AF Elbasani
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| Full name | Akademia e Futbollit Elbasani | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Tigrat (The Tigers) | ||
| Founded | 2 August 2021 | ||
| Stadium | Elbasan Arena | ||
| Capacity | 12,800 | ||
| Owner | Bashkia Elbasan | ||
| President | Kujtim Llupa | ||
| Head coach | Ivan Gvozdenović | ||
| League | Kategoria Superiore | ||
| 2025–26 | Kategoria Superiore, 2nd | ||
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AF Elbasani (Albanian: Akademia e Futbollit Elbasani), is an Albanian professional football club based in Elbasan. The club competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. Their home ground is Elbasan Arena.
History
[edit source]In 2021, the club was formed by the Elbasan Municipality after the disagreements with businessman Arben Laze who was the owner of the first football club KF Elbasani. Due to financial bankruptcy, Elbasani was seized by the Directorate of Taxes in Elbasan. So with the initiative of the fans they found the way and with the cooperation of Elbasan Municipality, AF Elbasani was created.[1]
In the 2021–22 season, they competed in the fourth tier of Albanian football, Kategoria e Tretë. In their first season, they achieved first place, gaining promotion to Kategoria e Dytë.[2]
In the 2022–23 season, AF Elbasani finished first in the Group B of the Kategoria e Dytë, which gained them promotion for the first time to the Kategoria e Parë.[3] In their first season, they finished in 1st place, and were crowned champions and were promoted to the Kategoria Superiore.[4]
In the 2024–25 season, they narrowly missed out on qualifying to the final four, by finishing 5th on 50 points, 3 points behind Partizani.
Honours
[edit source]- Kategoria Superiore
- Runners-up (1): 2025–26
- Kategoria e Parë
- Champions (1): 2023–24
- Kategoria e Dytë
- Runners-up (1): 2022–23
- Kategoria e Tretë
- Champions (1): 2021–22
Recent seasons
[edit source]| Season | Division | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Cup | Supercup | Europe | Top Scorer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | Kategoria e Tretë | 1st | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 84 | 4 | 40 | — | — | — | — |  Denis Mici (29) |
| 2022–23 | Kategoria e Dytë | 2nd | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 64 | 12 | 58 | — | — | — | — | Arsen Lleshi (14) |
| 2023–24 | Kategoria e Parë | 1st | 33 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 76 | 32 | 79 | R16 | — | — | — | Bedri Greca (18) |
| 2024–25 | Kategoria Superiore | 5th | 36 | 11 | 17 | 8 | 40 | 38 | 50 | QF | — | — | — | Arsen Lleshi Emiljano Musta (7) |
| 2025–26 | Kategoria Superiore | 2nd | 39 | 19 | 11 | 9 | 53 | 42 | 68 | SF | — | — | — |  Blaise Tsague (11) |
| 2026–27 | Kategoria Superiore | — | ||||||||||||
European competitions record
[edit source]| Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA competitions | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026–27 | UEFA Conference League | 1QR |  |
BATE Borisov | 1–1 | 0–0 (a.e.t) | 1–1 (4–5p) |
Stadium
[edit source]
The club plays its home games at the Elbasan Arena, which was originally built in 1967 and named the Labinot Stadium, after the club Labinot Elbasan. The stadium was previously called Ruzhdi Bizhuta, after one of the club's most famous players.[5][6][7][8] The stadium has an official seated capacity of 12,800.[9][10][11]
Players
[edit source]Current squad
[edit source]- As of 1 July 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
[edit source]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Retired numbers
[edit source]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Staff
[edit source]| Name | Position |
|---|---|
 Ivan Gvozdenović | Head coach |
| Orgest Gava | Assistant coach |
| Elvis Kotorri | Goalkeeping coach |
 Andrea Vezzu | Fitness coach |
| Mirko Panico | Video Analyst |
| Denis Asllani | Video analyst |
| Orland Kastrati | Physio |
| Geris Lahi | Physio |
| Mark Doçi | Physio |
| Amarildo Hoxha | Doctor |
| Elton Guranjaku | Sports director |
| Armand Memetaj | Team manager |
List of coaches
[edit source]- Gentian Stojku (2 August 2021 – 11 April 2023)
- Eriol Merxha (12 April – 6 June 2023)
- Nevil Dede (7 June 2023 – 1 July 2024)
- Roberto Bordin (8 July – 5 December 2024)
- Ivan Gvozdenović (5 December 2024 – )
References
[edit source]- ↑ "AF Elbasani, historia e re e futbollit në qytetin traditë! Drejtori i klubit: Tifozët na mirëpritën" [AF Elbasani, a new football history in the city of tradition! The Director of the club: The fans welcomed us] (in Albanian). Shqiptarja. 29 July 2021.
- ↑ "AF Elbasani shpallet kampion i Kategorisë së Tretë" [AF Elbasani become champions of Kategoria e Tretë] (in Albanian). FSHF.org. 6 May 2022.
- ↑ Kodra, Fatjon (2023-05-11). "Vora mposht AF Elbasanin në finale & shpallet fituese e Kategorisë së Dytë 2022/2023!". FSHF (in Albanian). Retrieved 2024-06-20.
- ↑ Sinani, Renaldo (2024-05-09). "AF Elbasani kurorëzohet ekipi kampion i Kategorisë së Parë për sezonin 2023-2024!". FSHF (in Albanian). Retrieved 2024-06-20.
- ↑ Rama: Elbasani pret kombëtaren Archived 2014-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "- Bota Sot". botasot.info. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ↑ "Lajmet e fundit - KOHA.net". KOHA.net. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ↑ "Sot përballja I në Elbasan Arena Shqipëri-Danimarkë, në 20:45". shqiptarja.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ↑ Cite error: The named reference
Asport1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ↑ ""Ruzhdi Bizhuta", plani për ta kthyer stadium ndërkombëtar". ikub.al. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ↑ Stadiumi ne Elbasan: Rama, per te mos i mbetur hatri Vlores dhe Shkodres Archived 2014-10-11 at the Wayback Machine