Pärnu JK Vaprus

Pärnu JK Vaprus is a professional football club from Estonia located in Pärnu, the “summer capital” of Estonia. Vaprus was formed back in May 1922, as Sporting Society Vaprus, which competed in the local Pärnu football championships, winning in 1927 and 1934. In 1937, Vaprus merged with several other local sporting clubs to form Pärnu Kalev. The club ceased to exist after WW2 and during subsequent Soviet occupation.

The club was re-established in 1999 when Aleksandr Padu, who was a Vaprus forward during the time of the first Estonian Republic (1932-1936) and Reigo Tõnsberg met at the Kalevi Stadium in Pärnu and came up with the idea of reviving the Vaprus Sports Club. With the financial backing of businessman Ivo Tah, the statutes of the reincarnated JK Vaprus were approved and the club was officially registered the following year.

In 2003, several local clubs merged with Vaprus, including a former top league club Pärnu Levadia, forming the football club we see today.

Vaprus won the 2005 Esiliiga season and, for the first time got promoted to the Estonian top tier. This, however, did not last and, after three years in the Premium liiga, they were relegated back to the Esiliiga.

In 2010, Vaprus merged with Pärnu JK and Pärnu Kalev to form a new team, Pärnu Linnameeskond. The old Vaprus continued to operate in youth football until 2014, when they entered back in the Estonian football pyramid with their senior team. Pärnu Linnameeskond reached the Estonian top flight in the 2015, but ceased to operate at the end of 2016 season and Pärnu JK Vaprus inherited their league spot for 2017 season.

Vaprus returned to the top-flight in a newly renovated stadium and, even though they finished last in their next two league campaigns, they managed to avoid relegation thanks to financial problems of other teams. After finishing last twice in a row, drastic changes were made at the club. Former Estonian NT member and local Pärnu footballer Igor Prins was appointed as the new manager and led Pärnu JK Vaprus to their highest finish ever in their Premium liiga history, 6th place in 2023, and then again in 2025.

In addition to equalling their best-ever finish in 2025, Vaprus recorded another milestone, selling their academy youngster and Premium liiga’s best young footballer of 2025, Marten-Chris Paalberg, to French second-tier side AS Saint-Étienne for almost EUR 1 million.