FC Telavi
Georgian football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
FC Telavi (Georgian: საფეხბურთო კლუბი თელავი) is a Georgian professional football club based in the city of Telavi, Kakheti. Following the 2025 season, they were relegated to Erovnuli Liga 2, the second tier of Georgian football.
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| Full name | Football Club Telavi | ||
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| Founded | July 19, 2016 | ||
| Ground | Givi Chokheli Stadium Telavi, Georgia | ||
| Capacity | 12,000 | ||
| Chairman | Soso Grishikashvili | ||
| Manager | Giorgi Mikadze | ||
| League | Erovnuli Liga 2 | ||
| 2025 | 8th of 10 (relegated) | ||
| Website | fctelavi | ||
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In the early 2020s, Telavi spent successive six seasons in the top division.
While the municipal stadium named after Givi Chokheli awaits a thorough reconstruction, Telavi use Kavkasioni Arena as their home ground.
History
First steps
The football club was founded in 2016 by former football players Irakli Vashakidze, Soso Grishikashvili and Aleksandre Amisulashvili.[1] Telavi successfully completed their first season in Regionuli Liga in 2016 and earned a place in III division. The next year they finished 2nd in Group White and in promotion play-offs defeated Guria 3–2 on aggregate.[2]
In 2018, Telavi took a foothold in Liga 2 coming 5th in the final table. In David Kipiani Cup Telavi eliminated four opponents, including Dila Gori, and reached the semifinals where they lost to Torpedo Kutaisi, the future champions of the competition.[3]
The next year they booked another promotion play-off, beat Rustavi in both games and advanced to the Erovnuli Liga.[4] With this result the team achieved three promotions within the four seasons. Also, after a twelve-year pause the first-tier football finally returned to the capital of Kakheti.
In Erovnuli Liga
Following this promotion, nine new players, including four foreigners, strengthened the squad for 2020.[5] During their very first season the club was widely praised for decent performance. Having lost just two games out of 18, FC Telavi finished in the 6th place.[6]
The next season began poorly. After being winless for 17 games Telavi seemed a primary candidate for relegation, which resulted in the exit of manager. Starting from mid-June the team experienced some revival, producing an unbeaten run for seven matches, including five wins. They secured six more victories in the last quarter of the season, leapfrogged the rivals and accomplished a great escape. With this achievement Giorgi Mikadze claimed the Manager of Erovnuli Liga Round 4 (October–December) award[7] and received a nomination for Coach of the Season.[8]
Despite a promising forecast to the season, things went awry in early 2023. By mid-season, with the club sitting bottom of the table, fourteen players had been released in a summer overhaul preceded by departure of two managers. Instead, more than a dozen of new players was brought led by Irakli Rukhadze, the top goalscorer for three consecutive seasons a few years earlier.[9] Тhese changes brought an immediate impact. After the summer break Telavi won six of their eight games and climbed out of the relegation zone. As a result, when the Erovnuli Liga summed up part 3 (rounds 19–28) of the season, Giorgi Mikadze was recognized as best manager with three players - Begić, Guti and Rukhadze - named in the best eleven of the league.[10]
Starting from 2023, Telavi fought three successive relegation battles against their 2nd division opponents. Their third playoff ended in a penalty shootout defeat to Meshakhte which resulted in their first demotion from an upper league.
Statistics
Seasons
Year Division Pos P W D L GF GA Pts Cup 2017 3rd, White Group 2/10 18 10 5 3 30 18 35 1⁄32 finals Promotion Group 3/10[a]↑ 18 12 3 3 56 15 39 2018 5/10 36 12 12 12 45 43 48 1⁄2 finals 2019 3/10[b]↑ 36 19 6 11 70 36 63 1⁄8 finals 2020 6/10 18 4 12 2 21 14 24 1⁄4 finals 2021 6/10 36 12 8 16 35 53 44 1⁄8 finals 2022 7/10 36 8 15 13 29 36 39 1⁄8 finals 2023 8/10[c] 36 10 7 19 34 62 37 1⁄8 finals 2024 9/10[d] 36 8 10 18 32 43 34 1⁄4 finals 2025 8/10[e] ↓ 36 9 9 18 36 59 36 1⁄16 finals
Top goalscorers
| Season | Div. | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2nd |  Giorgi Nikabadze | 10 |
| 2019 | 2nd | Irakli Rukhadze | 16 |
| 2020 | 1st | Irakli Rukhadze | 5 |
| 2021 | 1st | Irakli Rukhadze | 7 |
| 2022 | 1st | Imeda Ashortia Giorgi Kvernadze |
3 |
| 2023 | 1st | Imeda Ashortia Irakli Rukhadze |
6 |
| 2024 | 1st | Tornike Morchiladze  Dejan Georgijević |
6 |
| 2025 | 1st | Mikheil Basheleishvili  Inigo Martin |
5 |
Managerial history
| Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Giorgi Dekanosidze |
2017 | 2018 |
 Denys Khomutov |
2019 | 2019 |
| Revaz Gotsiridze |
2019 | 2021 |
| Giorgi Mikadze |
2021 | 2021 |
| Giorgi Chelidze |
2022 | 2022 |
| Giorgi Tsetsadze |
2022 | 2023 |
 Vardan Minasyan |
2023 | 2023 |
| Giorgi Mikadze (2) |
2023 | 2023 |
 Georgios Kostis |
2023 | 2023 |
 Oleg Vasilenko |
2024 | 2024 |
| Armen Adamyan |
2024 | 2024 |
 Pambos Christodoulou |
2024 | 2024 |
| Valery Gagua |
2025 | 2025 |
| Giorgi Mikadze (3) |
2026 |
Current squad
As of 4 September, 2025[11]
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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Management
Ownership
The club is governed by shareholders. Currently, 33% of the share belongs to chairman Soso Grishikashvili while the rest have been purchased by Armenian businessmen Vardan Hakopian and Tigran Hakobian.[12]
Telavi received the first Armenian investment in March 2023.[13]
Coaching positions
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Giorgi Mikadze |
| Assistant coach | |
| Fitness coach | |
| Goalkeeping coach | Bukhu Odikadze |
| First-team analyst | Andro Giorgobiani |