Kategoria Superiore
Albanian football league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kategoria Superiore (transl. Superior Category), also known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons, is a top professional league for men's association football clubs in the Albanian football league system. 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 (playing each team twice at home and twice away).
| |
| Organising body | Albanian Football Federation (FSHF) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 6 June 1930 |
| Country | Albania |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of clubs | 10 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Kategoria e Parë |
| Domestic cup(s) | Albanian Cup Albanian Supercup |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Conference League |
| Current champions | Egnatia (3rd title) (2025–26) |
| Most championships | Tirana (26 titles) |
| Top scorer | Vioresin Sinani (207 goals)[a] |
| Broadcaster(s) | RTSH |
| Website | fshf.org/abissnet-superiore |
| Current: 2026–27 Kategoria Superiore | |
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 ten clubs have won the title: Tirana (29), Dinamo Tirana (18), Partizani (17), Vllaznia (9), Skënderbeu (8), Egnatia (3), Elbasani (2), Teuta (2), Flamurtari (1) and Kukësi (1). The current champions are Egnatia, who won their 3rd title in 2025–26.
History
Early years
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 with two 45-minute halves was played 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 | N/a |
| 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 proper stage. KF Skenderbeu (2017–18) Europa League
Competition format
Since the 2026–27 season, the league consists of 10 clubs, who face each other three times in a season for a total of 27 matches. At the completion of the three phases, the teams are divided into two groups, based on the final ranking. The points accumulated during the regular phase are halved before the start of the play-off and play-out phases. The six teams ranked in the first places qualify for the play-off phase, where they play matches in a home-and-away system, with a total of 10 weeks of competition. The four teams ranked in the last places (from 7th place to 10th place) will participate in the play-out phase, where they will also play in a home-and-away system, in a total of 9 weeks of competition. The lowest-placed team is relegated to the Kategoria e Parë, while two highest-placed teams of the Kategoria e Parë are promoted in their place. The 9th ranked team qualifies to the play-off round, which they play against the Kategoria e Parë play-off loser.
Clubs (2026–27)
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Current members
The following teams are competing in the Kategoria Superiore during the 2026–27 season.[8]
| Club | Position in 2026–27 |
|---|---|
| Dinamo City | 4th |
| Egnatia | 1st |
| Elbasani | 2nd |
| Laçi | 1st (Kategoria e Parë) |
| Partizani | 5th |
| Skënderbeu | 2nd (Kategoria e Parë) |
| Teuta | 8th |
| Tirana | 6th |
| Vora | 7th |
| Vllaznia | 3rd |
List of champions
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
All time table
The all-time table of football clubs that have participated in the Kategoria Superiore, prior to the 2025–2026 season. The ranking is based on the total accumulated points by each club. Teams in bold are part of the 2025–26 season.[9] In the all-time table are not included the results in the final four round, introduced by 2024–25 season. Teams in bold are part of 2025–2026 season.
| No. | Club | Apps. | Matches | Wins | Ties | Losses | Goals ± | GDif. | Points | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tirana | 86 | 2204 | 1110 | 583 | 511 | 3573:2012 | +1561 | 3265 | 29 |
| 2 | Partizani | 73 | 1886 | 1130 | 387 | 338 | 3276:1657 | +1619 | 2996 | 17 |
| 3 | Vllaznia | 85 | 2174 | 987 | 529 | 680 | 3406:2234 | +1172 | 2922 | 9 |
| 4 | Teuta | 85 | 2196 | 808 | 632 | 777 | 2189:2445 | -256 | 2546 | 2 |
| 5 | Dinamo | 65 | 1862 | 898 | 512 | 425 | 2916:1689 | +1228 | 2532 | 18 |
| 6 | Flamurtari | 74 | 1942 | 671 | 528 | 743 | 2189:2365 | -176 | 2096 | 1 |
| 7 | Skënderbeu | 68 | 1637 | 548 | 428 | 646 | 1745:1988 | -243 | 1770 | 8 |
| 8 | Elbasani | 65 | 1593 | 513 | 423 | 654 | 1673:2029 | -356 | 1626 | 2 |
| 9 | Besa | 63 | 1575 | 542 | 444 | 589 | 1790:1908 | -118 | 1670 | — |
| 10 | Lushnja | 41 | 1139 | 299 | 326 | 511 | 1069:1559 | -490 | 1046 | — |
| 11 | Laçi | 25 | 819 | 301 | 197 | 321 | 898:985 | -87 | 1042 | — |
| 12 | Luftëtari | 43 | 1132 | 322 | 270 | 550 | 1047:1616 | -569 | 1014 | — |
| 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 | 12 | 419 | 192 | 106 | 115 | 567:412 | +155 | 681 | 1 |
| 17 | Bylis | 18 | 531 | 172 | 142 | 242 | 588:738 | -150 | 654 | — |
| 18 | Kastrioti | 15 | 494 | 155 | 107 | 231 | 469:660 | -191 | 527 | — |
| 19 | Besëlidhja | 22 | 575 | 148 | 167 | 260 | 556:721 | -165 | 497 | — |
| 20 | Egnatia | 6 | 219 | 83 | 59 | 78 | 256:232 | +24 | 301 | 3 |
| 21 | Naftëtari | 16 | 384 | 90 | 109 | 185 | 322:635 | -313 | 289 | — |
| 22 | Shkëndija | 10 | 258 | 68 | 87 | 103 | 217:283 | -66 | 223 | — |
| 23 | Erzeni | 8 | 170 | 37 | 47 | 86 | 169:313 | -144 | 155 | — |
| 24 | Albpetrol | 6 | 167 | 49 | 33 | 85 | 158:259 | -101 | 136 | — |
| 25 | AF Elbasani | 2 | 75 | 30 | 28 | 16 | 93:80 | +13 | 118 | — |
| 26 | Pogradeci | 9 | 210 | 38 | 39 | 133 | 167:466 | -299 | 118 | — |
| 27 | Sopoti | 4 | 112 | 36 | 25 | 51 | 107:150 | -43 | 110 | — |
| 28 | Kamza | 4 | 98 | 23 | 21 | 54 | 72:139 | -67 | 90 | — |
| 29 | Burreli | 5 | 109 | 23 | 23 | 63 | 96:183 | -87 | 77 | — |
| 30 | Luftëtari Tiranë | 5 | 50 | 19 | 7 | 24 | 60:64 | -4 | 45 | — |
| 31 | Vora | 1 | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 39:40 | -1 | 42 | — |
| 32 | Spartaku Tiranë | 3 | 66 | 10 | 17 | 39 | 68:132 | -64 | 37 | — |
| 33 | Spartaku Shkodër | 2 | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 45:82 | -37 | 34 | — |
| 34 | Dinamo Shkodër | 1 | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 46:41 | +5 | 33 | — |
| 35 | Dinamo Durrës | 3 | 40 | 8 | 13 | 19 | 30:71 | -41 | 29 | — |
| 36 | Selenica | 1 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 33:54 | -21 | 27 | — |
| 37 | Gramozi | 1 | 33 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 25:43 | -18 | 26 | — |
| 38 | Kombinati Tiranë | 2 | 30 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 28:39 | -11 | 25 | — |
| 39 | Korabi | 2 | 58 | 3 | 13 | 42 | 21:116 | -95 | 21 | — |
| 40 | Tërbuni | 1 | 36 | 4 | 6 | 26 | 22:81 | -59 | 18 | — |
| 41 | Dinamo Vlorë | 1 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 19:48 | -29 | 16 | — |
| 42 | Iliria | 1 | 30 | 7 | 2 | 21 | 22:64 | -42 | 16 | — |
| 43 | 24 Maj Përmet | 1 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 9:44 | -35 | 13 | — |
| 44 | Ylli Shkodër | 1 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 29:15 | +14 | 11 | — |
| 45 | Liria Korçë | 1 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 16:15 | +1 | 8 | — |
| 46 | Studenti | 1 | 26 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 9:43 | -34 | 8 | — |
| 47 | Spartaku Korçë | 1 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 10:45 | -35 | 5 | — |
UEFA rankings
Current rankings (2026–27)
UEFA Country Ranking for league participation in 2026–27 European football season (Previous year rank in italics).
- 42
(42) 
NIFL Premiership - 43
(44) 
TOPLYGA - 44
(40) 
Liechtenstein Football Cup - 45 (48)
Meistriliiga - 46 (47)
Kategoria Superiore - 47 (53)
Montenegrin First League - 48 (43)
Luxembourg National Division - 49 (52)
Cymru Premier - 50 (46)
Erovnuli Liga
