Nõmme Kalju FC

Nõmme Kalju FC is a professional football club in Estonia. Nõmme Kalju FC was founded in 1923 by two professional wrestlers, Aleksander Šneider and Mart Liiv. The club was dissolved in 1944 after the Soviet Union occupied Estonia and Kalju’s club building was destroyed by the first Soviet tank that had entered Nõmme.

The club was re-established in 1997 by former Estonian National team manager Uno Piir, Vaarner Lootsman, and Ohtulehe Youth Football Club president Anton Siht. Nõmme Kalju FC joined the Estonian football league system and started competing in the lowest Estonian league.

In 2002, the club was acquired by the current president Kuno Tehva to create a professional football club. In 2008 Nõmme Kalju FC for the first time in their history was promoted to the Estonian Highest League. The next goal of the club president was to become the Estonian champions within 5 years and development of youth football. As the goal was reached in the 2012 season, Nõmme Kalju FC for the first time in their history won the Premium liiga title and made their Champions League debut where they beat Finnish champions HJK on aggregate, but lost to Czech side Viktoria Plzen.

Nõmme Kalju FC have deep rivalry with FC Flora and the fixture is known as the Railway Derby. The name originates from the fact that Kitseküla station, near A Le Coq Arena (home of FC Flora), and Hiiu station, near Kalju’s home stadium, are within 500m of both grounds. This peculiar ‘derby’ emerged in the 2010s, when Kalju began challenging Flora’s on-the-pitch success. The rivalry is further fuelled by friction between the owners of the two clubs. Flora’s signing of two of Kalju’s homegrown players in 2018 caused strife as Nõmme claimed Flora had approached both of them before the start of the allowed six-month pre-contract agreement period. Since then, no transfers between both clubs have taken place.