FC Matchakhela is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in the town of

Khelvachauri Khelvachauri ( ka, ხელვაჩაური ) is a village in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara in the southwest of Georgia, southeast of the regional capital Batumi and situated on the right bank of the Chorokhi River. Between 1968 and 2 ...

. They currently compete in Liga 3, the third tier of the

national league system The National League System comprises the six levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the English Football League. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association. The National League System has a h ...

History

Matchakhela were founded оn the basis of Khelvachauri Sport School in 2011. Amiran Gogitidze, the first head coach, guided the club to

Meore Liga Liga 3, organized by Georgian Football Federation since 1990, is the third division of professional football in Georgia. Until 2017, when the current name was introduced, it was known as Meore Liga (the Second league). Structure and league syste ...

, which they won with automatic promotion. Matchakhela were engaged in inter-Adjarian rivalry with Dinamo Batumi for a second promotion place to

Umaglesi Liga The Erovnuli Liga ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა - lit. National League) is the top division of professional football in Georgia. Since 1990, it has been organized by the Professional Football League of Georgia and Georgian Football F ...

for most of the next season, in which eventually the latter prevailed. Overall, the 3rd place taken in 2014 in Liga 2 has been the club's highest point reached in Georgian leagues. The team concluded the 2014/15 season comfortably in mid-table, but a year later entered a period of instability. Struggling the whole season, they eventually lost a battle for survival. The 2016 season was transitional in all Georgian football leagues into Spring-Autumn system with a sharp reduction of clubs in each division. Matchakhela failed to remain in the third tier and thus suffered double relegation in successive seasons. Although they managed to climb back to Liga 3 the next year, in 2018 the team finished bottom of the league. Matchakhela spent two seasons in

Regionuli Liga Regionuli Liga (Georgian: რეგიონული ლიგა), run by Georgian Football Federation since 1990, is the fifth and lowest division of the Georgian league system after Erovnuli Liga, Erovnuli Liga 2, Liga 3 and Liga 4. Its parti ...

before they won promotion to Liga 4 for 2021. After two more years, they successfully concluded their league campaign under Avtandil Kunchulia and moved back into the third tier. In 2023, the team ended up in the drop zone, but due to the demotion of another club to Liga 4, Matchakhela managed to retain their place in the third division.

Seasons

Squad

''As of 19 May 2023'' (C)

Honours

•

Pirveli Liga The Georgian Erovnuli Liga 2 ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა 2; ), organized since 1990 by GFF, serves as the second division of professional football in Georgia. Under the current name the league was introduced for the 2017 season ...

: Third place (1): 2013-14, Group B •

: Winners (1): 2012-13 • Liga 4 :Third place (1): 2022 •

(West) :Runners-up (2): 2017, 2020

Stadium

Matchakhela hosts home games at Akhalsopeli Central stadium, which has the capacity of 1,000 seats.

Name

The name derives from

Machakheli Machakheli ( ka, მაჭახელი, ''Mač’axeli''; tr, Maçahel) is a historical geographical area in Adjara and long valley along the river Machakhlistskali between Turkey and Georgia. There are 23 settled villages in this valley. For ...

, a geographical area near the border between

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

References

External links

On SoccerwayFC Matchakhela Khelvachauri Results on FlashscorePage on Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matchakhela Khelvachauri Football clubs in Georgia (country) 2011 establishments in Georgia (country)