Although the official foundation of Jalgpalliselts Estonia dates to November 1930, the first attempt to establish the club took place on 27 February 1928 by several Sport and TJK players.

[1] The club's name was inspired by Austria Wien and Hungária Budapest, and the team began playing in blue shirts.

The team's 23-game unbeaten run came to an end during the 1936 season, but nonetheless they became the Estonian champions by a five-point margin ahead of Sport and scored 60 goals in 14 games – a number which remained to be the pre-war record.

In the last official season before World War II, the club narrowly finished as runners-up to Tartu Olümpia.

The club was dissolved in 1941 after the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, but was re-established a year later during the German occupation and won the unofficial league title in 1943.