Liga IV Galați

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

Liga IV Galați

Founded	1968
Country	Romania
Level on pyramid	4
Promotion to	Liga III
Relegation to	Liga V Galați
Domestic cup(s)	Cupa României Supercupa României
Current champions	Voința Cudalbi (3rd title) (2024–25)
Most championships	Victoria Galați (5 titles)
Website	AJF Galați
Current: 2024–25 Liga IV Galați

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 Galați, 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

Football arrived in Galați around 1908, brought by foreign commercial companies and the efforts of Officer Vladovici, a career officer who had studied in France. The first matches involved military teams, such as the one from the 3rd Heavy Artillery Regiment founded by Vladovici, which played against the English sailors stationed in the port. A year later, the Cavalry Regiment from Galați established a second team from the city, and this facilitated the organization of more football matches in Galați. In 1919, students from Vasile Alecsandri High School formed a team, Liceul Vasile Alecsandri (LVA), followed in 1920 by Olimpia and Niki, formed by immigrants from Turkey, Greece, and Armenia. As football grew in popularity, inter-city matches with Brăila, Tulcea, and Reni became more common, alongside local games between Internaționala, Niki, Olimpia, Șoimii Dacia, Atlas, and LVA.^[1]

In 1922, Șoimii Dacia and LVA merged to form Dacia Vasile Alecsandri Galați (DVA), which soon became one of the region’s strongest teams. More clubs emerged, including Maccabi, Aviația, Școala Comercială, Sportul, and Baza Navală. The first regional championship took place in 1926, featuring ten teams from Galați (including the neighborhood teams Șoimii and Gloria), two from Reni (Maccabi and Dunărea), and one from Tulcea. DVA was crowned the inaugural champion. However, economic hardships in the late 1920s led to the dissolution of many clubs, leaving only DVA, Gloria, and Șoimii active.

In 1927, Gloria and Șoimii merged as Gloria Șoimii, and in 1932, they joined CFR Galați to establish Gloria CFR Galați, backed by railroad workers. Gloria CFR quickly established itself as a key competitor in the Lower Danube District Championship, facing experienced teams such as DVA, Ermis, Marina Danubiană, and Unirea Tulcea. In the 1934–35 season, Gloria CFR won the district title, securing its place in Galați’s football history after earning promotion to Divizia C.^[2][3]

In 1968, following the new administrative and territorial reorganization of the country,^[4] 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 Galați 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 Galați County.

Since then, the structure and organization of Liga IV Galați, 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.

List of Champions

Galați Regional Championship

Ed. Season Winners 1 1951 Metalul Brăila 2 1952 Metalul Brăila 3 1953 Dinamo Galați 4 1954 Locomotiva Galați 5 1955 6 1956 Energia Metalul Galați 7 1957–58 Industria Sârmei Brăila 8 1958–59 Marina Brăila 9 1959–60 CSM Brăila 10 1960–61 Știința Galați 11 1961–62 Flamura Roșie Tecuci 12 1962–63 Metalosport Galați 13 1963–64 Constructorul Brăila 14 1964–65 Ancora Galați 15 1965–66 Ancora Galați 16 1966–67 SUT Galați 17 1967–68 Chimia Mărășești

Galați County Championship

Ed. Season Winners 1 1968–69 Unirea ITO Galați 2 1969–70 Dacia Galați 3 1970–71 Gloria Tecuci 4 1971–72 Metalosport Galați 5 1972–73 Tehnometal Galați 6 1973–74 Mecanizatorul Târgu Bujor 7 1974–75 Victoria Tecuci 8 1975–76 Metalosport Galați 9 1976–77 Oțelul Galați 10 1977–78 Metalosport Galați 11 1978–79 Recolta Tudor Vladimirescu 12 1979–80 Avântul Matca 13 1980–81 Gloria Galați 14 1981–82 DVA Portul Galați 15 1982–83 Victoria TC Galați 16 1983–84 Avântul Matca 17 1984–85 Gloria Ivești 18 1985–86 Gloria Galați 19 1986–87 Avântul Liești 20 1987–88 Mecanosport Galați 21 1988–89 Gloria Ivești 22 1989–90 Metalurgistul Tecuci

Ed. Season Winners 23 1990–91 Șantierul Naval Galați 24 1991–92 Hidraulica Galați 25 1992–93 Dunărea Romport Galați 26 1993–94 Victoria IUG Galați 27 1994–95 Șantierul Naval Galați 28 1995–96 Metalul Toflea 29 1996–97 Victoria IUG Galați 30 1997–98 Avântul Liești 31 1998–99 Șantierul Naval Galați 32 1999–00 Viitorul Costache Negri 33 2000–01 Ancora Galați 34 2001–02 Victoria TC Galați 35 2002–03 Viitorul Costache Negri 36 2003–04 Junkers Galați 37 2004–05 Politehnica Galați 38 2005–06 Sporting Tecuci 39 2006–07 Bujorii Târgu Bujor 40 2007–08 Sporting Tecuci 41 2008–09 Dunărea Galați II 42 2009–10 Avântul Vânători[5][6] 43 2010–11 Metalul Toflea 44 2011–12 Sporting Liești

Ed. Season Winners 45 2012–13 Sporting Liești[7] 46 2013–14 Metalosport Galați[8] 47 2014–15 Avântul Valea Mărului[9] 48 2015–16 Avântul Valea Mărului[10] 49 2016–17 Oțelul Galați 50 2017–18 CSU Galați[11] 51 2018–19 CSU Galați[12] 52 2019–20 Avântul Valea Mărului – 2020–21 Not disputed[a] 53 2021–22 Unirea Braniștea[13] 54 2022–23 Voința Cudalbi[14][15][16] 55 2023–24 Voința Cudalbi[17][18] 56 2024–25 Voința Cudalbi[19]

1. Not disputed due to COVID-19 pandemic in Romania.

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