The football team Speranta Nisporeni has been promoted to the National Division after a pause of 17 years. In a news conference on July 23, the team’s administration presented the newly signed players, IPN reports.

The team signed Adrian Patras (played at Zimbru Chisinau, Rapid Ghidighici, Milsami Orhei), Sergiu Vitu (Zimbru, Romania’s Gloria Arad), Igor Dima (Sheriff Tiraspol, Saxan Ceadir Lunga), Ghenadie Orbu (played for Dacia during 15 years), Vadim Costandachi (Sheriff Tiraspol, Iskra Rybnitsa), Alexandru Maxim (Zimbru, Belarus’s Dinamo Minsk and FC Gomel), Ion Dragan (Real Succes), Alin Sheroni (Romania’s Poli Timisoara), Mihai Onicas (Steaua Bucuresti, Politehnica Iasi), Alexandru Grosu (Rapid Ghidighici, Zimbru).

The club’s president Petru Efros said now that the team entered the National Division, he will lie if he says that he does not want it to try its luck at the European cups next summer. “Our task is to be as close to those that now compete in the Europeans cups as possible and to make effort to rank third or fourth. The games may be hard, but we first of all want to show good play to gladden our fans,” he stated.

Senior coach Cristian Efros said he knows that the team will have difficult matches, but he is confident that the players will cope with the difficulties.

In the first stage of the new championship, Speranta Nisporeni meets away Petrocub Hancesti, which was also newly promoted, on July 26, starting at 6:30pm.