finishing 13th in Series XII in 1973–74 and 13th in Series IX in 1974–75. A slight improvement followed with a 10th-place finish in Series XI in the 1975–76 season, but the team was eventually relegated at the end of the 1976–77 season after finishing 15th in Series XII.
CIL quickly returned to Divizia C at the end of the following season, winning the county championship again and earning promotion without a play-off match, as a team from a less-represented county in the third division.
In the 1978–79 season, CIL finished 13th in Series VIII, two points above the relegation line. The following two seasons, 1979–80 and 1980–81, brought 7th-place finishes in Series XI. However, the stay in the third tier ended after the 1981–82 season, with a 15th-place finish leading to relegation.
CIL won the 1982–83 Alba County Championship but lost the promotion to Divizia C to Minerul Șuncuiuș, the Bihor County Championship winner, with a 2–3 aggregate score (2–1 at home and 0–2 away).
In 1983, the team was renamed Târnavele Blaj, after the Târnava river, formed by the confluence of Târnava Mare and Târnava Mică in Blaj. The team earned promotion to the third division by winning the 1983–84 Alba County Championship and defeating Metalul Reghin, the Mureș County Championship winner, in the promotion play-off with a 4–3 aggregate score (0–2 away, 4–1 at home).
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
"Restanță din optimile "Cupei R.P.R."" [Postponed from the Round of 16 of the "R.P.R. Cup"] (PDF) (in Romanian). Sportul Popular. 11 June 1964. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 December 2024. Retrieved 8 December 2024 – via bibliotecadeva.eu.
