FK Spartak Subotica

Fudbalski klub Spartak Ždrepčeva Krv (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Спартак Ждрепчева Крв) is a professional football club from Subotica, Serbia, that plays in the Serbian SuperLiga.

The club was founded in 1945 and was named after Jovan Mikić Spartak, the leader of the Partisans in Subotica, who was a national hero and was killed in 1944.

After the end of the 2007–08 Serbian League Vojvodina, the club merged with Zlatibor Voda which won promotion to the Serbian First League thus gaining the name Spartak Zlatibor Voda. In 2013, the board decided to return to the original name of the club.

Founded in 1945, FK Spartak Subotica is the second most successful club in northern Serbia after Vojvodina. They participated in the first postwar club competition, the 1946–47 Yugoslav First League, and from then on were relegated to the second league then promoted again to the first league in a persistent cycle. Their biggest success was reaching the 1993–94 FR Yugoslavia Cup final against Partizan which they lost 1-6.

However, football in Subotica has long tradition. During the pre-WWII period, the city was the seat of the Subotica Football Subassociation, one of the subassociations which existed within the Yugoslav Football Association, and which organised league competitions whose winners qualified for the Yugoslav championship where the national champion was decided. Subotica was home to three major clubs that made it to the Yugoslav championship before 1941: Bačka, SAND and ŽAK Subotica. Bačka has the distinction of being the oldest football club in the entire territory of former Yugoslavia.

During World War Two, when Subotica was invaded by Axis forces in 1941 and incorporated into Hungary, its football clubs were likewise absorbed into the Hungarian league system. At the end of the war Yugoslavia regained control of Subotica. Some clubs such as SAND were dissolved; others, like Bačka, continued, but at a much lower level; and some new ones were formed, such as Radnički and Građanski. ŽAK Subotica remained active until their main sponsor, Yugoslav Railways, dissolved it to form a new club named "Spartak", the nickname of a legendary athlete from Subotica, Jovan Mikić who, during the war, was a Partisan commander. Besides the players, the stadium, the team colours and the fans, Spartak also inherited from ŽAK the backing of the Yugoslav Railways.^[1]

During the period of socialist Yugoslavia, Spartak played in either the Yugoslav First or Second league. Although they never won the national championship, they produced good home grown players who succeeded domestically and abroad, brought in talented players from other regions of Yugoslavia, and contributed a number of players to the national team. During this period, the highlight was their appearance in the 1961–62 Yugoslav Cup, even though they lost.

Spartak was a finalist again in 1994. By then the old SFR Yugoslavia had broken up after which Serbia and Montenegro established FR Yugoslavia. Spartak was a regular participant of the First League of FR Yugoslavia until the 1999–2000 season when they were relegated and a period of decline began which lasted until 2008 when they merged with FK Zlatibor Voda from neighbouring town of Horgoš. Playing under the name FK Spartak Zlatibor Voda, the club was promoted to the 2009–10 Serbian SuperLiga.

Spartak's biggest success since the establishment of Serbia in 2006, came in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds. They first defeated Northern Irish club Coleraine F.C. in Round 1, then went on to achieve what is considered their brightest moment in club history, defeating Czech powerhouse AC Sparta Prague. They were eventually eliminated from the UEFA Europa League in the 3rd qualifying round, losing to Danish club Brøndby IF over two legs.^[2]

Spartak's fans are known as Marinci (Marines), which were formed in early 1989.

Subotica City Stadium (Gradski stadion^[3]) is a multi-use stadium in Subotica, Serbia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the club's home ground since 1945. The stadium holds 13,000 people. There is a football pitch and a registered track for athletics suitable for competitions. One part of the Stadium is covered. There are also two subsidiary football pitches.

The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale, was one of the first really international major European football cups that the club participated in. After World War II, in 1951, a replacement tournament named Zentropa Cup was held to resume the rich tradition of this competition.

• Qualified for Europe in 2 seasons

National Championships – 1

• People's Republic of Serbia League (Vojvodina group)
  • Winners (1): 1945–46^[4]
• Yugoslav Second League
  • Winners (4): 1952, 1971–72, 1985–86 (West), 1987–88 (West)

• Yugoslav Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 1961–62, 1993–94

As of 20 September 2025^[5][6]

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.

As of 27 September 2025

To appear in this section a player must have either:

• Played at least 80 games for the club.
• Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club.
• Played at least one international match for their national team at any time.

For the list of all current and former players with Wikipedia article, please see: Category:FK Spartak Subotica players.

• Official website (in Serbian)
• Blue Marines fans (archived 1 December 2011)
• Club profile and squad at Srbijafudbal
• Club history at Sportski savez Subotice (in Serbian)
• Spartak Stats at Utakmica.rs