FC Iberia 1999
Georgian football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
FC Iberia 1999, formerly known as FC Saburtalo, is a Georgian football club,[1] based in the Saburtalo District of Tbilisi, the capital of the country.
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| Full name | Football Club Iberia 1999 | ||
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| Nickname | Red Eagles | ||
| Founded | 20 August 1999 | ||
| Ground | David Petriashvili Stadium Tbilisi, Georgia | ||
| Capacity | 2,130 | ||
| Chairman | Tariel Khechikashvili | ||
| Manager | Guga Nergadze | ||
| League | Erovnuli Liga | ||
| 2025 | Erovnuli Liga, 1st of 10 (champions) | ||
| Website | fciberia1999 | ||
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Тhey have been the most decorated Georgian team since 2017 when the Erovnuli Liga was launched.
History
Saburtalo was founded on 20 August 1999, in Tbilisi.[2] In 2005, the club was bought by Iberia Business Group and its owner Tariel Khechikashvili, who later became the Minister of Sport & Youth Affairs of Georgia.
Following the 2014–15 season, Saburtalo won their respective Pirveli Liga group with a nineteen-point margin and advanced to the Umaglesi Liga.[3]
In 2018, Saburtalo who had not won any silverware during the previous three seasons in the top-flight, claimed the champion's title for the first time under coach Gia Chiabrishvili.[4]
A year later, they successfully completed their cup campaign after a 3–1 win over Locomotive in the final. In 2020, Saburtalo beat champions Dinamo Tbilisi to lift the Georgian Super Cup.[5]
Next seasons saw the team winning two more cup trophies and another league title with 2022 being the only year when Saburtalo failed to win any domestic tournament.
Team won title for the second time under coach Levan Korgalidze.
Statistics
By season
Season League Pos. Pl. W D L GF GA P Cup Europe Manager as Saburalo 2013–14 Erovnuli Liga 2 8 26 9 5 12 38 34 32 DNP Temur Shalamberidze 2014–15 Erovnuli Liga 2 1↑ 36 28 3 5 92 25 82 First round Giorgi Chiabrishvili 2015–16 Erovnuli Liga 8 30 11 6 13 47 61 39 First round 2016 Erovnuli Liga 3[a] 12 5 4 3 17 12 19 First round Pablo Franco 2017 Erovnuli Liga 4 36 18 6 12 61 42 60 Fourth round Giorgi Chiabrishvili 2018 Erovnuli Liga 1 36 24 7 5 64 29 79 Third round 2019 Erovnuli Liga 3 36 21 7 8 67 36 70 Winners Champions League - 2QR
Europa League - 3QR2020 Erovnuli Liga 5 18 7 6 5 28 21 27 Semi-final Europa League - 1QR Temur Shalamberidze
Levan Korgalidze2021 Erovnuli Liga 4 36 15 8 13 52 40 57 Winners Khvicha Shubitidze 2022 Erovnuli Liga 6 36 13 8 15 51 49 47 Semi-final Conference League - 2QR Lasha Nozadze 2023 Erovnuli Liga 6 36 14 9 13 58 49 51 Winners Omari Tetradze
Giorgi Mikadzeas Iberia 1999 2024 Erovnuli Liga 1 36 23 6 7 74 46 75 Round of 16 Conference League - 3QR Giorgi Mikadze
Levan Korgalidze2025 Erovnuli Liga 1 36 24 8 4 60 24 80 Runners-up Champions League - 1QR Levan Korgalidze
Gia Geguchadze
Guga Nergadze
- Lost Bronze play-offs to Dinamo Tbilisi
European record
Saburtalo made their debut in a UEFA competition in 2019 after being paired with Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League 1st qualifying round. They cruised to an away 3–0 victory,[6] although survived an early scare in the return leg after conceding three goals within the opening ten minutes.[7]
The team has twice reached the 3rd round of UEFA competitions.
- As of 29 July 2025
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Agg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR |  Sheriff Tiraspol |
1–3 | 3–0 | 4−3 |
| 2QR |  Dinamo Zagreb |
0−2 | 0−3 | 0−5 | ||
| UEFA Europa League | 3QR |  Ararat-Armenia |
0−2 | 2−1 | 2−3 | |
| 2020–21 | UEFA Europa League | 1QR |  Apollon Limassol |
N/a | 1–5 | N/a |
| 2022–23 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 1QR |  Partizani |
0–1 | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | 1−1 (5–4 p) |
| 2QR |  FCSB |
1–0 | 2–4 | 3–4 | ||
| 2024–25 | UEFA Europa Conference League | 2QR | Partizani |
2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| 3QR |  İstanbul Başakşehir |
0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | ||
| 2025–26 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR |  Malmö FF |
1–3 | 1–3 | 2−6 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League | 2QR |  FCI Levadia |
2–2 (a.e.t.) | 0–1 | 2–3 | |
| 2026–27 | UEFA Champions League | 1QR |
- Notes
- QR: Qualifying round
Overall record
| Competition | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 25.00 |
| UEFA Europa League | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 33.33 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 33.33 |
| Total | 16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 25 | −12 | 31.25 |
Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.
Players
- As of 11 March, 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.
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Honours
| Type | Competition | Titles | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | Erovnuli Liga | 3 | 2018, 2024, 2025 |
| Erovnuli Liga 2 | 1 | 2014–15 | |
| Georgian Cup | 3 | 2019, 2021, 2023 | |
| Georgian Super Cup | 1 | 2020 | |
Other teams
The reserve team currently competes in the 2nd division after a seven-year continuous tenure in Liga 3.
The U19s won their youth league in 2016 and 2022, while the U17 team secured three titles in the early 2020s.
Saburtalo has one of the top football academies in the country.[2]
Stadium
The club has a full-size stadium, called Bendela, with the capacity of 1,800 spectators.[2]
Notable players
Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Iberia 1999.
Name
Saburtalo is the name of one of Tbilisi's districts where the team academy and Bendela are located, while the term Iberia, a synonym for Kartli, stems from an ancient kingdom which existed until the Early Middle Ages.
On 27 February 2024, the team's name was changed to Iberia 1999.[8][9]