KF Tirana

KF Tirana
Full nameKlubi i Futbollit Tirana
Nickname(s)Bardheblutë (The White and Blues)
Noltmadhnia (The Highness)
Founded15 August 1920; 104 years ago (1920-08-15)
as Shoqëria Agimi[1]
GroundSelman Stërmasi Stadium
Capacity12,000 [2]
OwnerHalili SH.P.K. (66%)
Municipality of Tirana (34%)
PresidentRefik Halili
ManagerGugash Magani
LeagueKategoria Superiore
2023–24Kategoria Superiore, 5th
Websitekftirana.al
Current season

Klubi i Futbollit Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. The men's football club is part of the multi-disciplinary sports club SK Tirana, and is the most successful in Albania, having won 54 major domestic trophies. They are the only football club in Albania with two stars in their crest after winning their 20th league championship in 2003 (each star corresponds to ten championships), making them the first and only Albanian club to have achieved this feat to date. They play their home games at the Selman Stërmasi Stadium in Tirana.

The club was founded on 15 August 1920[3] as Sport Klub Tirana, but were renamed to Shoqata e Futbollit Agimi (English: Agimi Football Association) and had participated in all the top tier national championships in Albanian football through 2017. However, their ninth-place finish in the 2016–17 season resulted in the club’s first-ever relegation to the Albanian First Division (second-tier).

The club competed under the name SK Tirana between 1927 and 1947, when the communist regime forcibly renamed the club 17 Nëntori Tirana, Puna Tirana and KS 17 Nëntori. In 1991 the club retook its pre-1947 name and was divided into two branches, the multi disciplinary SK Tirana and the football branch KF Tirana.[citation needed]

KF Tirana is the most successful Albanian team in European competitions, having progressed from the first round on 14 occasions (once directly by draw, without playing) since their European debut in the 1965–66 European Cup. They have reached Round of 16 in European competition four times, including three times in the European Cup (now Champions League) during the 1980s. The club also holds the historical record for highest ranked Albanian club according to IFFHS, having been ranked 31st in the world in 1987 following their 1986–87 campaign.[4] KF Tirana is an ECA member.[5]

  1. ^ Dizdari, Besnik (7 November 2012). "Kur u themelua Sportklub Tirana". Panorama Sport.
  2. ^ "World Stadiums – Stadiums in Albania". Worldstadiums.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  3. ^ Official webpage of KF Tirana Archived 3 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "UEFA Ranking". Kassiessa. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  5. ^ "KF Tirana". ECA. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2013.