SV Eisen und Stahl, SK VÖEST Linz and SK VOEST Linz It was founded on 30 June 1946 as
SV Eisen und Stahl 1946 Linz, a factory squad of the public
VÖEST steel company (present-day
Voestalpine). In 1949, the team was renamed
SK VÖEST Linz. In 1969,
SK VÖEST won the championship of the
Regional League Central and was promoted to the
Nationalliga, the predecessor of the
Bundesliga. In the summer of 1972, the club colors were changed from black and white to blue and white to distinguish themselves from city rivals
LASK. The club reached its peak in the 1973–74 season, when they became
Austrian champion. Its decline began in 1988, when
SK VOEST (without
umlaut since 1978) was relegated to the
First League (II).
FC VOEST Linz, FC Stahl Linz and FC Linz While the club managed re-entry into the Bundesliga in 1991, the steel company withdrew funds and the team was again renamed, as
FC Stahl Linz in 1991 and
FC Linz in 1993. In 1997, due to financial difficulties, the club finally had to dissolve, by merger with its long-time rival
LASK.
FC Blau Weiß Linz In the same year,
FC Blau-Weiß Linz was founded by former FC Linz fans, which took over the traditions of the disbanded club, but is not the official successor club of FC Linz. Blau Weiß Linz was
promoted to the
Austrian Bundesliga 26 years after its foundation, in 2023. They will play in the highest Austrian football league for the first time in the
2023–24 season.
FC Stahl Linz (2013) Since 2013, a new FC Stahl Linz has been formed from the SK VÖEST company football section. This club has been playing as an independent club in the lower
Upper Austrian amateur leagues since the 2014–15 season and, according to the
Austrian Football Bundesliga, is the official successor club to FC Linz, which was dissolved in 1997. FC Stahl Linz currently (as of before the 2023–24 season) plays in the 2. Klasse Mitte (8th division in
Austria and 5th division in
Upper Austria). ==Achievements==