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FK Sarajevo was established less than a year after the liberation of Sarajevo from Nazi rule by Partisan forces. The result of a combination between football teams Udarnik (roughly translated: forefronters) and Sloboda (freedom), the club first appeared on the Yugoslavian sports scene in 1946 under the name S.D. Torpedo. It played its first match on November 3rd 1946. By 1947, the name was changed to S.D. Metalaca Sarajevo, before being simplified to FK Sarajevo in 1949.
FK Sarajevo first entered the renowned First League of Yugoslavia after eliminating Sloga from Novi Sad. FK Sarajevo drew the first match 3-3 in Novi Sad, but then dominated the second match in Sarajevo 5-1. FK Sarajevo lasted only one season in the First League before falling out, but made it back in 1950. From there, FK Sarajevo remained a stable component of the First League every year except the 1957- 1958 season.
FK Sarajevo quickly gained world-wide fame, making various international appearances, and playing in a number of prominent European tournaments. The years 1957- 1967 were some of the more prosperous times for the team. Backed by stars such as Mirsad Fazlagic, Vahidin Musemic, and Asim Ferhatovic (who is widely remembered as the best Bosnian football player ever), the team enjoyed great success. In 1967 FK Sarajevo were Champions of the Yugoslavian First League, breaking a long trend of Croatian and Serbian football dominance.
Asim Hase Ferhatovic's retirement in 1968 was one of the most important events in Sarajevo Sport history. The day itself has become something of a legend, glorified in the notable 80's song Dan Kad Je Otišao Hase (The Day That Hase Left) by popular Sarajevo garage rock band Zabranjeno Pušenje (No Smoking). The day that Asim Hase Ferhatovic played his last game, the famous Sarajevo newspaper the Oslobodenje ran the headline Jedan Je Hase! (There is Only One Hase!). The success did not stop with Hase's leaving however. From 1948 to 1982, FK Sarajevo played 226 international matches on four continents. Of these it won 107, drew, 58, and lost 61 with a goal differential of 570 for to 383 against.The early 80's turned out to be FK Sarajevo's second golden age. In 1980 FK Sarajevo were runners up for the Yugoslav First League Championship. By 1982 the team went 2 rounds into the esteemed UEFA Cup before falling to the eventual runner up R.S.C. Anderlecht. In 1985, FK Sarajevo dominated the traditional Yugoslavian heavyweights and qualified for the UEFA Champions League, behind such stars as the legendary Safet Sušic. The good times did not last however. The next few years saw the decline of FK Sarajevo, distinguished by the loss of Sušic and poor results.
These difficulties however were minuscule compared to what was to come. The aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina and siege of Sarajevo in the early 90's stopped almost all cultural life in the capital. For its part, FK Sarajevo did what it could. Many of FK Sarajevo's supporters, including the infamous Horde Zla (Hordes of Evil) joined the Bosnian army to defend their homeland against the agressors, and despite all difficulties FK Sarajevo played a friendly game against the local peacekeepers in 1994, which it won 4-1.
Since the end of the war, FK Sarajevo have been in the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There they have been one of the most succesfull and dominant club's in the league's short history, even making several brief appearances in European competition. In 2004, FK Sarajevo legend Safet Sušic was voted Bosnia and Herzegovina's best player of the last 50 years to mark UEFA's Golden Jubilee.