Kategoria Superiore
Organising bodyFSHF
Founded6 June 1930 (1930-06-06)
CountryAlbania
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams10
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toKategoria e Parë
Domestic cup(s)Albanian Cup
Albanian Supercup
International cup(s)UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa Conference League
Current championsPartizani (17th title)
(2022–23)
Most championshipsTirana (26 titles)
Top goalscorerVioresin Sinani (207 goals)[lower-alpha 1]
TV partnersMCN TV
Websitefshf.org/abissnet-superiore
Current: 2023–24 Kategoria Superiore

The Kategoria Superiore, officially known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Albanian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 10 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Kategoria e Parë. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 36 matches each (playing each team in the league four times, twice at home and twice away).

The competition was founded in 1930 as the Albanian National Championship during the reign of King Zog, shortly after the creation of the Albanian Football Association. Since 1930, 45 clubs have competed in recognised competitions, while only nine clubs have won the title: Tirana (26), Dinamo Tirana (18), Partizani (17), Vllaznia (9), Skënderbeu (8), Elbasani (2), Teuta (2), Flamurtari (1), and Kukësi (1). The current champions are Partizani, who won their 17th title in 2022–23.

History

Early history

Football was first introduced to Albania by an English-Maltese priest named Gut Ruter, who visited the Saverian college in Shkodër in 1908. The first football club in Albania was Indipendenca, founded in Shkodër in 1912 by Palokë Nika.[2] The first 90-minute game to be played with two 45 minute halves took place in October 1913 between Indipendenca Shkodër and the occupying Austro-Hungarian Imperial Navy. The game is considered to be the first international game to be played in Albania, and it ended in a 2–1 loss for Indipendenca, with the captain and founder of the club Palokë Nika scoring the only goal for the Albanians.[2][3]

World War II championships

Albania was invaded by Italy in April 1939 and World War II soon broke out, meaning the Albanian Football Association, much like the other organisations in the country, ceased operating. Despite the war, three championships were held between 1939 and 1942, with Tirana winning the championships in 1939 and 1942 and Shkodra winning in 1940. Despite calls to recognise these championships, the Albanian Football Association maintains the position that the championships were not organised by them and cannot be formally recognised.[4][5][6]

Names

Name Period Notes
Albanian English
Kampionati Kombëtar Shqiptar Albanian National Championship 1930–2003 —
Kategoria Superiore Superior Category 2003–present The official name, even though from 2021 for
sponsorship reasons the name changes.
Abissnet Superiore 2021–present Sponsored by Abissnet.[7]

Records

Most points in a season 84 points. KF Tirana (2004–05)

Most points without winning the league title 79 points. KF Elbasani (2004–05)

First Albanian team to qualify for a European competition. KF Skenderbeu (2017–18) Europa League

First Albanian team to qualify for The Champions League. KF Vllaznia Women (2022–23)

Competition format

Since the 2014–15 Kategoria Superiore, the league consists of 10 clubs, who face each other four times in a conventional round-robin tournament for a total of 36 matches. At the end of the season, the two lowest-placed teams are relegated to the Kategoria e Parë, while two highest-placed teams of the Kategoria e Parë are promoted in their place. The 8th ranked team qualifies to the play-off round, which they play against the Kategoria e Parë play-off winner. Teams are ranked by total points, then head-to-head record, then goal difference, and then goals scored.

Clubs (2023–2024)

Current members

The following teams are competing in the Kategoria Superiore during the 2023–24 season.[8]

Club Position
in 2023–24
Dinamo 2nd (Kategoria e Parë)
Egnatia 3rd
Erzeni 8th
Kukësi 7th
Laçi 5nd
Partizani 1st
Skënderbeu 1st (Kategoria e Parë)
Teuta 6th
Tirana 2nd
Vllaznia 4th

List of champions

  Group tournament format
  Season was not played
  Season is not officially recognised
Season Champion Runner-up Third place Top scorer(s) Goals
1930 KF Tirana (1) Skënderbeu Bashkimi Shkodran Selman Stërmasi 5
1931 KF Tirana (2) Teuta Uneven group format Teli Samsuri 9
1932 KF Tirana (3) Bashkimi Shkodran Teuta Selman Stërmasi 11
1933 Skënderbeu (1) Bashkimi Shkodran Teuta Teofik Agaj 7
1934 KF Tirana (4) Skënderbeu Bashkimi Shkodran Mark Gurashi 22
1935 Season was not played
1936 KF Tirana (5) Vllaznia Besa Riza Lushta 11
1937 KF Tirana (6) Vllaznia Besa Riza Lushta 25
1938 Season was not played
1939 Season played, but not officially recognised
1940 Season played, but not officially recognised
1941 Season was not played
1942 Season played, but not officially recognised
1943 Season was not played
1944 Season was not played
1945 Vllaznia (1) SK Tirana Besa Xhevdet Shaqiri 9
1946 Vllaznia (2) Flamurtari 17 Nëntori Xhevdet Shaqiri 11
1947 Partizani (1) Vllaznia Dinamo Korçë Zihni Gjinali 13
1948 Partizani (2) Flamurtari Uneven group format Zihni Gjinali 12
1949 Partizani (3) Vllaznia Ylli i Kuq Durrës Zihni Gjinali 14
1950 Dinamo (1) Partizani Shkodra Loro Boriçi 6
1951 Dinamo (2) Partizani Puna Tiranë Refik Resmja 59
1952 Dinamo (3) Partizani Uneven group format Refik Resmja 10
1953 Dinamo (4) Partizani Puna Tiranë Refik Resmja 9
1954 Partizani (4) Dinamo Puna Tiranë Refik Resmja 13
1955 Dinamo (5) Partizani Puna Tiranë Refik Resmja 14
1956 Dinamo (6) Partizani Puna Tiranë Refik Resmja 17
1957 Partizani (5) Dinamo Puna Korçë Niko Bespalla 12
1958 Partizani (6) Besa 17 Nëntori Skënder Jareci 13
1959 Partizani (7) 17 Nëntori Flamurtari Panajot Pano 9
1960 Dinamo (7) Partizani 17 Nëntori Skënder Jareci 13
1961 Partizani (8) Dinamo 17 Nëntori Panajot Pano 14
1962–63 Partizani (9) Dinamo Besa Panajot Pano 12
1963–64 Partizani (10) Dinamo Besa Robert Jashari 18
1964–65 KF Tirana (7) Partizani Dinamo Robert Jashari 19
1965–66 KF Tirana (8) Partizani Dinamo Iljaz Çeço 12
1966–67 Dinamo (8) 17 Nëntori Besa Josif Kazanxhi 17
1968 KF Tirana (9) Partizani Dinamo Medin Zhega 19
1969–70 KF Tirana (10) Partizani Vllaznia Skënder Hyka 19
1970–71 Partizani (11) Dinamo Vllaznia Panajot Pano 18
1971–72 Vllaznia (3) 17 Nëntori Dinamo Ilir Përnaska 19
1972–73 Dinamo (9) Partizani Besa Ilir Përnaska 17
1973–74 Vllaznia (4) Partizani Besa Ilir Përnaska 12
1974–75 Dinamo (10) Vllaznia Partizani Ilir Përnaska 16
1975–76 Dinamo (11) 17 Nëntori Vllaznia Ilir Përnaska 19
1976–77 Dinamo (12) Skënderbeu Vllaznia Ilir Përnaska 17
1977–78 Vllaznia (5) Luftëtari Partizani Agim Murati 12
1978–79 Partizani (12) 17 Nëntori Besa Agim Murati 13
1979–80 Dinamo (13) 17 Nëntori Vllaznia Përparim Kovaçi 18
1980–81 Partizani (13) Dinamo 17 Nëntori Dashnor Bajaziti 12
1981–82 KF Tirana (11)Flamurtari Dinamo Vasil Ruci 12
1982–83 Vllaznia (6) Partizani 17 Nëntori Dashnor Bajaziti 16
1983–84 Elbasani (1)KF Tirana Partizani Vasil Ruci 12
1984–85 KF Tirana (12) Dinamo Vllaznia Arben Minga, Faslli Fakja 13
1985–86 Dinamo (14) Flamurtari 17 Nëntori Kujtim Majaci 20
1986–87 Partizani (14) Flamurtari Vllaznia Arben Arbëri 14
1987–88 KF Tirana (13) Flamurtari Labinoti Agustin Kola 18
1988–89 KF Tirana (14) Partizani Dinamo Agustin Kola 19
1989–90 Dinamo (15) Partizani Flamurtari Kujtim Majaci 19
1990–91 Flamurtari (1) Partizani Besa Kliton Bozgo 29
1991–92 Vllaznia (7) Partizani Teuta Edmir Bilali 22
1992–93 Partizani (15) Teuta Besa Edmond Dosti 21
1993–94 Teuta (1) KF Tirana Flamurtari Edi Martini 14
1994–95 KF Tirana (15) Teuta Partizani Arben Shehu 21
1995–96 KF Tirana (16) Teuta Partizani Altin Çuko 21
1996–97 KF Tirana (17)Vllaznia Flamurtari Viktor Paço 14
1997–98 Vllaznia (8) Tirana Partizani Dorjan Bubeqi 26
1998–99 KF Tirana (18) Vllaznia Bylis Artan Bano 23
1999–00 KF Tirana (19) Tomori Teuta Klodian Arbëri 18
2000–01 Vllaznia (9) Tirana Dinamo Indrit Fortuzi 30
2001–02 Dinamo (16) Tirana Partizani Indrit Fortuzi 24
2002–03 KF Tirana (20) Vllaznia Partizani Mahir Halili 20
2003–04 KF Tirana (21) Dinamo Vllaznia Vioresin Sinani 36
2004–05 KF Tirana (22) Elbasani Dinamo Dorian Bylykbashi 24
2005–06 Elbasani (2) Tirana Dinamo Hamdi Salihi 29
2006–07 KF Tirana (23) Teuta Vllaznia Vioresin Sinani 23
2007–08 Dinamo (17) Partizani Besa Vioresin Sinani 20
2008–09 KF Tirana (24) Vllaznia Dinamo Migen Memelli 22
2009–10 Dinamo (18) Besa Tirana Daniel Xhafaj 18
2010–11 Skënderbeu (2) Flamurtari Vllaznia Daniel Xhafaj 18
2011–12 Skënderbeu (3) Teuta Tirana Roland Dervishi 20
2012–13 Skënderbeu (4) Kukësi Teuta Migen Memelli 19
2013–14 Skënderbeu (5) Kukësi Laçi Pero Pejić 20
2014–15 Skënderbeu (6) Kukësi Partizani Pero Pejić 31
2015–16 Skënderbeu (7) Partizani Kukësi Hamdi Salihi 27
2016–17 Kukësi (1) Partizani Skënderbeu Pero Pejić 27
2017–18 Skënderbeu (8) Kukësi Luftëtari Ali Sowe 21
2018–19 Partizani (16) Kukësi Teuta Reginaldo 13
2019–20 KF Tirana (25) Kukësi Laçi Kyrian Nwabueze 23
2020–21 Teuta (2) Vllaznia Partizani Dejvi Bregu 16
2021–22 KF Tirana (26) Laçi Partizani Saliou Guindo
Taulant Seferi		 19
2022–23 Partizani (17) KF Tirana Egnatia Florent Hasani 16

Since 1930, the competition has not been played a total of 9 times: 1935, 1938–44, 1949, 1962. Furthermore, the champion award was not given during the 1968–69 season.

Performance by club

Club Champions Runners up Third places Seasons
Tirana
26*
14
14
 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1939,[lower-alpha 2] 1942,[lower-alpha 2] 1964–65, 1965–66, 1968, 1969–70, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999-2000, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2019–20, 2021–22
Dinamo
18
9
10
 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1966–67, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1989–90, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2009–10
Partizani
17
21
11
 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1970–71, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1986–87, 1992–93, 2018–19, 2022–23
Vllaznia
9*
12
13
 1940,[lower-alpha 2] 1945, 1946, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1977–78, 1982–83, 1991–92, 1997–98, 2000–01
Skënderbeu
8
3
3
 1933, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18
Teuta
2
6
7
 1993–94, 2020–21
Elbasani
2
1
1
 1983–84, 2005–06
Flamurtari
1
7
4
 1990–91
Kukësi
1
6
1
 2016–17
Besa
-
2
12
 -
Laçi
-
1
2
 -
Luftëtari
-
1
1
 -
Tomori
-
1
-
 -
Bylis
-
-
1
 -
Egnatia
-
-
1
 -
  • Tirana and Vllaznia would have accordingly 28 and 10 titles, if the three seasons played during WW2 are officially recognised from AFA.

All time table

The all-time table of football clubs that have participated in the Kategoria Superiore, prior to the 2022–2023 season. The ranking is based on the total accumulated points by each club. Teams in bold are part of the 2022–23 season.[9]

  Club was disbanded
No. Club Apps. Matches Wins Ties Losses Goals +/- GDif. Points Titles
1 Tirana 83 2096 1079 543 474 3438:1873 +1565 3132 26
2 Partizani 70 1778 1087 352 308 3148:1547 +1601 2832 17
3 Vllaznia 82 2063 938 497 650 3267:2128 +1139 2743 9
4 Teuta 82 2088 775 592 741 2092:2331 -239 2410 2
5 Dinamo 62 1751 858 478 387 2790:1566 +1224 2378 18
6 Flamurtari 73 1906 663 516 727 2150:2320 -170 2060 1
7 Skënderbeu 66 1565 524 411 620 1674:1904 -230 1681 8
8 Besa 63 1575 542 444 589 1790:1908 -118 1670 —
9 Elbasani 65 1593 513 423 654 1673:2029 -356 1626 2
10 Lushnja 41 1139 299 326 511 1069:1559 -490 1046 —
11 Luftëtari 43 1132 322 270 550 1047:1616 -569 1014 —
12 Laçi 23 747 283 168 296 830:918 -88 959 —
13 Tomori 44 1052 297 321 471 1026:1487 -461 938 —
14 Apolonia 37 989 277 232 465 984:1505 -521 879 —
15 Shkumbini 18 553 211 107 228 660:708 -48 713 —
16 Kukësi 11 383 186 97 94 536:356 +180 654 1
17 Bylis 16 484 151 123 211 517:638 -121 570 —
18 Kastrioti 15 494 155 107 231 469:660 -191 527 —
19 Besëlidhja 22 575 148 167 260 556:721 -165 497 —
20 Naftëtari 16 384 90 109 185 322:635 -313 289 —
21 Shkëndija 10 258 68 87 103 217:283 -66 223 —
22 Albpetrol 6 167 49 33 85 158:259 -101 136 —
23 Erzeni 7 134 30 36 68 140:256 -116 123 —
24 Pogradeci 9 210 38 39 133 167:466 -299 118 —
25 Egnatia 3 108 29 28 51 102:129 -27 115 —
26 Sopoti 4 112 36 25 51 107:150 -43 110 —
27 Kamza 4 98 23 21 54 72:139 -67 90 —
28 Burreli 5 109 23 23 63 96:183 -87 77 —
29 Luftëtari Tiranë 5 50 19 7 24 60:64 -4 45 —
30 Spartaku Tiranë 3 66 10 17 39 68:132 -64 37 —
31 Spartaku Shkodër 2 38 12 10 16 45:82 -37 34 —
32 Dinamo Shkodër 1 30 13 7 10 46:41 +5 33 —
33 Dinamo Durrës 3 40 8 13 19 30:71 -41 29 —
34 Selenica 1 30 10 7 13 33:54 -21 27 —
35 Gramozi 1 33 6 8 19 25:43 -18 26 —
36 Kombinati Tiranë 2 30 7 11 12 28:39 -11 25 —
37 Korabi 2 58 3 13 42 21:116 -95 21 —
38 Tërbuni 1 36 4 6 26 22:81 -59 18 —
39 Dinamo Vlorë 1 20 6 4 10 19:48 -29 16 —
40 Iliria 1 30 7 2 21 22:64 -42 16 —
41 24 Maj Përmet 1 26 4 5 1 9:44 -35 13 —
42 Ylli Shkodër 1 10 5 1 4 29:15 +14 11 —
43 Liria Korçë 1 10 3 2 5 16:15 +1 8 —
44 Studenti 1 26 1 6 19 9:43 -34 8 —
45 Spartaku Korçë 1 12 2 1 9 10:45 -35 5 —

UEFA rankings

Current rankings (2022–23)

UEFA Country Ranking for league participation in 2022–23 European football season (Previous year rank in italics).

See also

Notes and references

Notes
  1. ↑ 208 goals acccoring to Albanian media.[1]
  2. 1 2 3 Not yet officially recognized from Albanian Football Association.
References
  1. ↑ Admir Uruçi (12 January 2012). "Vioresin Sinani thotë mjaft: E mbyll si futbollist në fund të këtij edicioni" [Vioresin Sinani says enough: I finish as a player at the end of the season] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 Gjergj Kola. "Palokë Nika – personazhi historik i sportit Shqiptar" (in Albanian). Shkodra Sport. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "Një historik i shkurtër i futbollit në Shkodër" (in Albanian). Vllaznia.al. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  4. ↑ RSSSF
  5. ↑ "Giovanni Armillotta: "Drejt njohjes së tre Kampionate Kombëtare të Luftës: 1939, 1940 dhe 1942"".
  6. ↑ AFA's General Assembly: War championships are not legitimate Archived 20 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Firmoset marrëveshja, Kategoria Superiore do të quhet "Abissnet Superiore" për 3 sezonet e ardhshme" [The agreement is signed, the Kategoria Superiore will be called "Abissnet Superiore" for the next 3 seasons] (in Albanian). Albanian Football Association. 10 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "Kategoria Superiore: Summary". Soccerway. Perform. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  9. ↑ Shifrat e 79 Kampionateve Archived 24 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine
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