FC Chikhura Sachkhere
Football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Football Club Chikhura Sachkhere, commonly known as Chikhura Sachkhere or simply Chikhura, is a Georgian football club based in Sachkhere.
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| Full name | Football Club Chikhura Sachkhere | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1938 | ||
| Dissolved | 2026 | ||
| Ground | Central Stadium Sachkhere, Georgia | ||
| Capacity | 2,000 | ||
| Chairman | Nugzar Dekanoidze | ||
| Manager | Mirian Mikadze | ||
| League | Regionuli Liga | ||
| 2025 | Regionuli Liga, 13th | ||
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The team currently competes in Regionuli Liga, the fifth tier of the Georgian league system.
History
Founded in 1938, during World War II the club was disbanded, but later they resumed participation in low leagues of the republican championship.[1]
After 2002, Chikhura was for some time financed by the Georgian businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili.[1]
The club spent many years in lower divisions before getting promoted to Umaglesi Liga in 2012. The league gained a stable and decent member, known as a tough rival for championship title candidates. From the outset the club proved they were going to challenge the best teams. In 2013 Chikhura knocked out top flight sides Shukura, Dila and Sioni and reached David Kipiani Cup final.[2] Despite the defeat from Dinamo Tbilisi, they qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League 1st round. This was the first season that Chikhura Sachkhere appeared in European Competition with their first opponent being Liechtenstein's Cup-winners Vaduz.
From now until 2020 the club started regularly taking part in UEFA Europa League competitions, missing out just one season in between. In almost each case this provincial team with relatively negligent financial resources, which played their matches mostly in far-away Tbilisi, could afford to show a fighting spirit against their far stronger opponents. In this regard Chikhura drew attention and respect from Georgian fans during the European campaign regardless of who they supported in the domestic league. According to the statistics, the club achieved better results in away games.[3]
In 2014, Chikhura eliminated Turkish club Bursaspor in the second round of Europa League competition. [4] This remains one of the most memorable successes in the club's history.
In 2016 Chikhura won White Group of the league by finishing six points clear of Dinamo Tbilisi and took part in championship play-offs, where they were beaten by Samtredia. This was the closest point to champion's title the club have ever reached in their history.[5]
The next season Chikhura finally reaped the fruits of their efforts. After reaching the finals or semifinals of the Cup for five successive seasons, they clinched their first title. Goalkeeper Dino Hamzić, who did not concede a single goal during the entire campaign, was named man of the match.[6]
Giorgi Gabedava became another player, who was awarded following the 2018 season. He won in four nominations, including as the best striker of the season and top scorer with the latter shared with Budu Zivzivadze.[7] In the summer the club made headlines yet again, this time after their victory over Beitar Jerusalem and a home draw with Maribor Ljubljana.
2019 marked the beginning of the crisis. While thrashed by Aberdeen in Europa league, Chikhura failed to achieve anything noteworthy either in Erovnuli Liga or the Cup and with several key players departed, head coach Samson Pruidze left the club. The former Torpedo Kutaisi right-back had trained Chikhura for twelve seasons, an absolute record in national football history since the independence, which made him a legend among this generation of Georgian managers.[8]
In 2020 Chikhura played all home games in Tbilisi and in the worst result in years finished in the drop-zone. Although the club avoided an automatic relegation, they suffered a defeat in both play-off games from in-form Samgurali.[9] Following this season defender Shota Kashia, who had spent eight seasons in Chikhura, including last six years as a captain, parted ways with the club.
Chikhura's woes stretched into the next four years, when they ended up at rock bottom of second, third and fourth leagues.[10]
Statistics
Domestic
Season League Pos. Pl. W D L GF GA P Cup Europe Notes Manager 1993–94 Pirveli liga West 13 26 3 2 21 16 70 11 Relegated 1995–96 19 38 10 3 25 62 124 33 Relegated 2001–02 Regionuli Liga West 2002–03 Promoted 2003–04 Pirveli liga 6 30 15 5 10 41 29 50 Round of 32 2004–05 8 30 12 7 11 38 35 43 Round of 32 2005–06 1 34 24 6 4 87 34 78 Round of 16 Promoted 2006–07 Umaglesi Liga 12 26 5 6 15 13 46 21 Quarter-finals Relegated 2007–08 Pirveli liga East 5 27 12 7 8 40 37 43 Round of 32 2008–09 2 30 19 7 4 56 21 64 Round of 16 Samson Pruidze 2009–10 Pirveli liga 6 28 14 7 7 41 28 49 Quarter-finals 2010–11 4 32 20 6 6 58 25 66 Round of 16 promotion play-off, lost 2011–12 1 14 8 2 4 25 15 26 Round of 16 Promoted 2012–13 Umaglesi Liga 4 32 17 6 9 49 38 57 Runner-up 2013–14 4 32 13 7 12 56 50 46 Runner-up Europa League 2nd QR 2014–15 5 30 13 7 10 39 36 46 Semi-finals Europa League 3rd QR 2015–16 4 30 17 6 7 53 26 57 Semi-finals 2016 2 14 9 3 2 29 15 30 Semi-finals Europa League 1st QR 2017 Erovnuli Liga 5 36 17 4 15 47 54 55 Winner Europa League 1st QR 2018 4 36 19 7 10 54 33 64 Round of 16 Europa League 2nd QR 2019 5 36 12 11 13 48 44 47 Round of 16 Europa League 2nd QR 2020 9 18 3 4 11 18 40 13 Semi-finals Play-off, relegated Vakhtang Turmanidze 2021 Erovnuli Liga 2 10 36 2 4 30 24 98 10 Round of 16 Relegated Vakhtang Turmanidze, Mirian Mikadze 2022 Liga 3 16 30 0 1 29 19 119 1 Second round Vladimer Zabakhidze 2023 16 30 2 1 27 23 101 7 First round Relegated 2024 Liga 4 15 28 2 0 26 20 117 6 First round Relegated Mirian Mikadze 2025 Regionuli Liga 13 30 7 4 19 41 107 25 Preliminary round
European competitions
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Europa League | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 19 | 26 |
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Vaduz |
0–0 | 1–1 |
| 2Q |  Thun |
1–3 | 0–2 | ||
| 2014–15 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Horizont Turnovo |
3–1 | 1–0 |
| 2Q |  Bursaspor |
0–0 | 0–0 [a] | ||
| 3Q |  Neftchi Baku |
2–3 | 0–0 | ||
| 2016–17 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Zimbru Chișinău |
2–3 | 1–0 |
| 2017–18 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Rheindorf Altach |
0–1 | 1–1 |
| 2018–19 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Beitar Jerusalem |
0–0 | 2–1 |
| 2Q |  Maribor |
0–0 | 0–2 | ||
| 2019–20 | UEFA Europa League | 1Q |  Fola Esch |
2–1 | 2–1 |
| 2Q |  Aberdeen |
1–1 | 0–5 |
- Notes
Honours
- Erovnuli Liga
- Runners-up (1): 2016
- Georgian Cup
- Georgian Super Cup
- Winners (1): 2013
- Pirveli Liga
Stadium
The team's home ground is the 2,000-seat Central stadium, although in recent years they played home games at Ivantsminda stadium, situated in six km from the district center.