FC Sheriff Tiraspol, often referred to as simply FC Sheriff or just Sheriff, is only 25 years old. Yet they've transformed themselves into the top club in Moldova, and have occasionally cropped up in European play as a pest for larger European powers.
Most notably, the club topped Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the 2021/22 group stage, which made global headlines. This year, they are drawn into a Europa League group with Manchester United and Real Sociedad.
So how has a club with so little history vaulted to such heights so quickly? The inner workings of FC Sheriff are a jungle of corporate wealth and geopolitical maneuvering.
The Sporting News brings you all you need to know on FC Sheriff Tiraspol and how they rapidly became to be a force to be reckoned with on the European stage.
MORE: Manchester United takes on FC Sheriff in the Europa League group stage
Who are FC Sheriff Tiraspol?
Established in 1997 as Tiras Tiraspol, FC Sheriff quickly rebranded the following year. The club, nicknamed "the Wasps," won their first trophy in their first year of existence, topping the Moldovan second tier. They won their first major trophy just one season later, hoisting the Moldovan Cup, the country's domestic cup competition.
They would go on to win their first domestic league title in 2000/01 in just their fourth year of existence. Since, they've won 20 of the last 22 domestic Moldovan Super Liga titles, winning last year's title by a six-point margin while holding a +42 goal differential. An article in The Athletic published in late August said,
"If the Divizia Nationala was a race, Sheriff would be the thoroughbred racehorse, whereas the rest are asthmatic pigs."
While this kind of immediate success can be common in the United States where single-entity league ownership distributes wealth and player talent to create parity, the traditional European football model does not lend itself to such a meteoric rise upon a club's inception.
Why, then, are FC Sheriff so utterly dominant? One word: money. In a relatively poor nation, FC Sheriff are kings.
Geopolitical situation of Moldova, Tiraspol, and Transnistria
It's impossible to truly understand the fabric of FC Sheriff and its ownership without also understanding the current standing of Tiraspol in the country of Moldova.
While UEFA, and other international governing bodies like the UN, officially recognize the city of Tiraspol — and therefore its clubs — to be part of the country of Moldova, many within the city's walls recognize it as the capital of Trans-Dniester, or Transnistria.
Transnistria is an unrecognized breakaway state consisting of a thin strip of land along the Dniester river on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. Having declared its independence in 1991 following the fall of the Soviet Union, it has largely governed itself separately from the Moldovan capital of Chisinau, with which a ceasefire was signed in 1992. In July 2005, the Moldovan government passed a law which established part of Transnistria as an autonomous territorial unit within the nation. However, there are unsettled border issues between Moldova and Transnistria, mostly centered around a strip of villages along its southwestern edge.
With all of this in mind, there are many differences between the culture of FC Sheriff and that of the rest of the Moldovan league. The most commonly spoken language in Transnistria is Russian, not Moldovan, and there is a Russian hammer and sickle on the nation's flag. There is a statue of Vladimir Lenin on the steps of the Tiraspol parliament building, and there is a massive Soviet-era weapons dump in the eastern border village of Cobasna that some believe to be the largest ammunition depot in Eastern Europe.
Additionally, and most eye-catching, the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office mentions in its European travel guide that the British consulate in the Moldovan capital has no reach in Transistria.
Where does FC Sheriff get their name?
FC Sheriff are owned by — you guessed it — a Moldovan company named the Sheriff Holding Company, or just Sheriff. The company owns a chain of gas stations, supermarkets, media outlets, construction companies, car dealerships, a mobile phone network, and even a wine and cognac factory.
Founded in 1993 by former KGB officer Viktor Gushan, the company has taken advantage of the lack of governmental control over the unrecognized state of Transnistria to build an unregulated monopoly. As a result, Gushan is worth an estimated $2 billion. It is rumored that Gushan named the company after his nickname within the KGB.
Sheriff "effectively controls the country economically and politically," according to Eastern European geopolitical expert Sabine von Lowis in 2021.
The club built a $200 million stadium — Sheriff Stadium, of course — which opened in 2002 with a capacity of just over 12,500. It boasts a five-star luxury hotel, on-site residences for the players, plus five training fields and an indoor bubble for winter use.
FC Sheriff Tiraspol in European football
Thanks to their rise to the top of the Moldovan league, FC Sheriff have become a consistent participant in European football. As a consistent league champion, they qualify for the early rounds of the Champions League, where they either drop down to the Europa League following qualifying round defeats, or reach the Champions League group stage on occasion.
The pinnacle for FC Sheriff was their shocking 2-1 victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the 2021 group stage. The win announced FC Sheriff to the world and gave the club recognition across the globe. They have also defeated other recognizable clubs such as Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo Kyiv, Lokomotiv Moscow, Red Star Belgrade, Dinamo Zagreb, and Braga across their European escapades.
For the 2022/23 season, after being eliminated from the Champions League playoff round by Armenian club Pyunik, they are participating in the Europa League group stage, drawn into Group E alongside Manchester United, Real Sociedad, and Omonia.
However, thanks to a UEFA ruling, Sheriff cannot play their home games this year at Sheriff Stadium, instead forced to play them at Zimbru Stadium in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau. UEFA decided that no European matches could be played in Transnistria due to the state's proximity to Ukraine and the ongoing war with Russia.
Erik ten Hag due to speak in an hour at the Zimbru Stadium where Man Utd face FC Sheriff tomorrow. The match is a 8,800 sell-out #mufc pic.twitter.com/OfzkgNZfkA
— Chris Wheeler (@ChrisWheelerDM) September 14, 2022
Trophies won by FC Sheriff Tiraspol
FC Sheriff have won a whopping 20 league titles since the club's inception 25 years ago, failing to win the league just twice since 2000.
They've also won 11 Moldovan Cup titles, including four of the last seven.
Domestic
Moldovan National Division: 2000/01, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10, 20011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020/21, 2021/22.
Moldovan Cup: 1998/99, 2000/01, 2001/02, 2005/06, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2014/15, 2016/17, 2018/19, 2021/22.
Moldovan Super Cup: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2016
Moldovan "A" Division (2nd tier): 1997/98
