Fotbal Club Voluntari (), commonly known as FC Voluntari or simply Voluntari, is a Romanian professional football club based in Voluntari, Ilfov County, that competes in Liga I, the first tier of the Romanian league system. The team plays its home matches at Anghel Iordănescu Stadium, which has a capacity of 4,600 spectators.
Founded in 2010, Voluntari achieved successive promotions from Liga III to Liga I in 2014 and 2015, becoming one of the few clubs in Romanian football to make this leap. The club spent nine consecutive seasons in Romania's top flight between 2015 and 2024. It won its first major trophies in 2017, lifting both the Cupa României and the Supercupa României.
History
Football in Voluntari before 2010 Organised football in Voluntari existed before the foundation of the present club, although little information about earlier local teams is available. By 2009, a senior team named Inter Voluntari was competing in the Bucharest fourth division, playing home matches at Frăția Stadium. Contemporary reports recorded Inter Voluntari facing teams such as Sportul Studențesc II during the 2009–10 season. The team subsequently appeared as ACS Inter Voluntari in the Ilfov County championship during the 2010–11 season. No documented organisational or legal continuity has been established between Inter Voluntari and the present FC Voluntari.
Foundation and rise through the divisions FC Voluntari was founded in the summer of 2010 and entered Liga III directly after taking over the competition place vacated by Petrolul Berca. Several players and head coach Romeo Bunică also moved from Berca to the newly formed Ilfov club. The team initially played its home matches at Viscofil Stadium in Popești-Leordeni. In its debut season in the third tier, Voluntari finished 6th in Series II.
In the 2011–12 season, Bunică left in October after nine rounds to join Otopeni and was replaced by Robert Niță, who was succeeded in January 2012 by Bogdan Andone. Under Andone's leadership, the Ilfov-based side again finished 6th in Series II.
In the 2012–13 season, the club was placed in Series III and moved its home matches to the newly opened Niță Pintea Stadium in Voluntari. Poor results left the team bottom of the standings after five rounds, leading to the dismissal of Bogdan Andone. Romeo Bunică returned as head coach in early October 2012 and guided the team to a 7th-place finish.
Following the establishment of the FC Voluntari Academy in 2012 and the adoption of a development model inspired by the Gheorghe Hagi Academy, the club entered a partnership with Viitorul Constanța. As part of the project, Adrian Iencsi was appointed head coach for the 2013–14 campaign, with Ilie Poenaru as assistant, and several young players, including Florin Tănase, Cosmin Achim, Bogdan Vasile, Bogdan Mitache and Bogdan Țîru, joined the senior squad. The team also included players such as Paul Botaș, Cristian Irimia, Florin Maxim, S. Rădoi, Dinu Todoran, Ad. Bălan, George Călințaru, Ad. Voicu and Mihai Voduț. Voluntari dominated Series II, finishing first in both the regular season and the play-off and securing promotion to Liga II.
Following promotion, Ilie Poenaru was appointed head coach after Adrian Iencsi's departure. In the 2014–15 season, Voluntari continued its strong form in Series I, finishing first in both the regular season and the play-off, thirteen points ahead of second-placed Academica Argeș and thirty points ahead of third-placed Gloria Buzău, thereby securing promotion to Romania's top flight. The squad included Botaș, Hînțescu, Crăciun, C. Roșu, Lircă, Achim, Poverlovici, Maxim, Mitache, S. Rădoi, Novac, B. Barbu, A. Cârstocea, G. Deac, E. Stan, Leasă, M. Ene, Todoran, Ad. Bălan, Călințaru, M. Matei, Ad. Voicu and Voduț.
Top-flight years and first trophies Its debut season in Liga I proved difficult, as numerous technical and administrative changes left the club involved in the relegation battle. After finishing 12th, Voluntari faced UTA Arad in a promotion/relegation play-off and won 3–1 on aggregate, retaining its place in the top flight.
With experienced players such as Vasile Maftei, Florin Cernat and Laurențiu Marinescu in the squad, Voluntari improved during the 2016–17 season, finishing 9th and avoiding a second consecutive promotion/relegation play-off. The club also achieved the first major success in its history by winning the 2016–17 Cupa României. In the final against Astra Giurgiu, the match ended 1–1 after extra time before Voluntari won the penalty shoot-out 5–3.
The success was followed by another trophy at the beginning of the 2017–18 season, when Voluntari defeated reigning champions Viitorul Constanța 1–0 in the Supercupa României, with Costin Lazăr scoring the only goal. It was the second major trophy in the club's history.
Voluntari remained in the top flight during the following seasons, generally competing in the lower half of the standings. One of its strongest campaigns came in 2021–22, when the club qualified for the championship play-off and also reached the final of the 2021–22 Cupa României. In the final, played at Giulești Stadium in Bucharest, Voluntari was defeated 2–1 by Sepsi OSK, finishing as runners-up for the first time in the competition.
After nine consecutive seasons in the first division, Voluntari was relegated at the end of the 2023–24 season, finishing in one of the two direct relegation positions in the play-out and returning to Liga II for the first time since 2015.
Return to Liga II and promotion (2024–2026) In the 2024–25 season, Voluntari qualified for the promotion play-off and earned a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off against Unirea Slobozia. Voluntari won the first leg 2–1 at home, but lost the return match 0–1 after extra time. With the aggregate score level, Unirea won the penalty shoot-out 4–3, leaving Voluntari in the second tier for another season.
Voluntari again reached the promotion play-off in the 2025–26 season and remained in contention for a return to the top flight throughout the campaign. The club eventually qualified for the promotion/relegation play-off against Hermannstadt. Hermannstadt won the first leg 3–2 in Sibiu, despite Voluntari recovering from a three-goal deficit to reduce the difference to one goal. In the return leg at the Anghel Iordănescu Stadium, Voluntari won 3–0 through two penalties scored by Matko Babić and a late goal from Ioan Tolea, winning the tie 5–3 on aggregate and securing promotion back to the SuperLiga after two seasons in Liga II.
FC Voluntari returned to the top flight for the 2026–27 season, making its first SuperLiga appearance in two years.
Stadium
The club plays its home matches at the 4,600-seater Stadionul Anghel Iordănescu in Voluntari. Attendances are usually modest, as Voluntari is considered a suburb of Bucharest and many of its citizens are inclined to support clubs from the capital instead.
Honours Leagues Liga II Winners (1): 2014–15 Liga III Winners (1): 2013–14
Cups Cupa României Winners (1): 2016–17 Runners-up (1): 2021–22
Supercupa României Winners (1): 2017
Players
First-team squad
Out on loan
Club officials
Board of directors RoleName Owner Voluntari Town President Robert Gherghe General Director Bogdan Bălănescu Board President Robert Frunză Vice-president Bogdan Niculaie Economic Director Diana Istrate Sporting director Igor Armaș Administrative Director Ionuț Bogaciu Youth Center Manager Ion Moldovan Youth Center Coordinator Cătălin Bârleanu Organizer of Competitions Emil Badea Secretary Florin Verigeanu Responsible for Order and Safety Iulian Ghirie Press Officer Radu Oprișan Last updated: 29 November 2025 Source:
Current technical staff RoleName Head coach Florin Pîrvu Assistant coaches Cristian Burlacu Gabriel Cânu Goalkeeping coach Florin Tene Fitness coach Alexandru Petcu Club doctor Tiberiu Horcea Physiotherapist Dan Sarivan Masseurs Florin Onosă Florin Ioniță Storeman Dumitru Radu Last updated: 22 August 2025 Source:
Notable former players The footballers enlisted below have had international cap(s) for their respective countries at junior and/or senior level and/or more than significant caps for FC Voluntari.
Romania
Cosmin Achim Florin Acsinte Doru Andrei Ionuț Balaur Dragoș Balauru Adrian Bălan Radu Boboc Mircea Bornescu Marius Briceag Nicolae Carnat Mihai Căpățînă Florin Cernat Cristian Costin Costin Curelea Gabriel Deac Andrei Dumiter Daniel Florea Ion Gheorghe Petre Ivanovici Costin Lazăr Vasile Maftei Laurențiu Marinescu Florin Maxim Daniel Novac Daniel Pancu Mihai Popa Doru Popadiuc Mihai Răduț Alexandru Răuță Victor Rîmniceanu Gabriel Tamaș Dinu Todoran Daniel Toma Alexandru Tudorie Alexandru Vlad Mihai Voduț
Albania Naser Aliji
Argentina Juan Cascini Nicolás Gorobsov Patricio Matricardi Cristian Paz
Brazil Eric
Bulgaria Bozhidar Mitrev
Cape Verde Hélder Tavares
Czech Republic Lukáš Droppa
Croatia Ljuban Crepulja Hrvoje Spahija
DR Congo Wilfred Moke
Greece Thanasis Papazoglou
Haiti Jean Sony Alcénat
Iceland Rúnar Már Sigurjónsson
Ivory Coast Ulrich Meleke
Moldova Igor Armaș Vitalie Damașcan Vadim Raţă
Netherlands John Goossens
Portugal Marcelo Lopes Ricardinho
Slovakia Adam Nemec
Spain Jefté Betancor Jesús Fernández Pablo de Lucas
Tunisia Aïssa Laïdouni
Notable former managers
Bogdan Andone (2011–2012) Adrian Iencsi (2013–2014) Ilie Poenaru (2014–2015) Gheorghe Mulțescu (2015–2016) Cristiano Bergodi (2018–2020) Mihai Teja (2020) Liviu Ciobotariu (2021–2023) Ilie Poenaru (2023–2024) Claudiu Niculescu (2024) Florin Marin (2024–2025) Mihai Iosif (2025) Florin Pîrvu (2025–present)
League and cup history
Season Tier Division Place Notes Cupa României Supercupa României 2026–27 1 Liga I TBD TBD — 2025–26 2 Liga II 3rd Promoted Play-off round — 2024–25 Liga II 4th Play-off round — 2023–24 1 Liga I 15th Relegated Semi-finals — 2022–23 Liga I 9th Group stage — 2021–22 Liga I 4th Runner-up — 2020–21 Liga I 13th Relegation play-off winner Round of 32 — 2019–20 Liga I 11th Round of 16 — 2018–19 Liga I 11th Round of 16 — 2017–18 Liga I 12th Relegation play-off winner Round of 32 Winner 2016–17 Liga I 9th Winner — 2015–16 Liga I 12th Relegation play-off winner Round of 32 — 2014–15 2 Liga II (Series I) 1st (C) Promoted Fifth round — 2013–14 3 Liga III (Series II) 1st (C) Promoted Fifth round — 2012–13 Liga III (Series III) 7th Third round — 2011–12 Liga III (Series II) 6th Third round — 2010–11 Liga III (Series II) 6th —
References
External links
Club profile on UEFA.com Club profile on LPF.ro