The 1930 Albanian Championship was the first edition of the Albanian National Championship, which ran from 6 April until 6 July 1930. It was the first-ever official football competition in Albania run by the newly formed Albanian Football Association. The National Championship ( sq, Kampionati Kombëtar) was only one of three such tournaments organized during that year by the AFA, the other two being the Youth Championship ( sq, Kampionati i Nxënësve), and the Military Championship ( sq, Kampionati Ushtarak). All three championships were under the sponsorship of Princess Myzejen Zogu. The six teams participating in the tournament were Urani,

Teuta Teuta (Illyrian languages, Illyrian: *''Teutana'', 'mistress of the people, queen'; grc, Τεύτα; lat, Teuta) was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC. Following the death ...

Skënderbeu , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

Bashkimi Shkodran Bashkimi (Albanian for "unity") may refer to: Name *Bashkim, male personal name Newspapers * ''Bashkimi'' (Democratic Front newspaper), founded 1943 * ''Bashkimi'' (PPSHR newspaper), organ of the Reorganised Party of Labour of Albania (PPSHR) Po ...

, Sportklub Tirana and Sportklub Vlora, who were to play a ten-game format, whereby each team would host each of their five rivals once with two points awarded for a win and one point awarded for a drawn game. The two teams with the most points at the end of the regular season of the competition would then enter a championship playoff where they would play each other twice and the champions would be crowned based on the aggregate score of the home and away ties, however this playoff was not actually played due to forfeit. Sportklub Tirana were declared the inaugural champions of Albania following two technical victories over

in the championship playoffs, taking their seasonal total to seven wins, four draws and one loss.

Teams

Teams by locations

Overview

The competition was the first official national football competition to be held in Albania and it featured six sides from across Albania, which were Urani,

, Sportklub Tirana and Sportklub Vlora. Each team played each other twice during two phases, and the top two ranked teams entered the championship playoff which would have been a two-game playoff decided on the aggregate score for the championship title. Each win during the regular season was worth two points, with a draw worth one point and a loss worth none. The first phase was held between 6 April and 4 May, and the second phase was held between 11 May and 22 June. The playoff finals were planned on 22 June and 6 July, but they did not take place due to Skënderbeu's forfeit of both games. Both games were awarded 2-0 to Sportklub Tirana thus crowning them the first champions of Albania. The very first game of the first Albanian championship was between Bashkimi Shkodran and SK Tirana, played in 6 April 1930 in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

. It ended with a 3-2 victory for the Shkoder team after a spectacular game.

Qazim Dervishi Qazim Dervishi (10 June 1908 – 19 January 1994) was the first Albanian international referee and a talented athlete and footballer. He was born in 1908 in the city of Shkodër in a noble family of the time. In his honour the sports arena o ...

, Paç Koliqi,

Gjon Kici Gjon (definite form: ''Gjoni'') is an Albanian male given name, clan, surname and onomastic element. As given name Etymology and history ''Gjon'' as a given name is a form of the English name John. It is the name of the apostle Saint John in Alb ...

scored for the Shkodër team, whereas

Rexhep Maçi Rexhep Maçi (1912–1980) was an Albanian football player who played for SK Tirana during the 1930 season, which was the first ever championship in Albanian football history, where he won the Kategoria superiore and where he also won the first e ...

and

Hilmi Kosova Hilmi ( ar, حلمي) is a masculine Arabic given name, it may refer to: * Hilmi Esat Bayındırlı (born 1962), Turkish*American para-skier *Hilmi Güler (born 1946), Turkish politician and metallurgical engineer * Hilmi İşgüzar (born 1929), Tu ...

scored for SK Tirana. In that first week Skënderbeu lost in Vlora 0-2, in a game directed by an Italian referee, Carlo Lorenzo, whereas in Elbasan, Urani took over Teuta Durrës, 1-0.

League standings

Note: 'Bashkimi Shkodran' is Vllaznia, 'Urani' is

KS Elbasani Klubi i Futbollit Elbasani is an Albanian professional football club based in the city of Elbasan, that last competed in the Kategoria e Dytë, the third tier of football in the country. History The club was formed in 1913 as Klubi Futbollit ...

and 'Sportklub Vlora' is

Flamurtari Flamurtari FC is a professional football club based in Vlorë, Albania. The club plays in the Kategoria e Parë, which is the second tier of football in the country. Founded in 1923, the club is one of the oldest in Albania, and it is also on ...

Championship Playoff

The Championship Playoff, scheduled for June 29 and July 6, was scratched and

KF Tirana Klubi i Futbollit Tirana (KF Tirana) is an Albanian football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana. The men's football club is part of the multi-disciplinary sports club SK Tirana, and is the most successful in Albania, having won 54 ...

was awarded the inaugural

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n championship as

were unable to field a team for those matches.

Results

Season statistics

Scoring

* Largest winning margin: 4 goals **

4-0 Urani ** Urani 0-4 Sportklub Tirana * Highest scoring game: 6 goals ** Sportklub Tirana 2-4

** Sportklub Tirana 3-3

* Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 4 goals **

4-0 Urani ** Urani 0-4 Sportklub Tirana ** Sportklub Tirana 2-4

* Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 2 goals ** Sportklub Tirana 2-4

** Sportklub Tirana 3-2

2-3 Sportklub Tirana

Top scorers

*''Incomplete: only statistics from Sportklub Tirana, Skënderbeu and Bashkimi Shkodran are recorded''

Team sheets

SK Tirana

Rudolf Gurashi, Abdullah Shehri, Irfan Gjinali, Xhelal Kashari, Vasil Kajano, Gjon Sabati, Llazar Miha, Mark Gurashi, Bexhet Jolldashi, Shefqet Ndroqi, Isuf Dashi, Adem Karapici, Hysen Kusi, Mustafa Begolli, Hilmi Kosova,

Emil Hajnali Emil Hajnali was an Albanian football player who played for SK Tirana during the 1930s, where he won the Kategoria superiore five times in just seven years and where he also won the first ever golden boot in Albanian history after scoring 3 goals ...

, Rexhep Maci and

Selman Stërmasi Selman Stërmasi (9 May 1908 – 9 October 1976) was an Albanian football player and coach who was an instrumental figure in the early history of KF Tirana. He is generally considered to be one of the club's greatest figures and KF Tirana along w ...

as player-manager.

Skënderbeu

Klani Marjani, S. Grabocka, A. Çani, S. Peristeri, M. Sheko, Y. Tomçe, V. Karoli, Xh. Dishnica,

Aristotel Samsuri Aristotel Samsuri was a former Albanian football player who played for Skënderbeu Korçë between 1930 and 1940, where he won the 1933 National Championship and the golden boot in 1931 after scoring 9 league goals. Following his retirement from ...

, Anton Mazreku, S. Kandili, Vaso Polena.

Bashkimi Shkodran

H. Llukaçeviç, N. Luka, H. Staka, M. Halili, Sh. Llukaçeviç, A. Paçrami,

, Paç Koliqi, R. Krasniqi, Sh. Koçiçi, L. Radoja, Gjon Kiçi

References

Sources

Albania - List of final tables (RSSSF)
*_{Dead Link} * _{Dead Link} * {{1930–31 in European Football (UEFA) Kategoria Superiore seasons 1