FC Kolkheti-1913 Poti

FC Kolkheti 1913 Poti

Founded	1913;111 years ago (1913)
Ground	Fazisi Stadium Poti, Georgia
Capacity	6,000
Chairman	Zaza Inashvili
Manager	Klimenti Tsitaishvili
League	Erovnuli Liga
2023	1st of 10 in Liga 2, promoted
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

FC Kolkheti 1913 is a Georgian football club based in Poti. Following the 2023 season, the club earned promotion to the Erovnuli Liga, the top division of Georgian football.

Being registered in 1913, Kolkheti is considered one of the oldest clubs in the South Caucasus. ^[1] Since the formation of independent Georgian leagues in 1990, they have spent 24 seasons in the top flight.

History

Domestic leagues

The Soviet period

The football club from Poti under the name Kolkhida (Colchis) for many years was a member of the Georgian Soviet championship until early 1960s. From 1962 to 1990, they spent 24 seasons in fourth and third divisions of the Soviet football system, including last consecutive eleven years in zone 9 of the Second league, with the 2nd place in 1989 being the best result. ^[2]

Earning league trophies

When GFF formed the national league in early 1990, Kolkheti-1913 took part in an opening game against Iberia Tbilisi. The historic match held at Boris Paichadze stadium ended 1–0 in favour of the guest team. ^[3] Therefore, Kolkheti became the first club to win a game in the history of Georgian national leagues.

Throughout the first decade, the Kolkhs were considered one of the strongest rivals. Apart from 1992/93, when they finished in 9th place, the club completed each season among top five teams with twice, in 1993-94 and 1996–97, coming second. ^[4] In this period the team also earned the bronze medals three times.

This success of the club was largely contributed to their sponsors from mid-1990s, the naval port of Poti.

Crisis begins

In 2006, after a foreign business company took over the port administration, the football club abruptly lost a significant income. ^[5] Despite being 10th among 16 clubs in 2005/06, due to the severe financial crisis Kolkheti had to quit the league. ^[6]

The club climbed back to Umaglesi Liga following the 2009/10 season, but returned to the second league three years later. ^[7] In 2011, a sponsorship deal with the naval port resumed to a less extent, which lasted for four years. ^[8]

Battle for survival

Kolkheti were back in the top division in 2014-15, although further financial difficulties hit the club in 2018, which pushed them to the verge of bankruptcy. As Kolkheti amassed a large amount of debts, they were deducted six points. Eventually, the team was relegated. ^[9]

While in Liga 2, Kolkheti still could not afford to pay off debts. In an emergency statement, the club appealed for urgent help. ^[10] Meanwhile, they were slapped with another six-point deduction. ^[11] The overall situation badly affected the team. Three managers were sacked for unsatisfactory results within initial five months of the season. ^[12] The tide remained unchanged, though. Only in the last matchday did Kolkheti manage to avoid automatic relegation, but after being thrashed by Samgurali in play-offs they slumped to the third division. ^[13]

Disappointment and triumph

In the initial two seasons Kolkheti were among primary promotion-chasers, although in both cases they suffered a setback in pursuit for an automatic promotion spot. The play-off results proved also unsuccessful despite the team's unbeaten aggregate score in the regular time. First they failed to beat WIT Georgia on penalties, ^[14] and a year later lost in extra time to Rustavi on away goals. ^[15]

In 2022, too, Kolkheti ended up in the 2nd place. However, due to changes made in the competition format before this season, the club ended their three-year tenure in this division and won automatic promotion back to Liga 2. ^[16] This year another event occurred which had a big impact on Kolkheti. On 29 August, the municipal club was handed over to a company linked to football manager Mamuka Jugeli. ^[17]

Kolkheti achieved a remarkable success in the 2nd division in 2023. While reaching the national cup semifinals, the team under head coach Davit Kvirkvelia emerged victorious after a dramatic hard-fought battle against Gareji for the first place, which enabled them to return to the Erovnuli Liga after a five-year absence. ^[18]

European competitions

Based on successful performance in Umaglesi Liga, Kolkheti-1913 represented Georgia on UEFA Cup for four consecutive seasons from 1996 until 2000.

The only victory achieved in this competition against Dinamo Minsk was insufficient for qualifying for the next round. Having lost the first leg 0–1, Kolkheti conceded an early goal at home and scored twice afterwards, but the away goals rule gave a final advantage to their opponents. ^[19]

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1996	UEFA Intertoto Cup	GS	Zemun	2–3	-	5th
			FF Jaro	-	0–2
			Guingamp	1–3	-
			Dinamo București	-	0–2
1997–98	UEFA Cup	1Q	Dinamo Minsk	2–1	0–1	2–2
1998–99	UEFA Cup	1Q	Red Star Belgrade	0–4	0–7	0–11
1999	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Cementarnica 55	0–4	2–4	2–8

Seasons

Year	Div.	Pos	P	W	D	L	GF–GA	Pts	Cup
1990	1st	5/18	34	19	5	10	53-31	62	Quarterfinals
1991	1st	4/20	19	10	3	6	30-19	33	—
1991/92	1st	5/20	38	15	11	12	49-45	56	Round of 32
1992/93	1st	9/17	32	12	6	14	47-45	42	Round of 16
1993/1994	1st, Group West	1/8	14	9	2	3	36-21	29	Semifinals
	1-10 Places	2/10	18	14	2	2	51-20	44
1994/95	1st	3/16	30	20	3	7	72-28	63	Round of 32
1995/96	1st	3/16	30	22	2	6	69-38	68	Quarterfinals
1996/97	1st	2/16	30	20	4	6	75-28	64	Quarterfinals
1997-98	1st	3/16	30	17	6	7	56-27	57	Quarterfinals
1998/99	1st	4/16	30	15	7	8	57-36	52	Round of 16
1999/2000	1st, Group B	2/8	14	8	1	5	19-15	25	Quarterfinals
	1-8 Places	5/8	14	7	3	4	18-10	37
2000/01	1st	6/12	22	8	7	7	22-18	31	Quarterfinals
	1-6 Places	5/6	10	2	2	6	10-19	24
2001/02	1st	5/12	22	10	5	7	32-29	35	Round of 16
	1-6 Places	4/6	10	2	2	6	9-16	26
2002/03	1st	6/12	22	9	3	10	28-33	30	Round of 16
	1-6 Places	6/6	10	0	5	5	5-23	20
2003/04	1st	9/12	22	7	3	12	18-35	24	Round of 16
	7-12 Places	8/12	10	6	3	1	14-6	33
2004/05	1st	9/10	36	9	5	22	32-63	32	Quarterfinals
2005/06	1st	10/16↓ [lower-alpha 1]	30	9	5	16	26-35	32	Quarterfinals
2006/07	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2007/08	2nd	5/10	27	11	7	9	36-33	40	1st Round
2008/09	2nd	5/11	30	13	6	11	45-40	45	Round of 16
2009/10	2nd, Group A	2/15↑	28	19	4	5	63-21	61	Quarterfinals
2010/11	1st	7/10	36	10	10	16	25-47	40	Round of 16
2011/12	1st	8/12	22	6	8	8	19-24	26	Round of 16
2012/13	1st	10/10	22	0	4	18	11-43	4	Round of 16
	Relegation round	6/6↓	32	3	8	21	22-56	17
2013/14	2nd, Group A	2/13↑	24	17	4	3	51-13	55	2nd Round
2014/15	1st	10/16	30	9	10	11	31-31	37	2nd Round
2015/16	1st	12/16	30	7	6	17	21-41	27	2nd Round
2016	1st, Group Red	4/7	12	6	0	6	10-18	18	Quarterfinals
2017	1st	9/10	36	6	8	22	31-73	26	5th Round
2018	1st	10/10↓	36	4	8	24	26-76	14 [lower-alpha 2]	3rd Round
2019	2nd	9/10↓	36	10	4	22	31-80	28 [lower-alpha 3]	3rd Round
2020	3rd	2/10	18	12	2	4	47-18	38	2nd Round
2021	3rd	2/10	26	14	7	5	54-28	49	2nd Round
2022	3rd	2/16↑	30	21	6	3	76-29	69	3rd Round
2023	2nd	1/16↑	36	23	8	5	70-28	77	Semifinals

Notes

1. Relegated due to financial problems.
2. Six points deduction.
3. Six points deduction.

Overall

Seasons spent in Georgian leagues since 1990:

• Umaglesi Liga / Erovnuli Liga (1st tier): 25

• Pirveli Liga / Erovnuli Liga 2 (2nd tier): 6

• Meore Liga / Liga 3 (3rd tier): 3

Correct up to 2024 season

Current squad

As of 2 March 2024 ^[20]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   UKR Yaroslav Kotlyarov 4 MF   GEO Akaki Giunashvili 7 MF   GEO Lasha Gvalia (C) 9 FW   GEO Lasha Kokhreidze 10 MF   GEO Giorgi Abuashvili 11 FW   GEO Tsotne Chikovani 12 DF   GEO Luka Lakvekheliani 13 MF   GEO Saba Piranashvili 15 DF   GEO Beka Kharshiladze 16 DF   GEO Giorgi Akhaladze 17 MF   GEO Erekle Jijavadze 18 MF   GEO Levan Jordania

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 FW   RUS Georgiy Melkadze 20 DF   FRA Mahamat Thiam 22 FW   RUS Kirill Klimov 23 MF   GEO Saba Zoidze 24 MF   GEO Vato Arveladze 25 DF   GEO Davit Megrelishvili 30 FW   GEO Davit Zurabiani (on loan from Dinamo Batumi) 31 GK   UKR Danylo Ryabenko 33 DF   GEO Tornike Shekiladze 35 GK   UKR Artem Fastov 37 MF   GEO Demetre Gvasalia 40 MF   GEO Giorgi Kharebava

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   GEO Giorgi Kvernadze (at Frosinone)

Managers

Name	Nat.	From	To
Soso Pilia		November 2012	June 2013
Zaza Inashvili		July 2013	October 2015
Gela Sanaia		October 2015	August 2017
Oleksandr Shtelin		September 2017	December 2017
Konstantin Galkin		February 2018	March 2018
Nugzar Tvaradze		March 2018	September 2018
Viktor Demidov		September 2018	December 2018
Paata Metreveli		February 2019	April 2019
Soso Pilia		April 2019	June 2019
Giorgi Krasovski		June 2019	August 2019
Nugzar Tvaradze		August 2019	October 2019
Vladimer Chkonia		October 2019	December 2019
Davit Makharadze		February 2020	October 2020
Nugzar Tvaradze		October 2020	December 2020
Giorgi Krasovski		February 2021	June 2021
Gia Gigatadze		June 2021	May 2022
Davit Kvirkvelia		June 2022	April 2024
Klimenti Tsitaishvili		April 2024

Honours

• Georgian Soviet Championship
  • Winners (2): 1978, 1988 ^[21]
• Soviet Second League Zone IX (Caucasus)
  • Runners-up (1): 1989
  • Third place (4): 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987
• Umaglesi Liga
  • Runners-up (2): 1993–94, 1996–97
  • Third place (3): 1994–95, 1995–96, 1997–98
• Pirveli Liga/Erovnuli Liga 2
  • Winners (1): 2023
  • Runners-up (2): 2009–10, 2013–14 (A Group)
• Liga 3
  • Runners-up (3): 2020, 2021, 2022

Stadium

The Fazisi arena was built in 1961. Its reconstruction got under way in 2013, but it took seven years before the works were completed. Meanwhile, Kolkheti-1913 held their home games on Rugby Arena in Poti or in some neighbouring cities. Football returned to Fazisi in October 2019. ^[22]

References

1. Georgia - List of Foundation Dates.
2. "Kolkheti in USSR II league". wildstat.com.
3. "ასე იწყებოდა: ეროვნული ჩემპიონატის პირველი მატჩი 30 წლის წინ გაიმართა". popsport.com (in Georgian). 30 March 2020.
4. "Kolkheti - overall stats". wildstat.com.
5. "კოლხეთის განცხადება:ისტორიული კლუბი მავანთა გამო კრიზისში ყოფნას არ იმსახურებს". crystalbet.com (in Georgian). 22 October 2019.
6. "2005/06 season". soccerway.com.
7. "Umaglesi Liga 2012/13". soccerway.com.
8. "ფოთის "კოლხეთი" - მილიონერთა ქალაქის გაჭირვებული გუნდი". sportall.ge (in Georgian), 29 December 2014.
9. "Final table in 2018". eliga.ge.
10. "შესაძლებელია ქართული საფეხბურთო რუკიდან გავქრეთ". popsport.com (in Georgian). 29 June 2019.
11. "ფოთის კოლხეთმა ფეხბურთელებთან შეთანხმებას მიაღწია". livepress.com (in Georgian). 20 August 2019.
12. "ფოთის საფეხბურთო კლუბი მეოთხე მწვრთნელის მოლოდინშია". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 27 August 2019.
13. "Samgurali vs Kolkheti-1913". flashscore.com.
14. "2020 play-offs". soccerway.com.
15. ""ვიტ ჯორჯია" და "რუსთავი" ეროვნულ ლიგა 2-ში დარჩნენ". 1tv.ge (in Georgian). 11 December 2021.
16. "ლიგა 2-ში „კოლხეთი 1913" და „დინამო თბილისი 2" ითამაშებენ". 1tv.ge (in Georgian), 14 November 2022.
17. "შპს "საფეხბურთო კლუბი კოლხეთი 1913"". poti.gov.ge (in Georgian). Retrieved 31 December 2023.
18. "ფოთის "კოლხეთი" ეროვნულ ლიგაში დაბრუნდა". worldsport.ge (in Georgian). Retrieved 3 December 2023.
19. "Kolkheti vs Dinamo Minsk". uefa.com.
20. "A list of players". eliga.ge.
21. Georgia – List of Champions – rsssf.org
22. "ფოთის ცენტრალურ სტადიონზე შვიდი წლის შემდეგ პირველი მატჩი მიმდინარეობს". Georgian Public TV (in Georgian). 6 October 2019.

External links

• Profile on Soccerway
• FC Kolkheti-1913 Poti Results