AF Elbasani
Albanian football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AF Elbasani (Albanian: Akademia e Futbollit Elbasani), is an Albanian professional football club based in Elbasan. The club competes in Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. Their home ground is Elbasan Arena.
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| Full name | Akademia e Futbollit Elbasani | ||
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| Nickname | Tigrat | ||
| Founded | 2 August 2021 | ||
| Stadium | Elbasan Arena | ||
| Capacity | 12,800 | ||
| Owner | Bashkia Elbasan | ||
| President | Kujtim Llupa | ||
| Manager | Ivan Gvozdenović | ||
| League | Kategoria Superiore | ||
| 2024–25 | Kategoria Superiore, 5th | ||
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History
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
- Kategoria e Parë
- Champions (1): 2023–24
- Kategoria e Tretë
- Champions (1): 2021-22
Recent seasons
| 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 7 Emiljano Musta 7 |
| 2025–26 | Kategoria Superiore | — | — | — | ||||||||||
Players
Current squad
- As of 31 January 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
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Staff
| 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 |
| Marenglen Çoku | Administrator |
| Armand Memetaj | Team Manager |
| Kristo Kristo | Marketing Director |
List of managers
Gentian Stojku (2 Aug 2021–11 Apr 2023)- Eriol Merxha (12 Apr 2023 – 6 Jun 2023)
- Nevil Dede (7 Jun 2023– 1 Jul 2024)
Roberto Bordin (8 Jul 2024– 5 Dec 2024)
Ivan Gvozdenović (5 Dec 2024– )