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.

History The football club from Blaj, a town nicknamed "Little Rome", was founded in 1961 as CIL Blaj, coinciding with the opening of the Combinatul de Industrializare a Lemnului (), which also supported the team. The club initially competed in the Mediaș District Championship, then the fifth tier of Romanian football, before playing in the second tier of the Brașov Regional Championship.

The club reached the Round of 16 of the 1963–64 Cupa României, defeating Chimica Târnăveni 2–0, Gaz Metan Mediaș 2–1 and Rapid Târgu Mureș 2–0 before producing one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history by eliminating Petrolul Ploiești 1–0 . Petrolul had won the trophy in the previous season and were one of Romania's strongest teams at the time. CIL's cup run ended in the Round of 16 with a 0–12 defeat against Steaua București.

CIL earned promotion to Divizia C for the first time at the end of the 1971–72 season, after winning the Alba County Championship and defeating Dacia Orăștie, the Hunedoara County Championship winners, 5–2 on aggregate in the promotion play-off, winning 5–0 at home before losing the return leg 0–2.

In their first season in Divizia C, CIL Blaj finished fourth in Series IX. The following campaigns proved more difficult, with the team narrowly avoiding relegation after finishing 13th in Series XII in 1973–74 and 13th in Series IX in 1974–75. A slight improvement followed with a tenth-place finish in Series XI in 1975–76, but CIL were 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 Alba County Championship once again and earning promotion without having to contest a play-off, as Alba was one of the counties with fewer representatives in the third division.

In the 1978–79 season, CIL finished 13th in Series VIII, two points above the relegation zone. The following two campaigns, 1979–80 and 1980–81, both ended with seventh-place finishes in Series XI. Their spell in the third tier ended after the 1981–82 season, when a 15th-place finish resulted in relegation.

CIL won the 1982–83 Alba County Championship, but failed to gain promotion to Divizia C after losing 2–3 on aggregate to Minerul Șuncuiuș, the Bihor County Championship winners. CIL won the first leg 2–1 at home before losing 0–2 away.

In 1983, the club was renamed Târnavele Blaj, after the Târnava river system, whose two branches, the Târnava Mare and Târnava Mică, meet at Blaj. The team returned to the third division after winning the 1983–84 Alba County Championship and defeating Metalul Reghin, the Mureș County Championship winners, 4–3 on aggregate in the promotion play-off. After losing the first leg 0–2 away, Târnavele overturned the deficit with a 4–1 victory at home.

The stay in Divizia C proved brief, as Târnavele finished last in Series XI in the 1984–85 season and were relegated to the fourth tier. The club immediately bounced back, winning the 1985–86 Alba County Championship and defeating CFR Arad, the Arad County Championship winners, 5–1 on aggregate in the promotion play-off, following victories of 3–1 away and 2–0 at home.

Following the Romanian Revolution and the restructuring of Romanian football, the club spent much of the following decades in the county competitions. In 2002, CIL came close to returning to the third tier, but lost the promotion play-off against Textila Cisnădie 6–7 on penalties. Blaj was nevertheless represented in the third division between 2003 and 2008 by Inter Blaj, which spent five consecutive seasons at that level before being relegated in 2008.

CIL continued to compete mainly at county level during the following years. The club enjoyed a resurgence in the early 2020s and won the Liga IV Alba championship in the 2023–24 season. Under head coach Daniel Tătar, CIL completed its league and promotion play-off campaign unbeaten and secured promotion to Liga III after defeating ACSM Codlea 3–2 on aggregate, winning the first leg 2–1 away before drawing 1–1 in Blaj. The promotion marked the return of a team from Blaj to the third tier after a 16-year absence.

CIL maintained its place in Liga III and competed in the division again in the 2025–26 season. The team finished fifth in the play-out of Series VII and subsequently began preparations for a third consecutive season in the third tier in 2026–27, continuing under head coach Daniel Tătar.

Honours Liga IV – Alba County Winners (7): 1971–72, 1977–78, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, 2001–02, 2023–24 Runners-up (2): 1969–70, 1970–71

Liga V – Alba County Winners (2): 2010–11, 2013–14

Players First team squad

Out on loan

Club Officials

Board of directors

RoleName Owner Municipality of Blaj President Matei Basarab Vice-president Mario Dumitriu Board Member Florin Ganea Organizer of Competitions Costică Gutunoiu

Current technical staff

RoleName Technical director Marius Oprean Head coach Daniel Tătar Assistant manager Traian Pavel Goalkeeping coach Matei Brînzan Club Doctor Matei Ciolan Kinetotherapist Aurelian Matei

League history

SeasonTier DivisionPlaceNotesCupa României 2026–27 3 Liga III TBD Play-off round 2025–26 3 Liga III (Seria VII) 8th 2024–25 3 Liga III (Seria VII) 7th 2023–24 4 Liga IV (AB) 1st (C) Promoted 2022–23 4 Liga IV (AB) 3rd 2021–22 4 Liga IV (AB) 4th 2020–21 Not active due to the COVID 19-pandemic 2019–20 4 Liga IV (AB) 7th 2018–19 4 Liga IV (AB) 3rd 2017–18 4 Liga IV (AB) 8th

References

External links