KF Elbasani

History

The club was formed in 1929 as Klubi i Futbollit Urani Elbasan, the result of the fusion between two clubs, Afërdita Elbasan and Përparimi Elbasan. Urani translates to uranium in Albanian, and the club was named this due to the city's association with the metal. The club changed its name to KS Skampa Elbasan briefly before 1930. They first participated in a nationally recognised competition in the first top flight football league in Albania, the 1930 Kategoria e Parë, where the club finished in 5th place, second from bottom, with a record of 3 wins, 1 draw and 6 losses. The following season they again finished in penultimate place, this time in 7 team league format. In the 1932 champion, they finished bottom of the league, gaining no points after 8 straight losses, which meant that Elbasani were relegated for the first time.

The club changed its name to Bashkimi Elbasanas in 1933, when they were playing in the second division, which they won and earned promotion back to the top flight, winning their first trophy in the process. In their first season back in the Kategoria e Parë, they once again finished second form bottom with 2 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses. No competition was held during 1935 and when the league restarted in 1936 Bashkimi finished once again second from bottom, with 3 wins, 2 draws and 9 losses, but the team below them Ismail Qemali Vlorë played 2 fewer games and finished on the same points tally. The 1937 championship proved to be more successful as the club finished in 5th place out of 10 teams, with a record of 7 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses.

The league officially restarted following World War II in 1945, where Bashkimi finished 3rd in Group B of the new league format, out of 6 teams. The following season they finished 2nd in Group B, just one point behind runners-up Flamurtari Vlorë. For the 1947 season, the league changed to a single 9 team competition, where Bashkimi finished in 8th place. The following season the league returned to the 2 group format, where the club again finished second by one point to Flamurtari Vlorë. The club changed names again to KS Elbasani in 1949 and KF Puna Elbasan in 1950.

Labinoti Elbasan

Between 1958 and 1991, the club was forcibly named KS Labinoti Elbasan, after a nearby village which had been the center of the first nationwide conference of the Party of Labour of Albania during World War II. In 1984, they won their first and only league title, featuring players like Roland Agalliu, Vladimir Tafani and Muharrem Dosti.

The club's first participation in a European competition came in 1984, where they met Danish side Lyngby Boldklub in the first round of the Champions League qualification stage. The first leg was played at the Ruzhdi Bizhuta Stadium and KF Elbasani were beaten 3–0 at home, and along with another 3–0 loss in Denmark the aggregate result was 6–0 to Lyngby Boldklub.

KF Elbasani

Following the fall of communism, the club changed its name again to KF Elbasani, which they have not changed ever since. During the 2005–06 season, the team of Elbasani dominated the Albanian Superliga and won the second title in their history, finishing the competition with 11 points more than their rivals in SK Tirana.

In 2006–07, 1st qualifying round for the Champions League they were eliminated by FK Ekranas from Lithuania (1–3 aggregate). On 24 December 2006, coach Luan Deliu was fired and replaced by Edmond Gezdari. The team now is seized by the Directorate of Taxes in Elbasan.

Stadium

Main article: Elbasan Arena

The club plays its home games at the Elbasan Arena, which was originally built in 1967 and named the Labinot Stadium after the club's name at the time, which was Labinot Elbasan. The stadium was previously called Ruzhdi Bizhuta, after one of the club's most famous players. In January 2014 it was announced that the stadium would take over from the Qemal Stafa Stadium as the home of the Albania national team until Qemal Stafa is reconstructed. Prime minister Edi Rama visited the stadium on 28 January 2014 and he confirmed that work on the stadium would begin shortly, in order for Albania to be able to play their home games in the country as no other stadiums met the minimum requirements for Euro 2016 qualifiers. Works on the stadium began in February, and they were completed in time for Albania's opening qualifying fixture against Denmark in October 2014. The overall reconstruction costs amounted to €5.5 million, which included works being completed on everything from the parking lot to the installation of new floodlights, and the stadium now has an official seated capacity of 12,800.

Honours

• Kategoria Superiore
  • Winners (2): 1983–84, 2005–06
• Kategoria e Parë (Tier 2)
  • Winners (4): 1933, 1958, 2001–02, 2013–14
  • Runners-up (1): 2009–10
• Albanian Cup
  • Winners (2): 1975, 1992
• Albanian Supercup
  • Winners (1): 1992

European competitions record

• 1QR = 1st Qualifying Round
• 1R = 1st Round

Balkans Cup

Current squad

Staff

Historical list of coaches

• ALB Sabri Peqini (1957–1960)
• ALB Frederik Jorgaqi (1983–1985)
• ALB Dashamir Stringa (1990–1995)
• ALB Astrit Sejdini (1996–1999)
• ALB Luan Deliu (2000)
• ALB Petrit Haxhiu (2001–2003)
• ALB Artan Bushati (2004–2005)
• ALB Ilir Daja (2005–2006)
• ALB Luan Deliu (Jul 2006 – 27 Dec 2006)
• ALB Edmond Gëzdari (27 Dec 2006 –7 Apr 2007)
• ALB Ilirjan File (7 Apr 2007 – Jun 2007)
• ALB Krenar Alimehmeti (2007–2008)
• ALB Mirel Josa (24 Aug 2008 – 6 Feb 2009)
• ALB Faruk Sejdini (6 Feb 2009 – 6 Apr 2009)
• ALB Ramadan Shehu (6 Apr 2009 – 22 May 2009)
• ALB Bujar Gogunja (22 May 2009 – Jun 2009)
• ALB Muharrem Dosti (Jul 2009 – 19 Dec 2009)
• ALB Krenar Alimehmeti (19 Dec 2009 – 24 December 2010)
• SRB Esad Karišik (27 December 2010 – 23 February 2011)
• ALB Ilirjan File (28 February 2011 – 9 Sep 2014)
• ALB Edmond Mustafaraj (Sep 2014)
• ALB Muharrem Dosti (Sep 2014 – May 2017)
• ALB Eriol Merxha (Jul 2017 – Sep 2018)
• ALB Elvis Kotorri (Sep 2018 – Mar 2019)
• ALB Marsid Dushku (Mar 2019 – May 2019)
• ALB Shkëlqim Lleshanaku (Aug 2019 –)

Recent seasons

References

References

1. "Elbasani".
2. {{usurped
3. "Unofficial Site of Albanian Football since 1913: Season 1930".
4. "Unofficial Site of Albanian Football since 1913: Season 1931".
5. "Unofficial Site of Albanian Football since 1913: Season 1932".
6. "Unofficial Site of Albanian Football since 1913: Season 1933".
7. "Unofficial Site of Albanian Football since 1913: Season 1934".
8. "Unofficial Site of Albanian Football since 1913: Season 1936".
9. "Unofficial Site of Albanian Football since 1913: Season 1937".
10. "Unofficial Site of Albanian Football since 1913: Season 1945".
11. "Unofficial Site of Albanian Football since 1913: Season 1946".
12. "Unofficial Site of Albanian Football since 1913: Season 1947".
13. [http://www.panorama.com.al/sport/labinoti-i-elbasanit-1984-dhe-bujar-gogunja-1037/ Labinoti i Elbasanit 1984 dhe Bujar Gogunja “1037”] {{Webarchive. link. (2018-12-10 - Panorama {{in lang). sq
14. [https://www.rsssf.org/players/alba-champ-teams.html Albania - Championship Winning Teams] {{Webarchive. link. (2009-10-06 - RSSSF)
15. "Elbasan 0–3 Lyngby".
16. "Lyngby 3–0 Elbasan".
17. "UEFA Champions League 1984–85".
18. [http://www.panorama-sport.com/kombetarja/edi-rama-nga-elbasani-do-ta-transformoje-kete-stadium/ Rama: Elbasani pret kombëtaren] {{webarchive. link. (2014-02-20)
19. "- Bota Sot".
20. "Lajmet e fundit - KOHA.net".
21. "Sot përballja I në Elbasan Arena Shqipëri-Danimarkë, në 20:45".
22. ""Ruzhdi Bizhuta", plani për ta kthyer stadium ndërkombëtar".
23. [http://www.panorama.com.al/2014/09/02/stadiumi-ne-elbasan-rama-per-te-mos-i-mbetur-hatri-vlores-dhe-shkodres/ Stadiumi ne Elbasan: Rama, per te mos i mbetur hatri Vlores dhe Shkodres] {{webarchive. link. (2014-10-11)