Romanian Football Federation

The Romanian Football Federation (Romanian: Federația Română de Fotbal; FRF) is the governing body of football in Romania. They are headquartered in the capital city of Bucharest and affiliated with FIFA and UEFA since 1923 and 1955 respectively. The Federation organizes the men's national team and the women's national team, as well as most of the Romanian football competitions. History In 1909, the first governing body for the activity of football players appeared, the Association of Sports Clubs in Romania, which later became the "Association of Football Clubs", with headquarters in Bucharest and Mario Gebauer as president. Also in 1909, the first national football championship began, which will be won, in the spring of the following year, by "Olimpia" Bucharest, which was the first team established in Romania in 1904. On December 1, 1912, the "Association of Football Clubs" joined the Central Football Association Commission (president Mario Gebauer, secretary Lazăr Breyer), which in turn was part of the Federation of Romanian Sports Associations (FSSR), also established in 1912. The "Venus" Bucharest and "Prahova" Ploiesti teams appeared in 1915, "Student Sports" Bucharest, in 1916, according to the "Encyclopedia of Physical Education and Sport in Romania". In Hungary, the predecessors of CA Oradea (Nagyváradi AC) and Chinezul Timișoara (Temesvári Kinizsi SE) was formed in 1910, and that of Vagonul Arad (Aradi SC) in 1911. The Romanian national team made its debut on June 8, 1922, in a match in Belgrade, against Yugoslavia, winning 2–1. On May 20, 1923, the Association Football Commission of the FSSR was admitted to the Zurich Congress as a member of FIFA. In this capacity, Romania participated in the Olympic Football Tournament from the 1924 Olympic Games held in Paris. On February 16, 1930, the Central Football Association Commission was transformed into the Romanian Football Association Federation (FRFA), an independent body with legal authority, deciding Romania's participation in the World Championship in Uruguay in July of the same year. The first president of the FRFA was the lawyer Aurel Leucutia (1930–1933), who has the merit of having organized the first unitary championship of the first division (1932–1933), states the website of the Romanian Football Federation, frf.ro. The domestic championship, Division A, began with the 1932-1933 edition, initially being divided into two series. In 1934 Division B appeared; in 1936, Division C; and in 1937, the National Junior Championship. The political events at the end of 1989 determined essential organizational changes, as well as regarding the football activity. In the competitive year 1990–91, a massive group of the most valuable Romanian players went abroad, being requested by big continental clubs. On February 23, 1991, the General Assembly of the FRF adopted the new statute, elected the federal council, and by court decision no. 290, of April 12, 1991, FR de Fotbal became a legal entity under private law, equivalent to autonomy and thus having the path open to professionalism, mentions the "Encyclopedia of Physical Education and Sport in Romania". On August 1, 1991, through a decision of the Government, the transition to professionalism was approved. From 1930 until the current president of the Federation, there were 28 other leaders of the FRF. Among them, the prefect of the Capital in the 30s, Gabriel Marinescu (1936–1940), the engineer, sports journalist and coach Virgil Economu (1946–1947), the politician Corneliu Mănescu (1958–1960), the former great player of the CCA, Gheorghe Popescu (1963–1967), Mircea Angelescu (1969–1975 and 1986–1989), Andrei Rădulescu (1989–1990), Mircea Pascu (Jan. 1990–Aug. 1990), Mircea Sandu, (Aug. 1990–Mar. 2014). Currently, the Romanian Football Federation is led by Răzvan Burleanu (since March 2014). FRF organized the national football championship year after year until 1997, when it was decided to take over and organize it by the Professional Football League (LPF). The Romanian Football Federation is a founding member of the European Football Association (UEFA) since 1954. Honours National teams FIFA World Cup Quarter-finals (1): 1994 Round of 16 (4): 1934, 1938, 1990, 1998 UEFA European Football Championship Quarter-finals (1): 2000 Round of 16 (1): 2024 Football at the Summer Olympics Fifth-place (1): 1964 Round of 16 (1): 1924 Balkan Cup: Winners (4) – Record: 1929–31, 1933, 1936, 1977–80 Runners-up (1): 1973–76 National youth teams UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship Under-19 era, 2002–present Champions (0): Runner-up (0): Under-18 era, 1957–2001 Champions (1): 1962 Runner-up (1): 1960 Presidents Notes References External links Official website (in Romanian and English) Romania at FIFA Romania at UEFA