Wikipedia - FC Shukura Kobuleti

FC Shukura Kobuleti, commonly known as Shukura Kobuleti or simply Shukura, is a Georgian football club from Kobuleti, the second largest city in Adjara.

After the 2023 season, the team was first relegated to Erovnuli Liga 2, the second tier of Georgian football, and later expelled to Liga 4. But they withdrew without playing a single match there.

History

Established in 1968, Shukura played eight seasons in the Soviet third division.

After an independent Georgian league was formed in 1990, the club took part in II league competition before getting promoted to Umaglesi Liga for 1993/94. After one season, though, they lost a relegation battle.

A decade later the team managed to earn another promotion after 2003/04, but facing severe financial problems, Shukura was unable to play in the first tier.

In 2011/12, Shukura won the third division and advanced to II league. They had another successful season in 2013/14, when the club returned to the top flight and also for the first time reached the semifinals of David Kipiani Cup after Umaglesi Liga clubs WIT Georgia and Merani had been eliminated.

In October 2019, Giorgi Shashiashvili took the helm of Shukura and a year later led the club to successful completion of their promotion goal, although after one season the club returned to league 2.

The team came close to the Cup final in 2021. Having initially beaten Dinamo Tbilisi, Shukura was ahead of Samgurali three minutes before the stoppage time, but still lost a dramatic five-goal thriller. In 2022, Shukura sealed the first place in Liga 2 for the third time in a decade and claimed the champion's record-breaking fifth title in the history of the second division. In the same year, development company Alliance Group Holding was confirmed as a majority stakeholder (83%) of the club with its chairman Ayet Kukava taking over the remaining share.

Despite large-scale pre-season changes, Shukura were faced with a turbulent period back in the Erovnuli Liga in 2023. Unable to play at the home ground during the entire season, they were handed a transfer ban at some point and, besides, deducted six points for financial issues. With six matches still to play, Shukura were officially relegated in October. In January 2024, the Football Federation announced that due to Shukura's failure to meet licensing requirements the club would be demoted to the 4th tier.

FC Shukura, et georgisk fotballag, ble stiftet i 1976 og holder til i Kobuleti. Laget spiller for tiden i Georgias nasjonale liga, Erovnuli Liga. Shukuras hjemmebane er Kobuleti Stadion, som har en kapasitet på 5 000 tilskuere.

Gjennom sin historie har FC Shukura vunnet to georgiske cuper, i 1998 og 2001. De har også vært finalister i den georgiske supercupen to ganger, i 1999 og 2001. I internasjonale konkurranser har Shukura deltatt i UEFA-cupen og UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Noen bemerkelsesverdige tidligere FC Shukura-spillere inkluderer:

* Kakha Kaladze, som spilte for AC Milan og det georgiske landslaget
* Jaba Kankava, som spiller for Spartak Moskva og det georgiske landslaget
* Levan Kobiashvili, som spilte for Schalke 04 og det georgiske landslaget
* Giorgi Loria, som spiller for Olympiakos og det georgiske landslaget

FC Shukura er et av de mest suksessrike fotballagene i Georgia, og de har en lidenskapelig fanskare. Laget er kjent for sin offensive spillestil og sin evne til å produsere talentfulle spillere.