In the final years before the outbreak of the Second World War, a need emerged in Novi Bečej for the establishment of a new football club that would bring together working-class and artisan youth. At that time, Football Club Zvezda already had a stable squad and was, to some extent, closed to the admission of new players from these social groups. As a result, in 1940, a group of young men—mostly of Hungarian origin—founded Sports Club Napredak.
Throughout the spring of 1940, the players trained at the fairground beyond the railway tracks. After the water receded from the Gradište area, training continued on an open field just inside Gradište, a ground previously used by Sokol players for practice. The initiators and founders of the club were Ferenc Kiš, Imre Gomba, Janoš Maraci, Jožef Čanji, and Peter Mikušćan.
The founders of Napredak managed to collect a modest sum of money among themselves and ordered seven to eight pairs of football boots from Jožef Kulčar, a shoemaker in Novi Bečej at the time. Ferenc Kiš later recalled that each pair cost 120 dinars.
Sports Club Napredak played its first public match on 4 August 1940 against the local rival Zvezda. The match ended in a convincing 9–1 victory for Zvezda.
After this initial appearance, several Serbian youths also joined the club. With financial support from the Bowling Club, obtained through Otto Huven, a Jewish resident of Novi Bečej, funds were secured for the purchase of a complete football kit consisting of white jerseys and white shorts. Soon afterward, the Founding Assembly was held, formally confirming the club’s existence. A Managing Board and a Supervisory Board were elected, and it was decided that the club, in accordance with the occupational structure of its players, would change its name to Sports Club Zanatlija.
Thus, the first workers’ football club in Novi Bečej was established. The Managing Board of S. C. Zanatlija consisted of Laza Mečkić (President), Otto Huven, Ferenc Kiš, Lajoš Borbelj, Imre Gomba, Stevan Jovčić, Milan Maljugić, and Dragi Racković. All members of the Managing Board, except for Mečkić, Huven, and Jovčić, were also players of the first team.
During its brief existence, Zanatlija played only two matches. The first took place on 13 October 1940 against Slavija from Stari Bečej, resulting in a 2–4 defeat. This outcome was considered a success for the newly formed team, as Slavija at the time had a very strong squad, possibly even stronger than Građanski from Stari Bečej. The second match was played a week later, on 20 October 1940, against the local club Zvezda, and ended in a 7–0 loss for Zanatlija.
However, match results were not the primary objective. The main purpose of founding the club was to gather working-class youth and, through sports activities, enable the political influence of the Communist Party and SKOJ. This influence was firmly established, and behind the entire initiative stood Bora Glavaški and Milorad Popov, who insisted that Laza Mečkić and Stevan Jovčić, together with Otto Huven, take part in the formation of the new club.
The outbreak of the Second World War interrupted the early activities of Sports Club Zanatlija, and its sports equipment was later taken over by the club Turul.
The team of Sports Club Zanatlija from Novi Bečej, photographed before the match against Slavija from Stari Bečej on 13 October 1940.
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