Klubi i Futbollit Besa is a professional Albanian

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

based in

Kavajë Kavajë ( , sq-definite, Kavaja) is a municipality centrally located in the Western Lowlands region of Albania, in Tirana County. It borders Durrës to the north , Tiranë to the east and Rrogozhinë to the south . To the west lies the Adriati ...

. It is currently competing in

Kategoria e Parë Kategoria e Parë is the second level of professional football in Albania, behind the Kategoria Superiore and above the Kategoria e Dytë. Format Kategoria e Parë was founded in 1930. It is made up of 14 teams. The 2 best ranked teams gain prom ...

, the 2nd tier of Albanian football. They play their home games at

Besa Stadium Besa Stadium ( sq, Stadiumi Besa) is a football stadium in Kavajë, Albania. It is the home ground of Besa Kavajë. The stadium has a full seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in term ...

History

Early years (1925–1944)

Klubi Sportiv Besa was founded on 25 October 1925 originally as "Shoqata Kulturore-Sportive Adriatiku" which was a multi-disciplinary sports club based in

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 ...

. In 1930, the club changed its name to "Sport Klub Kavajë". That same year the football team played its first ever friendly at Mali i Robit,

Golem A golem ( ; he, , gōlem) is an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...

against an amateur team formed of students from the Albanian-American Institute of Agriculture. A short time later, SK Kavajë joined the newly formed

Albanian Football Association The Albanian Football Association ( sq, Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. The association is based in Tirana, Albania. It organises the national football leagues of the Albanian Superliga, the F ...

and participated in the 1930 second tier championship where they would repeat their participation for the next two seasons before joining the top tier

in 1933. In their first top flight championship SK Kavajë finished last in the 5 team league, losing 7 games and winning just one, a 2–1 victory over local rivals

Teuta Durrës Teuta ( 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 of her spouse Agr ...

In 1935, the club took the shape of an organized one under the leadership of chairman Irfan Berati. The vice-chairman was Fehmi Kazazi, the secretary was Dervish Cara, the committee members were Sulejman Karkini and Reshat Asllani, the cashier was Rasim Sulejmani and Dhori Fora was in charge of the trade of craft. The following year, the club was renamed "Besa Kavajë" also known as "Besa Sport Klub", derived from the name Besa, the Albanian cultural precept meaning "to keep the promise" and "word of honor". During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, many members of the club lost their lives as soldiers, including Mehmet Babamusta, Adil Alushi, Sami Karriqi and Millan Radosalja. The activities of the club became very limited and support came primarily from the local residents of the city. There were no official competitions held in Albania at this time.

Rise (1945–1965)

But between 1945 and 1950, the club experienced a revival which was due to young talented players coming through the ranks of the youth teams, including the likes of

Qamil Teliti Qamil Teliti (9 July 1922 – 7 December 1977), nicknamed ''Tarzani'', was an Albanian footballer known for being one of the most important players of the Albania team that won the Balkan Cup in 1946. Along with Loro Boriçi he was one of the ar ...

who went on to receive national success. During the 1945–46 season, the club won the unofficial Sports Federation President's Cup. Many of the club's players during the late 1940s would go on to play for the Albania national team, including Qamil Teliti, who scored the winning goal against Romania that won Albania the 1946 Balkan Cup. In 1958, the club achieved a second-place finish in the top tier Albanian Championship, narrowly losing out to

Partizani Tirana Futboll Klub Partizani, or FK Partizani for short, is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's curren ...

for the title by one point. Also during the 1958 season, they reached the semi final of the

Albanian Cup The Albanian Cup ( sq, Kupa e Shqipërisë) is the main "knockout" competition in Albanian football. The competition started in 1939 as Kupa e Mbretit (English:"The King's Cup"). Just after a year the cup was suspended as the Second World War st ...

, again losing out to eventual winners Partizani Tirana. The club would go on to reach the finals of the Albanian Cup in 1961, losing to Partizani Tirana once again and also the following season in 1962–63, where they lost on penalties to

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 ...

. In 1963, Besa won the unofficial cup competition held by the 'Sport' newspaper, and in 1965 it won the 'Bashkimi' newspaper competition.

Golden generation (1965–1975)

The period between 1965 and 1975 has been called the golden generation of football in Kavajë, due to the domestic achievements especially in the Albanian Cup which resulted in the club's first ever European games. In 1971, they finished as runners-up in the Albanian Cup after losing 2–0 in the finals to

Dinamo Tirana Futboll Club Dinamo Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital Tirana. They play in the Kategoria e Parë, the second tier of Albanian football, in the 2022–23 season. Founded in 1950 during the communist ...

. They repeated this feat the following year, losing on penalties in the cup final following a 2–2 draw with Vllaznia Shkodër, but as Vllaznia also won the league in that same year, this gave Besa the opportunity to participate in the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

in the 1972–73 season. Their first European opponents were Danish side,

Fremad Amager Boldklubben Fremad Amager (meaning in English: The Ball Club Forward Amager ; abbreviated Fremad A) is a Danish professional football club based in the district of Amager Vest, Copenhagen. As of the 2020–21 season, the club's senior men's team ...

, who Besa managed to overcome on away goals following a 1–1 draw away in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and a goalless draw at home. In the next round however they were beaten by Scottish side Hibernian, whom they lost to on aggregate 8–2, following a 7–1 away loss and a 1–1 draw at home. The end of the golden generation era was marked with the completion of the club's first purpose built stadium,

. Construction was completed in 1974 and the new stadium had a capacity to seat 9,000 spectators.

Recent years

Besa confirmed their place in the

2007–08 UEFA Cup The 2007–08 UEFA Cup was the 37th edition of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second-tier club football tournament. The final was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England on 14 May 2008 between Rangers of Scotland and Zenit Saint Pet ...

after a 3–2 win against neighbours KS Teuta in the 2006–07 Albanian Cup final. They met

Bežanija Bežanija ( sr-cyr, Бежанија, ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Novi Beograd, in the Syrmia region. Location Bežanija is located west of the downtown Belgrade, across the Sav ...

of Serbia in the first qualifying round, drawing 2–2 away and 0–0 at home to progress on away goals. In the second qualifying round, they fell 3–0 in each leg to Bulgarian side

Litex Lovech Litex ( bg, Литекс) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Lovech, which currently competes in the Second League. The club was founded in 1921 as Hisarya Sports Club. The club's home ground is the Gradski Stadion ...

. In 2008, they qualified for the

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

due to their third-place finish in the league, drawing

Ethnikos Achna Ethnikos Achna Football Club ( el, Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Εθνικός Άχνας), commonly known as Ethnikos Achna, or simply Ethnikos, is a Cypriot football club based in the village of Achna. Founded in 1968, the club current ...

0–0 at home and 1–1 in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

and continued on away goals. In the 2nd round of the Intertoto cup they were eliminated by

Grasshopper Zürich Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

from Switzerland.

Besa in European competitions

''As of October 2015'' * 1QR = 1st Qualifying Round * 2QR = 2nd Qualifying Round * 1R = 1st Round * 2R = 2nd Round * 3R = 3rd Round

Current squad

Historical list of coaches

Rexhep Spahiu Rexhep Spahiu (21 January 1923 – 12 January 1993) was an Italian football player and coach. Nicknamed ''Xhepi'', he spent his playing career with Sportklub Tiranë and Partizani Tirana, before becoming the head coach of Partizani, Apolonia ...

(1960-1971) * Muhamet Vila (1971-1973) * Fatmir Frashëri (1981-1982) * Dashnor Bajaziti (1985–1988) * Bajram Hushi (1990–1991) * Fisnik Kosova (1992–1993) *

Zihni Gjinali Zihni Gjinali (5 May 1926 – 19 July 2005) was an Albanian footballer who played his professional career for Besa, Dinamo Tirana and Partizani Tirana football clubs. He was the captain and head coach of the Dinamo Dynasty of the 1950s. Gj ...

(1994) * Fisnik Kosova (1994) * Haki Arkaxhiu (1995) * Azem Mullaliu (1995–1996) * Artan Lilamani (1996) * Bujar Pagria (1997) * Edmond Gëzdari (1997–1998) * Naim Hushi (1998) *

Shkëlqim Muça Shkëlqim Muça (born 19 March 1960) is an Albanian football coach and former player. Playing career Club He created the attacking trio Muça- Minga-Kola at Nëntori Tirana that was probably the best and most prolific attacking trio in the Al ...

(1998–1999) * Ilir Gjyla (1999–2000) * Ramadan Shehu (2001) *

Faruk Sejdini Faruk Sejdini (born 7 February 1950), is an Albanian professional football coach and former player. Club career Sejdini had a successful albeit short career, representing Dinamo Tirana between 1966 and 1979. His career begun in 1967 in the acade ...

(2001) * Edmond Gëzdari (2001) * Haxhi Arkaxhiu (2002) * Ramadan Shehu (2002) * Abdyl Kuriu (2002) * Ramadan Shehu (2002) * Astrit Sejdini (2003) * Ilir Gjyla (2003) * Ilir Duro (4 Jan 2005 – 28 Aug 2005) *

Agim Canaj Agim Canaj (born 14 July 1962) is an Albanian football coach and former international player. As of March 2019, he is coaching Vllaznia Shkodër. Club career As a player, he played with Dinamo Tirana in the European Cup Winners' Cup 1989–90 ...

(28 Aug 2005 – 3 Dec 2005) * Ilir Shulku (3 Dec 2005 – 05 Apr 2006) * Përparim Daiu (05 Apr 2006 – 30 Jun 2006) * Hasan Lika (Jul 2006 – 25 Sep 2006) * Përparim Daiu (25 Sep 2006 – 20 Nov 2006) *

Vasil Bici Vasil Bici (born 20 January 1954) is an Albanian association football, football coach. References

1954 births Living people Albanian football managers Besëlidhja Lezhë managers Shkumbini Peqin managers KF Vllaznia Shkodër managers KF ...

(20 Nov 2006 – 14 May 2007) * Ylli Teliti (14 May 2007 – Jun 2007) * Silviu Dumitrescu (Jul 2007 – 29 Nov 2007) * Iljaz Haxhiaj (29 Nov 2007 – 3 Dec Jun 2007) *

Sulejman Starova Sulejman Starova (born 12 December 1955) is an Albanian football coach and retired player. Managerial career As a manager, he has been in charge of his previous club Partizani Tirana as well as KF Tirana, Besa Kavajë and Teuta Durrës. He has al ...

(3 Dec 2007 – 6 Apr 2008) * Iljaz Haxhiaj (6 Apr 2008 – 16 Sep 2008) * Ilir Daja (16 Sep 2008 – 22 Feb 2009) * Ilir Biturku (22 Feb 2009 - Jun 2009) *

Shpëtim Duro Shpëtim Duro (born 24 December 1959) is an Albanian professional football coach. Managerial career Duro was named the manager of Macedonian First League side FK Shkëndija on 24 November 2013, just 15 hours after the sacking of Gjore Jovanovs ...

(Jul 2009 - 20 Sep 2010) * Përparim Daiu (20 Sep 2010 – 3 Nov 2010) * Gerd Haxhiu (3 Nov 2010 – Jun 2011) *

Gugash Magani Gugash Magani (born 14 March 1965) is an Albanian retired football player and current coach. Club career Magani played the majority of his 22-year professional career with Shkumbini Peqin, while also having stints at other Albanian clubs Bes ...

(Jul 2011 – Jun 2012) * Ilir Daja (Jul 2012 - Feb 2013) * Përparim Daiu (Feb 2013 – May 2013) * Ramadan Shehu (Jul 2013 – Aug 2013) *

Artan Mërgjyshi Artan Mërgjyshi (born 6 May 1968) is an Albanian professional football coach and former player. During his playing career, he enjoyed his best years with Partizani, while also having stints with Dinamo Tirana, Erzeni, Besa and Apolonia. He ...

(Aug 2013 - 14 Nov 2014) * Bledar Sinella (14 Nov 2014 - Apr 2015) * Dorjan Bubeqi (Apr 2015 – Nov 2015) * Ilir Gjyla (Mar 2016 - May 2016) * Bekim Kuli (28 Jul 2016 – ?) * Ndriçim Kashami (Sep 2016 – Oct 2016) * Julian Ahmataj (Oct 2016 – May 2017) * Artion Poçi (Aug 2017 – Sep 2017) * Bledar Sinella (Sep 2017 - May 2018) * Gentian Begeja (26 Jun 2018 - Dec 2018)Gentian Begeja, trajner i Besës për të tentuar Superioren
– Supersport *

(Jan 2019 – Feb 2020 ) * Ndricim Kashami (Feb 2020 – Nov 2020) *

(Nov 2020 - Apr 2021) * Ndricim Kashami (Apr 2021 – Oct 2021) * Dorjan Bubeqi (Oct 2021 – May 2022) *

(Jun 2022 – )

Honours

Kategoria Superiore The Kategoria Superiore, officially known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Albanian football league system, it is the country's primary football compet ...

*Runners-up (2): 1958, 2009–10 *3rd Place (11): 1936, 1937, 1945, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1966–67, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1978–79, 1992–93, 2007–08

*Winners (4): 1932, 1977–78, 1985–86, 2004–05 *Runners-up (2): 1999–00, 2001–02

*Winners (2): 2007, 2010 *Runners-up (6): 1961, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1982, 1992

Albanian Supercup The Albanian Supercup is a single match usually at the beginning of the season between the winners of the Kategoria Superiore and Albanian Cup. Supercup final was not played in the occasions when the champion team won the Double. However, after ...

*Winners (1): 2010

Records

* Biggest Victories: 9–1 vs

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian person. Th ...

(1937); 12–0 vs Bashkimi Elbasanas (1945); 7–0 vs Shkumbini (17.02.1963); 11–0 vs

Apolonia Fier KF Apolonia is an Albanian football club based in Fier. The club was founded on 17 June 1925 and took its name from the nearby ruins of the ancient city of Apollonia. The club currently compete in the Kategoria e Parë and they play their home ...

(1965); 8–1 vs Poliçani (28.08.1991); 7–1 vs

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

(1992) * Biggest Defeats: 1–9 vs

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 ...

(16.04.1933); 0–6 vs Partizani (09.02.1975); 1–7 vs

(12.09.2003) * Most points in a season: 56 (2007–08) * Fewest points in a season: 1 (1948) * Most ties in a season: 14 (1973–74, 1976–77, 1989–90) * Fewest ties in a season: 0 (1933) * Most losses in a season: 23 (2003–04) * Fewest losses in a season: 3 (1958) * Best Goal Differential: +27 (1937) * Worst Goal Differential: -43 (2003–04)

References

External links

Besa at UEFA.COM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Besa Kavaje Football clubs in Kavajë Football clubs in Albania Association football clubs established in 1925 1925 establishments in Albania