Șoimii Lipova was founded in 1974, through the merger of the local teams Mureșul and Luptătorul.

It was first promoted to the third division in 1980, after a play-off with Textila Timișoara. It played continuously in Division C from 1980-1994. The team’s first coach in this division was Toma Jurcă, ex-player and coach at UTA, ex-coach at Politehnica Timișoara (between 1970-1971). In 1992, Lipova was even ranked 1st in the 11th series, but without promotion to the second division, due to the reorganization of the competition system. After 1994 they played only in the IVth League, and in 2010 they even disbanded, after an incredible 1-28 away win over Frontiera Curtici in D4. It re-establishes itself after two years (registering in the last echelon, D6), and in 2017 returns to D3.

After placing 2nd in 2019 and 2020, the following year they finished 1st in the 8th series and qualified for the promotion play-off to League II (an echelon in which no team from Lipova has ever participated). However, it was eliminated in the 1st round of the play-off by Măgura Cisnădie.

It was also known as Șoimii-Strungul (1980-1981).

The city’s Orășenesc stadium is now being renovated, so the Șoimii play their home matches at the Banatul stadium in the Sânnicolau Mic district of Arad.

Lipova is a town in Arad county, but located in the historical province of Banat. Administratively, the former Radna and Șoimoș (where the Papal Basilica Maria Radna and the Șoimoș Fortress are located) are now districts of Lipova, but they are located across the Mureș River, in the historical province of Crișana.

During the communist period, Lipova had two large military units, infantry and tanks, in which many students of the current Politehnica Timișoara University completed their military training.

Photo: Lipova Hawks

Article written by Octavian Stăncioiu, Politehnica Timisoara spokesman