 | ||||
| Full name | Futboll Klub Kukësi | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 4 March 1930; 95 years ago (1930-03-04) as Shoqëria Sportive Kosova | |||
| Ground | Kukës Arena | |||
| Capacity | 6,322 | |||
| President | Atilio Biba | |||
| League | Kategoria e Parë | |||
| 2024–25 | Kategoria e Parë, 10th | |||
| Website | fk-kukesi | |||
Futboll Klub Kukësi is an Albanian professional football club based in the city ofKukës. The club plays its home games at theKukës Arena and currently competes in theKategoria e Parë, the second highest division of Albanian football. The club played in the lower divisions for most of its history since 1930, before being promoted to the Kategoria Superiore in 2012, where it has won the title once and finished runner-up six times.
The club was founded on March 4, 1930, inKukës under the nameShoqëria Sportive Kosova, at a time when football was gaining popularity in Albania. The club initially consisted of young men fromHas,Lumë andGorë, who competed in sports such as athletics and wrestling in addition to football, which quickly became the most popular sport in the city. The club's first match was played on April 20, 1930, against InternatiKrumë, which ended in a 0–0 draw. On July 13, the club lost for the first time against Dibra inPeshkopi, in a match that ended 4–1 in favour of the opponent. In August 1931, the club participated in a local tournament, where they played against Kallabaku (Borje), Shkëlzeni (Tropojë), Internati (Krumë) and military teams. With the establishment of theAlbanian Football Association in 1932, Shoqëria Sportive Kosova was registered under the name Sport Klub Kosova. However, they did not participate in any of the national championships held at that time. In 1949, after the end ofWorld War II, the Albanian Football Federation resumed its championships. In 1953, Shoqëria Sportive Kosova participated in a national competition for the first time, competing in the regional leagues.
In 1958, the club was promoted to theKategoria e Parë for the first time and changed its name toKlubi Sportiv Përparimi. The club's first major trophy came in 1967, when they won theKategoria e Dytë title and were promoted back to theKategoria e Parë.[citation needed]
They remained in the league for a decade until 1977, when they won the title, the club's greatest achievement since its founding in 1930 at the time. Despite a quick relegation, the club won the third division again in 1982 and was promoted back to Albania's second division. The late 1970s and early 1980s are considered by many to be the club's golden era.[citation needed]
With thefall of communism in Albania in 1991, the club experienced huge financial problems as they had relied on state funding to run the club for many years. The municipality of Kukës along with local businessmen began to fund the team after the end of Albania's communist regime, but due to the lack of funds, the club did not experience any success for nearly two decades after communism.[citation needed]
In 2010, the club underwent a complete overhaul, changing its name for the third time toFutboll Klub Kukësi. The Kukës representative in theParliament of Albania and member of theDemocratic Party of Albania,Fatos Hoxha, was elected president of the club. FK Kukësi aimed to reach theKategoria Superiore for the first time in its history, and invested heavily for the 2010–11 season in order to achieve promotion from the second division. Fatos Hoxha and the municipality of Kukës hiredShahin Berberi as the club's manager and gave him the financial backing to make many signings in order to achieve promotion. Berberi did just that, and FK Kukësi were crowned champions of theKategoria e Dytë at the end of the 2010–11 season. The following season, the club once again invested heavily, this time to achieve their goal of playing in the top flight, a goal that was achieved at the end of the 2011–12 season, when FK Kukësi finished second in the table and received automatic promotion to the Kategoria Superiore for the2012-13 season.[1]
The club's first top-flight match was against newly promotedLuftëtari Gjirokastër at theZeqir Ymeri Stadium on August 26, 2012, and ended in a goalless draw in front of just over 2,500 fans.[2] They went unbeaten in their first ten league games, including an away win over Albania's most decorated team,KF Tirana.[3] Their unbeaten start to life in Kategoria Superiore came to an end on November 17 with a 2–0 loss toFlamurtari Vlorë.[4] They finished the season in second place behindSkënderbeu Korçë, whom they defeated 4–3 on the last day of the season.[5] FK Kukësi's season was considered a tremendous success considering the club's modest history, which did not stop them from collecting memorable victories throughout the season, including a 6–1 win overFlamurtari Vlorë[6] and a 5–1 win overShkumbini Peqin.[7] They were considered the surprise package ofUEFA, as they were the only team to finish the season unbeaten at home, and their second-place finish earned them a place in theUEFA Europa League first qualifying round.[8] They finished the season with a record of 15 wins, 7 draws and 4 losses, with 52 points and a positive goal difference of 24.[9]
FK Kukësi's first European game was played on 4 July 2013 and it ended in a 1–1 draw away atEstonian sideFlora Tallinn, with midfielderGerhard Progni scoring a 79th-minute equaliser.[10] The return leg was played at theQemal Stafa Stadium inTirana and it ended in goalless draw which meant that FK Kukësi progressed to the second qualifying round of the Europa League on the away goal rule.[11] In the next round FK Kukësi metBosnian sideFK Sarajevo, whom they defeated 3–2 at the Qemal Stafa Stadium in the first leg, thanks to goals fromYll Hoxha,Lazar Popović andIgli Allmuça.[12] In the second leg played at theAsim Ferhatović Hase Stadium, the match ended goalless which meant FK Kukësi progressed to the third and final qualifying round of the competition.[13] They facedMetalurh Donetsk fromUkraine in the next round and they shocked the Ukrainians with a 2–0 win in Tirana, courtesy of goals fromLucas Malacarne andRenato Malota.[14] FK Kukësi experienced their first European defeat in their sixth fixture at the hands ofMetalurh Donetsk in the away leg of the tie, but still progressed through to the play-off round as they won 2–1 on aggregate over the two games.[15] In the play-offs they were drawn against a far larger club in the shape of Turkish sideTrabzonspor, who they faced at home in the first leg which ended in a predictable 2–0 loss.[16] At theHüseyin Avni Aker Stadium in the second leg FK Kukësi managed to open the scoring throughLazar Popović in the 11th minute, before conceding three times to lose 5–1 on aggregate.[17] The club's European run was widely reported both in Albania and in the region, and the players were considered heroes for overcoming their underdog status both domestically and continentally.
They began the 2013–14 season in poor form, losing their opening game to newly promoted sideKF Lushnja before being comprehensively beaten 3–0 at home byVllaznia Shkodër, leaving them in the relegation zone and second from bottom after two games played. However, they quickly bounced back to beat the reigning championsSkënderbeu Korçë 3–1, before drawing toTeuta Durrës and beatingKastrioti Krujë to lift them out of the relegation zone. They lost their following game againstPartizani Tirana which resulted in the head coachArmando Cungu being replaced byNaci Şensoy,[18] whose reign at FK Kukësi began with two draws and a loss that landed the club back in the relegation zone. From week 10 however, they went on a four match winning streak which was ended by a 1–1 draw with Skënderbeu Korçë. However, the head coach Şensoy was under pressure from both the fans and the president Safet Gjici, and after winning just once in his next four league games he resigned immediately after a goalless draw at home againstBylis Ballsh.[19][20] The club's technical directorSulejman Starova took over as head coach until the end of the season, having last managed in 2010 while he was in charge ofKF Tirana.[21][22] Starova began with a disappointing 2–0 loss to relegation boundBesa Kavajë, before beatingFlamurtari Vlorë andKF Laçi consecutively to regain some momentum for a late title push. Hopes of winning the title dampened following a 3–1 defeat by KF Tirana in week 22, despite losing just once in their last eleven games, which saw them win seven times, to finish comfortably in second place, four points behind Skënderbeu Korçë and three points ahead of KF Laçi who finished first and third respectively. They also had a strongAlbanian Cup run, as they eliminatedNaftëtari Kuçovë,Apolonia Fier,Bylis Ballsh andTeuta Durrës to reach the final withFlamurtari Vlorë which they eventually lost 1–0 to anArbër Abilaliaj goal.
Kukësi's home venue is theZeqir Ymeri Stadium, which is a 9,500-seater stadium located near the centre ofKukës. The stadium was completed in 2012. The club had previously played on a field the stadium was later built over. The previous ground was named the Përparimi Stadium until 2010, after the club's name at the time which was Përparimi Kukës. The ground previously consisted of a playing field surrounded by grass where fans would watch games from, as the club has spent the vast majority of its history in the lower leagues of Albanian football thus there was no requirement to build a stadium for a small local club.
In July 2010 work began to start building the stadium, which was funded jointly by theAlbanian Football Association,Municipality of Kukës andUEFA, who invested the €800,000 needed to begin work on the stadium. The ground was given the name Zeqir Ymeri in honour of a former footballer for the club, and the opening of the stadium was on 30 November 2010, where a friendly was played againstPartizani Tirana, which FK Kukësi won 1–0. Once the club achieved promotion toKategoria Superiore in 2012 the stadium did not meet the requirements needed to compete in the top flight, which led to further investment on the ground, which resulted in an intensive reconstruction program during the summer of 2012 in order to get the stadium ready for the 2012–13 season. The stadium was given a seated capacity of over 9,000 spectators and all the required amenities were added in order to meet the league requirements, and the it was reopened on 1 October 2012 with a total reconstruction cost of €1.076,000.
| Mërgata | |
|---|---|
| Established | 2013 |
| Type | Supporters' group |
| Club | FK Kukësi |
| Motto | Gjithmonë në mbështetje të Kukësit |
| Headquarters | Kukës, Albania |
| Affiliations | Tifozat Kuq e Zi |
| Website | www.armataeveriut.al |
The club is well supported in the local community ofKukës as well as the surrounding regions in the north-east, and the main ultras group is called the Armata e Veriut, which translates to the Army of the North. The supporters have been known for some negative behaviour, which included a top of the table clash withLuftëtari Gjirokastër on 6 May 2012 in theAlbanian First Division, where the FK Kukësi fans were seen throwing object onto the field which resulted in the referee Lorenc Jemini having to pause the game. The game eventually restarted, but the club was punished by theAlbanian Football Association with a six match stadium ban, meaning they had to play their next six home games behind closed doors. The club was fined a total of €27,000 for the behaviour of its supporters during their Europa League run in the summer of 2013, as they threw bottles and flares onto the field of their home games againstSarajevo andMetalurh Donetsk.[23][24]
FK Kukësi's main rivalries have been with small local clubs such asPashtriku Has, which is considered the Kukës country derby; a derby which FK Kukësi has typically dominated. The club's other rivalries are withKorabi Peshkopi andTërbuni Pukë, which are the north-east derbies. More recently however, the club has seen a rivalry grow withKategoria Superiore's biggest clubs, which especially includesSkënderbeu Korçë whom they finished runners-up in the league in three consecutive seasons; the 2012–13, 2013–14 and 2014–15 campaigns respectively.
| Competition | App | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| UEFA Champions League | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| UEFA Europa League | 7 | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 23 | 37 |
| Total | 9 | 32 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 26 | 43 |
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Flora Tallinn | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 (a) |
| 2Q |  Sarajevo | 3–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | ||
| 3Q |  Metalurh Donetsk | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | ||
| PO |  Trabzonspor | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–5 | ||
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Kairat | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| 2015–16 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| 2Q |  Mladost Podgorica | 0–1 | 4–2 | 4–3 | ||
| 3Q |  Legia Warsaw | 0–3 (awarded) | 0–1 | 0–4 | ||
| 2016–17 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q | Rudar Pljevlja | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 2Q |  Austria Wien | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–5 | ||
| 2017–18 | UEFA Champions League | 2Q |  Sheriff Tiraspol | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2(a) |
| 2018–19 | UEFA Champions League | 1Q |  Valletta | 0−0 | 1–1 | 1–1(a) |
| 2Q |  Qarabağ | 0−0 | 0−3 | 0–3 | ||
| UEFA Europa League | 3Q |  Torpedo Kutaisi | 2−0 | 2−5 | 4–5 | |
| 2019–20 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Debrecen | 1−1 | 0−3 | 1−4 |
| 2020–21 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Slavia Sofia | 2–1 | — | 2–1 |
| 2Q |  VfL Wolfsburg | 0−4 | — | 0−4 |
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 194 | FK Kukësi | 6.000 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Current technical staff | |
|---|---|
| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Emiliano Cela |
| Assistant coach(es) | Bekim Kuli |
| Board members | |
| Office | Name |
| President(Administrator) | Naim Halili |
| Sports director | Renato Arapi |
Shahin Berberi (1 July 2010 - 1 July 2012)Armando Cungu (1 July 2012 - 2 October 2013)Naci Şensoy (3 October 2013 - 10 February 2014)Sulejman Starova (11 February 2014 - 31 May 2014)Agim Canaj (2 June 2014 - 20 July 2014)
Artim Šakiri (10 August 2014 - 27 April 2015)
Miodrag Radanović (28 April 2015 - 14 June 2015)
Marcello Troisi (15 June 2015 - 23 November 2015)Klodian Duro (24 November 2015 - 31 May 2016)Hasan Lika (6 June 2016 -22 July 2016)Ernest Gjoka (22 July 2016 – 29 July 2017)Mladen Milinković (30 July 2017 – 22 December 2017)Peter Pacult (3 January 2018 - 13 July 2018)Armando Cungu (13 Jul 2018 - 13 March 2019)Ramadan Shehu (19 March 2019 - 6 April 2019)Ernest Gjoka (7 April 2019 - 19 July 2019)Shpëtim Duro (25 July 2019 - 29 February 2020)Orges Shehi (2 March 2020 - 30 July 2020)Skënder Gega (30 July 2020 - 27 December 2020)Rrahman Hallaçi (28 December 2020 - 25 January 2021)Mirel Josa (25 January 2021 – 5 June 2021)
Diego Longo (6 June 2021 - 26 May 2022)Skënder Gega (28 May 2022 - 9 September 2022)Enkeleid Dobi (9 September 2022 - 11 December 2022)Rrahman Hallaçi (11 December 2022 - 3 September 2023)Stavri Nica (4 September 2023 - 30 January 2024)Emiliano Cela (31 January 2024 - 17 February 2024)Bledar Devolli (18 February 2024 - 4 June 2024)Ilir Spahiu (20 July 2024- 9 September 2024)Emiliano Cela (10 September 2024 - 26 December 2024)Alfred Allamani (4 January 2025 - 2 March 2025)Asuel Dervishaj (2 March 2025 - 5 March 2025)Fatjon Tafaj (6 March 2025 - 25 June 2025)Sadat Pajaziti (9 July 2025 - 30 September 2025)Asuel Dervishaj (1 October 2025 - 6 October 2025)Bledar Devolli (7 October 2025 - 25 November 2025)
