Legendary is the support beginning of the 80s, in the Yugoslav First League (season 1979-80 and 1980-81) and during the UEFA Cup from 1980–1983, with great atmosphere and cheering. Radnički Niš played 22 games across Europe against teams like S.S.C. Napoli, Dundee United, Grasshoppers Zürich, Feyenoord Rotterdam and other clubs. During this time, Radnički Niš lost in three years only one UEFA Cup home match of total 11 and this against a Yugoslavian team. A great contribution to this success had the Radnički Niš fans with their support. Their support includes the use of large and small flags, chanting and different sound elements. The Čair Stadium was a tough ground for the opposition and the atmosphere created by Radnički Niš fans in a cracking stadium always gave hope to the team that they could overcome anybody. They achieved even the semifinals of UEFA Cup in 1982. In the first leg Radnički Niš won against Hamburger SV in front of 38,500 enthusiastic Radnički fans with 2-1, but they clearly lost the second leg. Radnički Niš fans attracted in this period for the first time also throughout Europe attention. Also legendary were the victory celebrations accompanied by Gajde, a traditional instrument that is typical for the region. After these great years, Radnički Niš relegated in 1984 in the Yugoslav Second League. A large organized support, after 1984, even with excellent attendance statistics, has been absent until 1989. That year in September, three days before the championship match against Red Star Belgrade, a decision was made that the club should have an organized fan group and that it should be shoulder-to-shoulder with the other fan organizations in Yugoslavia. There were several suggestions for a name, but the name Meraklije was chosen after a one-sided decision, as the group's name, mainly due to traditional reasons from the city of Niš. The name was originally proposed by Caci, a former well-known supporter. Meraklije is plural of the singular form Meraklija, which means something like "neko kome je sve po meri, neko ko uživa u nečemu", which roughly translates to "someone to just everything is right,The Blickfang Ultra, Edition Nr. 25, Radnički Kragujevac vs. Radnički Niš, Germany, 22 September 2012. p. 9 someone who enjoys something". A person in this state are called a Meraklija. After a short time, the Meraklije had over 2000 members.
