CS CIL Blaj

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.^[1][2]

The football club from Little Rome^[3] 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.^[4][5]

CIL promoted to Divizia C for the first time at the end of the 1971–72 season, winning the Alba County Championship and the promotion play-off against Dacia Orăștie, the Hunedoara County Championship winner, 5–0 at home and 0–2 away.

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.

En la temporada 1978-79 , la CIL finalizó en la 13.ª posición de la Serie VIII, dos puntos por encima de la línea de descenso. Las dos temporadas siguientes, 1979-80 y 1980-81 , lograron la 7.ª posición en la Serie XI. Sin embargo, su permanencia en la tercera división terminó tras la temporada 1981-82 , cuando un 15.º puesto les supuso el descenso.

El CIL ganó el Campeonato del Condado de Alba de 1982-83 , pero perdió el ascenso a la Divizia C ante el Minerul Șuncuiuș, ganador del Campeonato del Condado de Bihor , con un marcador global de 2-3 (2-1 en casa y 0-2 fuera).

En 1983, el equipo pasó a llamarse Târnavele Blaj, en honor al río Târnava , formado por la confluencia de los ríos Târnava Mare y Târnava Mică en Blaj. El equipo logró el ascenso a la tercera división al ganar el Campeonato del Condado de Alba de 1983-84 y derrotar al Metalul Reghin, ganador del Campeonato del Condado de Mureș , en el partido de desempate por el ascenso con un marcador global de 4-3 (0-2 como visitante, 4-1 en casa).

La estancia en la Divizia C fue breve, ya que el Târnavele terminó último en la Serie XI la temporada siguiente y descendió de nuevo a la cuarta división. Sin embargo, el Târnavele regresó rápidamente a la tercera división, ganando de nuevo el Campeonato del Condado de Alba en la temporada 1985-86 y venciendo al CFR Arad , ganador del Campeonato del Condado de Arad , en el partido de desempate por el ascenso con un marcador global de 5-1 (3-1 fuera de casa, 2-0 en casa).

Liga IV – Condado de Alba

• Ganadores (7): 1971–72 , 1977–78 , 1982–83 , 1983–84 , 1985–86 , 2001–02 , 2023–24
• Subcampeones (2): 1969–70 , 1970–71

Liga V – Condado de Alba

• Ganadores (2): 2010–11, 2013–14

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