Fotbal Club Sheriff Tiraspol (), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a Moldovan professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria. Founded in 1997 as Tiras Tiraspol and rebranded the following year as Sheriff, it quickly established itself within Moldovan football. "The Wasps" recorded their debut in the first league in the 1998–99 season, when they also won their first trophy, the Moldovan Cup. They have since amassed twenty championship titles, eleven Cups and seven Super Cups–all competition records. On the European stage, Sheriff has reached the group stage of the UEFA Europa League on five occasions and became the first ever Moldovan side to reach the group stages of the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League, where they would go on to notch a win against eventual champions Real Madrid before eventually bowing out of the competition. The club takes its current name from its main sponsor, Sheriff, a company which operates various industries in Transnistria. Home games are played in yellow and black kits at the Sheriff Stadium, to which the club moved in 2002 and which has a capacity of 12,746. History The club was originally established in 1996 and introduced in the Moldovan "B" Division as FC Tiras Tiraspol. On 4 April 1997, former policeman Viktor Gushan, owner of the conglomerate Sheriff which remains a key sponsor, refounded it as FC Sheriff Tiraspol. Sheriff achieved promotion to the second tier of Moldovan football, the Moldovan "A" Division, and under the guidance of Ahmad Alaskarov, was charged with leading the team to the Moldovan top division. Later that year the club won the championship by 14 points, being promoted to Divizia Națională. The club won its first major honour with the 1999 Moldovan Cup. In the final at the Republican Stadium, Sheriff scored an injury-time equaliser before winning the match against Constructorul Chișinău 2–1 after extra time. Sheriff's first National Division title came in the 2000–01 season, which also included their second Moldovan Cup triumph as they beat Nistru Otaci on penalties after a goalless match. The league triumph was the first of a run of ten consecutively up to 2010, also including league-cup doubles in 2002, 2006 and 2008–10. Sheriff won each Moldovan Super Cup from 2004 to 2010, but did not have to play a match on four occasions due to winning it on default through