PFC CSKA Moscow

History

CSKA Moscow was founded in 1911 and has undergone several name changes. The current name PFC CSKA Moscow has been used since 1994. The club began as a football section within the Amateur Society of Skiing Sports (OLLS). After the 1917 season, part of the reserve OLLS team moved to the first team.

In 1921, OLLS lost the Fulda Cup final 6–0 to KFS. In 1922, OLLS won the spring Moscow championship, took second in the fall championship, and also won the KFS-Kolomyagi Cup and the Tosmen Cup. The club's most successful period came immediately after World War II, when Grigory Fedotov, the team's all-time top scorer, played for it. CSKA finished as runners-up in the first post-war Vysschaya Liga season in 1945.

Stadium

CSKA previously used the small LFK CSKA stadium, with a capacity of 4,600. From 1961 to 2000, home games were played at the Grigory Fedotov Stadium, which was demolished in 2007.

Construction of a new stadium, Arena CSKA, began later that year, and during its construction the club played mostly at Arena Khimki and Luzhniki Stadium. Arena CSKA opened on 10 September 2016, and in February 2017 the naming rights were sold to VEB.RF, renaming it VEB Arena. In 2018, CSKA chose to play its UEFA Champions League home matches at Luzhniki Stadium instead.

Supporters and rivalries

CSKA Moscow fans have good relations with supporters of Partizan, PAOK, CSKA Sofia, Widzew Łódź, Ruch Chorzów, CSA Steaua București, and Dynamo Moscow. The club's main rival is Spartak Moscow. CSKA is nicknamed Horses, originally considered offensive but later adopted by players and fans; other nicknames include Army Men and Red-Blues.

CSKA Women

CSKA's women's team was founded in 1990 and played in the Soviet second level before folding after two seasons in the Russian Supreme Division. In 2016, following the disbanding of Zorky Krasnogorsk, a new team was registered as CSKA, playing its first match on the 93rd anniversary of the club's first football game. It became an official CSKA section in July 2017 and won the Russian Cup two months later. The team won Russian championships in 2019 and 2020 and debuted in the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Did You Know?

• In 1951, playing under the name CDSA, the team won a double, with leading players like Vsevolod Bobrov playing both football and ice hockey in parallel.
• The 1970 Soviet championship was decided in a gold match in Tashkent, where CSKA came back from 1-3 down to win 4-3 against Dynamo Moscow.
• CSKA won the last edition of the Soviet Top League and the Soviet Cup in 1991, securing the final golden double in USSR football history.