ŠNK Radgona

1946–1991

ŠNK Radgona was established in 1946 as Nogometni Klub Radgona.

The first home ground of the club was located near today's fair places in the town. In summer 1951, the Football Association of Slovenia (Slovene: Nogometna zveza Slovenije or NZS) established the Pomurska League where Radgona competed with teams such as Mura, Nafta Lendava, Ljutomer, Rakičan and others in the 1951–52 season. The club has won the Pomurska Liga in the 1960–61 season, finishing top of the league one point above second-placed NK Turnišče.

In the 1961–62 season, Radgona played in the Maribor-Murska Sobota League, organized by MNZ Murska Sobota. There, Radgona played with two more teams from Prekmurje region, Nafta and Rakičan. The League was dissolved in 1965 and the MNZ opened the East Zone League. Teams from Prekmurje competed in that league until it was dissolved in 1976. For the 1977–78 season the league system in Slovenia was changed as MNZ Lendava was established meaning teams from near Lendava competed separately from teams near Murska Sobota. Since 1976 the club plays their home matches at TŠC Trate (Slovene: Tusitično Športni Center Trate).

Radgona have never qualified for the Slovenian Republic Football League in the Yugoslav football league system.

1991–2014

After Slovenia gained independence, NK Radgona's staff approached to upgrade the club (upgrading the clubs changing room and its infrastructure) with financial help from the Municipality of Gornja Radgona.

In the 1992–93 season, Radgona competed in the first round of the Slovenian Cup where they were eliminated by a second division side Triglav Kranj with a score of 5–0. To date it remains the club's only match in the cup competition.

In 1994 NK Radgona opened six selections for youth players (under-8, under-10, under-12, under-14 and under-18) which meant they now had an appropriate amount of younger selections to start competing in higher levels of Slovenian football leagues. The club registered about 120 youth players that year.

The club also played a few seasons in MNZ Maribor leagues.

Radgona were promoted from the fourth tier in the 2002–03 season after finishing second behind Cven. After Cven withdrew from all competitions, Radgona were invited to play in the Third Division for the first time in their history. There they finished 11th which is the club's highest finish in the League system. However, the team still gets relegated to the lower tier. The season saw nine clubs relegate to the Intercommunal leagues, because the 2003–04 Slovenian Third League consisted of four divisions (East, West, North and Centre), and for the following season the amount of groups was reduced to just two (East and West). During their season in the third tier their highest home attendance was 300 spectators watching the match against Beltinci on 16 August 2003. During the 2002–03 season the first derby was played against rivals Slatina on 8 June 2003 in Radenci, where Radgona won 2–1.

After the 2003–04 season when they were relegated from the Slovenian Third League the club has played only non-league football below the third tier of Slovenian football. In the 2004–05 season they finished bottom of the Pomurska League. They did not enter any competition for the 2005–06 season which puts them automatically on the bottom of the football pyramid.

After one season without competing, the club entered the 2. MNL (sixth tier) where they finished as league winners and were promoted to the fifth tier. Radgona won 17 matches and lost just two while scoring a total of 77 goals and conceding 21.

In 2007 the club renamed from NK Arcont Radgona to ŠNK Radgona. This marked the beginning of a new era for the club.

In the 2008–09 season the club reached the semi-final of the MNZ Cup where they lost against Serdica. Mura and Serdica reached the final and qualified for the 2009–10 Slovenian Football Cup.

In the 2009–10 season, ŠNK Radgona finished bottom of the league and were relegated back to the sixth tier. The team won only one match and finsihed the league campaign with a goal differance of –52. In 2010 the home pitch of the club received flood lights. The entire project cost €10,000, the costs were paid by the Municipality of Gornja Radgona.

Radgona finished third consecutively in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons in the 2. MNL (sixth tier). At the beginning of the 2011–12 season Aleksander Kerslin was head coach of the team. He was replaced by Nenad Dolgov in early October. After the first half of the 2011–12 season Robert Petrovič agreed a three-year contract as head coach of the team.

After the 2011–12 season the 1. MNL and 2. MNL merged into one league and the Pomurska League was discontinued. Finishing ninth, Radgona were transfared to a lower tier since the 2. MNL was formed again for the 2013–14 season. The 2012–13 season was a big step forward for ŠNK Radgona as they established the youth selections, from under-6 to under-12.

In the 2013–14 season, Radgona finished as the runners-up of the II. MNL League (fifth division), securing a promotion to the fourth level for the first time since the 2004–05 season.

2014 to present

In summer 2014 the club adopted a new crest to represent the team, starting with the 2014–15 season.

At the beginning of the 2014–15 season the construction of the new stands for the Sports Park was completed with a steaing capacity of 301. The club used the stands for home matches for the first time during the season. On 20 July 2015 Radgona hosted Slovenian champions NK Maribor in a pre-season friendly which was the official opening of the newly build stands. Jean-Philippe Mendy opened the scoring in the first minute infront of 1,000 spectators and after a brace from Marcos Tavares the visitors had a five-goal lead by half time. In the second half Radgona scored two own goals and substitute striker Dalibor Volaš scored four goals for the final score of 0–12.

After a poor start to the season with defeats to Hodoš, Križevci and Tišina, the team was bottom of the league. On 9 May 2015 the team secured the clubs highest ever home win 10–2 against NK Cankova. Under management of Robert Petrovič the team finished fifth in the league with a win on the last match day at home against rivals Slatina Radenci with the score of 2–0. In the MNZ Murska Sobota Cup, the team eliminated Serdica in the first round before being knocked out by Mura after a penalty shootout. After the season, manager Robert Petrovič left to continue his coaching career in Austria.

In summer 2015 Franc Hauko was selected as new head coach of the team. The 2015–16 season was one of the most successful in the club's history as they were in the title race for the entire season before a defeat and a draw on the last two match days, finishing in fourth position five points behind the league winners. The MNZ Cup run ended early for the 2015–16 season when Radgona exited in the first round with a 6–0 defeat to Beltinci. After starting the league campaign with a defeat the team went on to secure the clubs highest ever away win 10–1 at Gančani. They lost their home derby against rivals Slatina and after that the club had to part ways with manager Franc Hauko who finished fourth in the league after the first half of the season and then left for personal reasons. He was replaced by Nenad Dolgov on 21 November 2015. On 8 October 2015 Benjamin Krajnc became the new president of the club after the departure of Bojan Erlih.

After the appointment of a new manager the team won the first match after the winter break on 26 March 2016 while playing in new blue and white kits for the first time. Under new management the team went on a run of nine consecutive unbeaten matches before a defeat on 29 May 2016 at home against Bogojina with the score of 2–0. With the win the visitors were confirmed champions of the league with one match day remaining where Radgona visited their rivals Slatina and drew 1–1.

The club established a reserve team in summer 2016. In the same year, the club spent a record transfer fee for 18 year old Tilen Pintarič from NK Veržej. The transfer was worth €1,200 by the rules of the Football Association of Slovenia. Under management of Nenad Dolgov the club started the 2016–17 season aiming for promotion to the third division. They topped the league table after the first half of the season, their most notable win being a 4–1 home stunner over rivals Slatina on 15 October 2016. On 15 November 2016 Nenad Dolgov left his job as head coach of the club for personal reasons though he stayed as head coach of the under-10 selection. He was replaced by Boris Lazić who signed a three-year contract on 8 December 2016.

Reserve team

In summer 2016 the club established a reserve team, named Radgona B, which was registered to the 2. MNL (fifth tier) for the 2016–17 season. The reserve team is mainly used to give experience to youth players ready to play on senior level. They play their home matches at Gornja Radgona Stadium, the same as the senior team. The team is currently managed by Boris Lazić who is also the head coach of the senior team.

Reserve teams in Slovenia play in the same league system as their senior teams, however, they cannot play in the same competition as their senior teams, and thus Radgona B is ineligible to promote to the fourth tier.

Radgona B played their first match on 15 August 2016 in the first round of the MNZ Cup at home against a league higher side Ižakovci, where Radgona B advanced after a penalty shootout. In the second round they were eliminated by a Third League side Ljutomer with the score of 9–0.

The team's first ever league game was a visit to Cankova on 21 August 2016 where the hosts were awarded a 3–0 win due to Radgona B fielding an ineligible player.

Stadium

NK Radgona or ŠNK Radgona played its home matches in different locations in Gornja Radgona during its history. The first home ground was located near today's fair places in the town and next to the railway tracks. The next home ground of NK Radgona was in the center of the town. Since 1976, Radgona plays its home matches at TŠC Trate (Slovene: Turistično športni center Trate) in Gornja Radgona, where the Gornja Radgona Stadium is located. The construction of the new stands started at the beginning of the 2013–14 season. This was the last season when the club played its home matches on a less suited pitch at TŠC Trate which was without a fence, the last match being a 1–1 draw with Roma.

The construction was completed in May 2014. The stands can hold up 301 seating spectators. The first time the new stands hosted an official match was on 30 August 2014, when ŠNK Radgona hosted ŠD NK Križevci in a 1. MNL – MNZ Murska Sobota match (Match Day 2), although the official opening of the newly build stands was on 20 June 2015 when Radgona hosted Slovenian champions NK Maribor in a pre-season friendly. The match had about 1,000 spectators watching from all around the ground, and is also the stadium's highest attendance. The highest attendance hosting an official match came on 29 May 2016 when Radgona hosted ŠD Bogojina, when there were 420 spectators in attendance.

The stadium has built in changing rooms for the home team and the visitors and also a few office rooms for employees of the club's fan shop. Below the stands is located a fitness room for all club selections to use. The stands are still missing a roof and a scoreboard though the grass is suitable for high level football.

In July 2016 the stadium and the pitch were rented by a Ukrainian side competing in the Ukrainian Premier League, FC Volyn Lutsk. The Crusaders used the pitch for two pre-season friendlies.

In summer 2016 the stadium and the pitch were rented by a Russian Premier League side Anzhi Makhachkala for a pre-season friendly match against Saudi Arabian top division side Ettifaq.

Rivalries

Radgona's biggest rivalry is with Slatina Radenci against whom they contest the "Neighbourhood derby" (Slovene: Sosedski derbi). The rivalry traces its roots back to 2003 when the first match was played on 8 June in Radenci. The two teams represent the towns of Gornja Radgona and Radenci. It is considered a derby due to close proximity of the two towns since there are only two villages of Mele and Šratovci between them. In the early years Radgona did not have a main rival until 1997 when Slatina was established. Both teams spent majority of their history playing in the non-league football.

A total of 47 goals have been scored in 15 matches (3.13 per match). A match between the rivals has never ended scoreless. There was only one draw (1–1) in Radenci on 5 July 2016. The highest amount of goals scored in a single match came on 10 October 2009 in Radenci when Slatina won with the score of 5–1. The most goals Radgona have scored in a single match was on 15 October 2016 in Gornja Radgona in a 4–1 win.

The most notable match between the two sides was on 7 June 2015 during the 2014–15 season on the final match day when Slatina needed a win to secure a promotion to the Third Division for the first time in their history. Radgona won the game 2–0 with two goals in the second half and therefore prevented Slatina from promoting to the third division.

In Radenci

First meeting: 8 June 2003; Slatina Radenci 1–2 Radgona

Highest win: 27 October 2012; Slatina Radenci 5–0 Radgona

Highest attendance: 400; 31 October 2015 ; Radgona 0–3 Slatina Radenci

League

Cup

Records

Biggest home win: Radgona 10–2 Cankova (9 May 2015)

Biggest away win: Gančani 1–10 Radgona (6 September 2015)

Biggest home defeat: Radgona 0–12 NK Maribor – unofficial (5 June 2015), Radgona 2–8 Bakovci – official (10 May 2008)

Biggest away defeat: Beltinci 9–0 Radgona (26 September 2012)

Highest home attendance: 1,000 vs Maribor – unofficial (20 June 2015), 420 vs Bogojina – official (29 May 2016)

Cup history

Results list Radgona's goal tally first.

Managers

Current squad

As of 1 November 2016

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Reserve team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.