Liga IV Dolj

Liga IV Dolj is the county football division of Liga IV for clubs based in Dolj County, Romania. The competition is ranked as the fourth tier of the Romanian football league system and is organized by AJF Dolj – Asociația Județeană de Fotbal (lit. 'County Football Association').

Liga IV Dolj

Founded	1968
Country	Romania
Level on pyramid	4
Promotion to	Liga III
Relegation to	Liga V Dolj
Domestic cup(s)	Cupa României Supercupa României
Current champions	Cârcea (1st title) (2024–25)
Most championships	Dunărea Calafat (7 titles)
Website	AJF Dolj
Current: 2024–25 Liga IV Dolj

It is contested by a variable number of teams, depending on the number of teams relegated from Liga III, the number of teams promoted from Liga V Dolj, and the teams that withdraw or enter the competition. The winner may or may not be promoted to Liga III, depending on the result of a promotion play-off contested against the winner of a neighboring county series.

History

In its early days, football in Craiova was nurtured by three major human “reservoirs” – the military units and military high schools, as well as the “Mihai Viteazul” orphanage, which provided soldiers, officers, high school students, and young orphans who escaped the discipline of the barracks or the orphanage to play on improvised fields, in the streets of neighborhoods or on small lawns, until the first sports facilities appeared, such as the Generala field, arranged by the Commercial Employees’ Association, the CFR field near Calea București, and the ONEF stadium belonging to the City Hall. In this context, the first organized teams began to emerge. Between 1915 and 1919, groups such as Excelsior (later renamed Gladiator), Macabi, Oltenia, Asler, Gloria Craiovei, Tinerimea, along with several school teams, were active.^[1]

Having a regional character, the first District Championship of Craiova took place in the 1924–25 season, with participants including Oltul Slatina, Craiu Iovan Craiova, Rovine Grivița Craiova, Excelsior Craiova, Oltenia Craiova, Tinerimea Craiova, and Generala Craiova. The competition was won by Oltul Slatina, which represented the region in the national championship but was eliminated by Jahn Cernăuți 4–0. Subsequently, the competition was also known as the Oltenia District Championship, maintaining its regional character and being dominated by several teams from Craiova – especially Craiu Iovan, Generala, and Rovine Grivița – alongside Oltul Slatina, teams that became protagonists of the interwar football scene in the area.^[1]

After the administrative-territorial reform of 1950, with the establishment of Dolj Region, covering a territory similar to present-day Dolj County plus parts of what is now Olt County, the Dolj Regional Championship was created under the organization of the Regional Football Commission, intended for teams from this area. Following the country’s reorganization in September 1952, which unified the Dolj and Gorj regions, the Craiova Region was formed, and starting with the 1953 season, the competition became known as the Craiova Regional Championship.

In 1960, the region and the championship were renamed again, becoming Oltenia Region and Oltenia Regional Championship, respectively. This structure functioned until 1968, when a new administrative and territorial reorganization take place, and each county established its own football championship, integrating teams from the former regional championships as well as those that had previously competed in town and rayon level competitions. The freshly formed Dolj County Championship was placed under the authority of the newly created Consiliul Județean pentru Educație Fizică și Sport (lit. 'County Council for Physical Education and Sports') in Dolj County.

Since then, the structure and organization of Liga IV Dolj, like those of other county championships, have undergone numerous changes. Between 1968 and 1992, the main county competition was known as the Campionatul Județean (County Championship). Between 1992 and 1997, it was renamed Divizia C – Faza Județeană (Divizia C – County Phase), followed by Divizia D starting in 1997, and since 2006, it has been known as Liga IV.

Promotion

The champions of each county association play against one another in a play-off to earn promotion to Liga III. Geographical criteria are taken into consideration when the play-offs are drawn. In total, there are 41 county champions plus the Bucharest municipal champion.^{[citation needed]}

List of champions

Dolj Regional Championship

Ed. Season Winners Dolj Regional Championship 1 1950 Armata Craiova 2 1951 Locomotiva Craiova 3 1952 Locomotiva Craiova Craiova Regional Championship 4 1953 Constructorul Craiova 5 1954 Știința Craiova 6 1955 7 1956 Flacăra Târgu Jiu 8 1957–58 Dinamo Jiul Craiova 9 1958–59 CSA Craiova 10 1959–60 Electroputere Craiova Oltenia Regional Championship 11 1960–61 Dinamo Craiova 12 1961–62 Drobeta Turnu Severin 13 1962–63 AS Târgu Jiu 14 1963–64 Metalul 7 Noiembrie Craiova 15 1964–65 Progresul Strehaia 16 1965–66 Autorapid Craiova 17 1966–67 Minerul Motru 18 1967–68 Steagul Roșu Plenița (Series I) Autorapid Craiova (Series II)

Dolj County Championship

Ed. Season Winners 1 1968–69 Constructorul Craiova 2 1969–70 Autorapid Craiova 3 1970–71 Progresul Băilești 4 1971–72 Victoria Craiova 5 1972–73 CFR Craiova 6 1973–74 Progresul Băilești 7 1974–75 Constructorul Craiova 8 1975–76 Steagul Roșu Plenița 9 1976–77 Victoria Craiova 10 1977–78 Dunărea Calafat 11 1978–79 Dunărea Calafat 12 1979–80 Victoria Craiova 13 1980–81 Unirea Tricolor Dăbuleni 14 1981–82 Progresul Băilești 15 1982–83 Progresul Băilești 16 1983–84 Victoria Craiova 17 1984–85 Jiul IEELIF Craiova 18 1985–86 Jiul IEELIF Craiova 19 1986–87 ASA Craiova 20 1987–88 Constructorul Șoimii Craiova 21 1988–89 Jiul IEELIF Craiova 22 1989–90 Jiul IEELIF Craiova

Ed. Season Winners 23 1990–91 Autobuzul IJTL Craiova 24 1991–92 Dunărea Calafat 25 1992–93 Constructorul U Craiova 26 1993–94 Progresul Segarcea 27 1994–95 Autobuzul Craiova 28 1995–96 Petrolul Craiova 29 1996–97 Constructorul Craiova 30 1997–98 Bere Craiova 31 1998–99 Dinamo Segarcea 32 1999–00 Dunărea Calafat 33 2000–01 Pan Group Armata Craiova 34 2001–02 Chimia Craiova 35 2002–03 Știința CFR Craiova[2] 36 2003–04 ȘF "Gică Popescu" Craiova[3] 37 2004–05 Dunărea Calafat 38 2005–06 Gaz Metan Podari[4] 39 2006–07 CFR Craiova 40 2007–08 Prometeu Craiova 41 2008–09 Avântul Bârca 42 2009–10 Sopot[5] 43 2010–11 Sopot[6] 44 2011–12 Apă Craiova[7]

Ed. Season Winners 45 2012–13 Podari[8] 46 2013–14 Filiași[9] 47 2014–15 Universitatea Craiova II 48 2015–16 Tractorul Cetate 49 2016–17 Tractorul Cetate[10] 50 2017–18 FC U Craiova 1948 51 2018–19 Tractorul Cetate[11][12] 52 2019–20 Unirea Tricolor Dăbuleni 53 2020–21 Dunărea Calafat 54 2021–22 Dunărea Calafat[13] 55 2022–23 FC U Craiova 1948 II 56 2023–24 Metropolitan Ișalnița[14] 57 2024–25 Cârcea[15]

See also

Main Leagues

• Liga I
• Liga II
• Liga III
• Liga IV

County Leagues (Liga IV series)

North–East Liga IV Bacău Liga IV Botoșani Liga IV Iași Liga IV Neamț Liga IV Suceava Liga IV Vaslui

North–West Liga IV Bihor Liga IV Bistrița-Năsăud Liga IV Cluj Liga IV Maramureș Liga IV Satu Mare Liga IV Sălaj

Center Liga IV Alba Liga IV Brașov Liga IV Covasna Liga IV Harghita Liga IV Mureș Liga IV Sibiu

West Liga IV Arad Liga IV Caraș-Severin Liga IV Gorj Liga IV Hunedoara Liga IV Mehedinți Liga IV Timiș

South–West Liga IV Argeș Liga IV Dâmbovița Liga IV Dolj Liga IV Olt Liga IV Teleorman Liga IV Vâlcea

South Liga IV Bucharest Liga IV Călărași Liga IV Giurgiu Liga IV Ialomița Liga IV Ilfov Liga IV Prahova

South–East Liga IV Brăila Liga IV Buzău Liga IV Constanța Liga IV Galați Liga IV Tulcea Liga IV Vrancea