Early years and the first decade in the Meistriliiga (1989–2013) Tammeka was founded on 13 June 1989 as a youth academy by Hillar Otto, Avo Jakovits and Heino Ligi. In 2000, the club joined the
Estonian football league system and began competing in the Southern division of the
III liiga. Tammeka's debut season was a success as the team finished first with 46 points out of the possible 60. Tammeka was promoted to the
II liiga, and in 2001, to the
Esiliiga. The club established itself in the Esiliiga by placing sixth in the
2002 season and seventh in the
2003 season. Tammeka won the Esiliiga in the
2004 season and was promoted to the
Meistriliiga. The team defeated
Dünamo 9–0 in their first Meistriliiga match and finished their
first season in the Estonian top flight in seventh place. In December 2005,
Sergei Ratnikov was appointed as manager. Tammeka finished the
2006 season in sixth place.
Maag Tammeka In 2007, Tammeka merged with city rivals
Maag in an effort to establish a club in Tartu that would be able to compete with the Tallinn clubs for medals and European spots. The club was renamed as Maag Tammeka and began playing in orange shirts. Despite pooled resources, the team lost several key players and finished the
2007 season in fifth place. Ratnikov resigned in November 2007 and his assistant Sergei Zamogilnõi took over as manager. Maag Tammeka reached the
2007–08 Estonian Cup final, but lost to
Flora 1–3. The team finished the
2008 season in seventh place, after which the sponsorship deal with Maag ended and Tammeka continued to operate as an independent club. In December 2009,
Marko Kristal replaced Hurt as manager. Kristal rebuilt the team around youth system players
Albert Prosa,
Kaarel Kiidron and
Siim Tenno, finishing the
2010 season in sixth place. Despite a good start in the
2011 season, the team's performance faded in the second half of the season. In September 2011, former Tammeka player Kristjan Tiirik replaced Kristal as manager and the team finished the season in seventh place. The subsequent winter transfer window saw the departure of several key players, including Prosa, Kiidron and Tenno. Following a poor start to the
2012 season, Tiirik was replaced by
Joti Stamatopoulos in July 2012. Stamatopoulos failed to make a difference and Tammeka finished the season last, amassing only 20 points. Despite finishing last, Tammeka escaped relegation as
Viljandi disbanded. In January 2013,
Uwe Erkenbrecher was appointed as manager. Despite growing financial troubles, Tammeka finished the
2013 season in ninth place and defeated
Tarvas 6–2 on aggregate in the relegation play-offs, securing their Meistriliiga spot. On 11 January, the
Estonian Football Association proposed a restructuring plan in an effort to save the club from bankruptcy, but the proposal was not accepted by the club's president Jane Afshar. On 1 February 2014, Tammeka lost their Meistriliiga license due to failing to fulfil a number of the league's licensing requirements, including failing to pay players wages and refusing the proposed restructuring plan. On 11 February, the license to compete in the top flight was granted to the team's academy Jalgpallikool Tammeka, ensuring the continuation of Tartu Tammeka under a new legal entity. Former Tammeka player Indrek Koser was appointed as manager and the team came seventh in the
2014 season. Tammeka reached the
2016–17 Estonian Cup final, but were defeated 0–2 by
FCI Tallinn. Under head coach Kaido Koppel, who went on to manage the team for nearly five seasons, Tammeka gradually improved their league performance, progressing from seventh place to consecutive fifth-place finishes in
2019 and
2020. However, the club failed to meet its ambitions set in 2017 and in the following half a decade, Tammeka alternated between lower mid-table finishes and relegation battles. In August 2025, former Tammeka captain
Kaarel Kiidron was elected as the club's president, and Tammeka appointed
Karel Voolaid as head coach for the 2026 season. == Kit ==