CSM Slatina

Football in Slatina before 2009

Organised football in Slatina dates back to the early 1920s. The first sports association in the city was Oltul Slatina, founded in October 1922 by a group led by officer Mihail. The association also had athletics, skiing and bobsleigh sections, and its affiliation with the national sports federation was confirmed the following year.

Oltul played on the ground known as Zăvoi, situated on the site later occupied by Stadionul 1 Mai. One of the first major matches staged there was a friendly against Venus București in 1924. During the same period, Oltul also played against Levski Sofia, one of the earliest international fixtures involving a Slatina team.

Oltul won the Oltenia regional championship in 1924–25 and again in 1929–30, which allowed the club to take part in the final stages of the Romanian championship.

After the Second World War, football in the city was reorganised several times. Oltul became Progresul Slatina after 1950 and later Aluminiu Slatina in 1967. The Oltul name reappeared at the beginning of the 1970s, when a Slatina side competed in Divizia C.

In 1972–73, Oltul finished second in its Divizia C series. Following the expansion of Divizia B from two to three groups, the club was admitted to the second tier and entered the 1973–74 season as Dinamo Slatina. Dinamo's first Divizia B match was played on 12 August 1973, a 2–1 home victory over Electroputere Craiova.

The following decades saw a succession of clubs representing Slatina at regional and national level. Among them were Gloria Slatina, Dinamo Slatina, Energia, IPA, Sportul Muncitoresc, Metalurgistul, FC Slatina, IELIF, FC Grup Aluminiu and later another club using the Oltul name. Unlike some Romanian cities, Slatina did not have one uninterrupted senior football club throughout the post-war period.

Immediately before CSM Slatina was established, the city's most prominent team was connected to the local aluminium industry. Alprom Slatina won the Olt County fourth division in 2004–05 and finished second in its Divizia C series in 2005–06. In 2006, after changes involving Alprom and the local Oltul side, the team became Alro Slatina. This club was therefore created only three years before CSM Slatina appeared in 2009.

Alro and CSM subsequently existed at the same time. Alro played in the national divisions, while the newly created CSM began in the Olt County championship.

First CSM Slatina and FC Olt (2009–2012)

The first CSM Slatina football team was established in the summer of 2009 with financial support from Slatina Municipality.

In its first season, CSM dominated Liga IV Olt. The team won all of its league matches, scoring 134 goals and conceding five, and qualified for the promotion play-off. CSM then defeated Petrolul Țicleni 4–0 on neutral ground and was promoted to Liga III.

CSM won Series IV of the 2010–11 Liga III and gained a second consecutive promotion, this time to Liga II.

The club's future became uncertain soon after promotion. Slatina Municipality withdrew its financial support in June 2011 and most of the playing squad was allowed to leave while officials looked for private financing.

Private investors eventually stepped in, and in August 2011 CSM merged with FC Piatra Olt. The team became FC Olt Slatina and played its home matches in Piatra Olt, despite retaining Slatina in its name.

FC Olt finished 13th in Series II of the 2011–12 Liga II, with nine victories from 30 matches.

The entity created from CSM Slatina and FC Piatra Olt ceased to exist in the summer of 2012. At the same time, the separate Alro Slatina club continued in Liga II and adopted the name FC Olt Slatina.

That later FC Olt was therefore a continuation of Alro rather than of the CSM entity founded in 2009.

Return of CSM Slatina (2018–present)

After several years without a CSM senior football team, the name returned during the second half of the 2017–18 season. CSM entered Liga V Olt during the winter break and finished eighth in Series I after playing only the remaining part of the campaign.

In the summer of 2018 the team was admitted to Liga IV Olt. Former forward Bobi Verdeș became player-coach, with promotion to Liga III set as the objective.

CSM won the county championship in 2018–19 and returned to the national leagues. It also won the Olt County stage of the Cupa României in both 2017–18 and 2018–19.

The club finished second in Series III of the 2019–20 Liga III. The season was stopped early because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and CSM entered a promotion play-off against Progresul Spartac. Slatina won both legs 1–0 and was promoted to Liga II with a 2–0 aggregate score.

CSM was relegated after one season in Liga II. A 0–1 defeat to Metaloglobus București in April 2021 confirmed the club's return to the third tier.

Slatina won Series VI of the 2021–22 Liga III and secured promotion through the play-offs in June 2022.

CSM has remained in Liga II since its return. The club finished in the middle or lower half of the table in the following seasons and avoided relegation through the play-out format.

In 2024–25, CSM finished eighth overall and again remained in the second division.

The club placed ninth in 2025–26. CSM was confirmed among the teams continuing in Liga II for 2026–27, with Adrian Dulcea taking charge of the team during the summer.