Fudbalski klub Lovćen is a football club based in Cetinje, Montenegro. It was founded on 20 June 1913. It was named after Mount Lovćen near Cetinje. Lovćen is the oldest football club in Montenegro and one of the oldest in Southeastern Europe. Today, Lovćen is a member of Montenegrin Second League. FK Lovćen is a part of Lovćen Cetinje sports society.
History
Period 1913–1941
The club was founded on 20 June 1913, as a Workers' sports club Lovćen (RŠK Lovćen). Among the founders were Montenegrin painters Luka and Milo Milunović, and Luka Milunović was the first president and a captain of the team. As the oldest Montenegrin football club, Lovćen participated in its first national competitions in the 1910s and 1920s. First trophy of Lovćen was 'Sports olympiad' on Cetinje 1914, a tournament which included football clubs from Montenegro, Albania and Austria-Hungary. Until World War II, Lovćen won five Montenegrin championships (Spring 1925, Autumn 1925, Spring 1927, Autumn 1928, 1935). They also won two Zeta Olympiad annual tournaments (1926, 1927) and seven City Championships of Cetinje. During that era, Lovćen had strong rivals in another club from Cetinje, SK Crnogorac, and in two clubs from Podgorica, FK Budućnost and GSK Balšić. These four teams were the best football clubs in Montenegro before World War II. For supporting the prohibited Labours' Party, FK Lovćen was prohibited during the 1937, same as FK Budućnost. The club was renewed in 1944 and in 1945. Lovćen played its first matches after the restructuring. That year, in Cetinje, Lovćen and Budućnost played the first Montenegrin clubs' match after World War II. Budućnost won – 4:2.
Montenegrin championship - Elimination tournament for Montenegrin football clubs; 'Zeta olympiad' - Cup tournament for Montenegrin football clubs; 'Sports olympiad' - tournament held on Cetinje, with participation of clubs from Montenegro, Albania and Austria-Hungary.
Period 1945–1992
With FK Budućnost (Podgorica), FK Sutjeska (Nikšić) and FK Arsenal (Tivat), Lovćen was a member of the first official football competition after World War II - 1946 Montenegrin Republic League. FK Lovćen finished as a second team and gained an opportunity to participate in the qualifiers for the inaugural season of Yugoslav First League, but didn't succeed. In the first leg, Lovćen won against Makedonija Skopje (3:0), and in the second they eliminated Borac Banja Luka (5:1, 5:1). In the last qualifier for the First League, Lovćen lost against Metalac Beograd (0:2, 2:6). Another chance to get promotion to the First League, Lovćen got as a champion of Yugoslav Second League – group 'B' in 1956. In the first leg, Lovćen eliminated Zenica (2:1, 0:0) and participated in the play-off group. During the group matches, the club from Cetinje played against Vardar Skopje (1:2, 0:2), Lokomotiva Zagreb (4:1, 1:6) and Borovo (2:1, 1:0). After the six group matches Lovćen failed to get promotion, with one point below the First League zone. In their third and last play-off for the First League in the SFR Yugoslavia, in 1957, Lovćen was eliminated in the first qualifying leg against Željezničar Sarajevo (0:0, 0:2). One more big success of Lovćen was in 1947, by winning the U21 Championship title of Yugoslavia. Until the collapse of Yugoslavia, Lovćen usually participated in Yugoslav Second League. Montenegro's oldest club played 552 games in that competition. The best performance in a united Yugoslav Second division was achieved in the 1954/55 season, when together with seven wins, two draws and nine defeats, they secured sixth place in the standings. The most successful season, however, was in 1968/69 – Lovćen won fourth place with a score of 12–11–7. After Budućnost and Sutjeska, Lovćen was the most successful Montenegrin club at that time.
Period 1992–2006
In the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992-2003), and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (2003-2006), Lovćen played in the second and third league. The best results, Lovćen made during the 1998/99 season, when they finished the Second league 8th of 18 table places. For a few seasons, the club was the winner of the Montenegrin Republic Cup. During the last days of the Serbia and Montenegro Federation, Lovćen was relegated in the Third League (Montenegrin Republic League) and in its last seasons (2004/05, 2005/06) they made the weakest appearances during the newest history.