Sport 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 ...

revolves mostly around team sports, such as football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

and handball. Other sports includes

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

, karate,

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

, and

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

. Football in particular has seen a rapid transformation, with the Albania national football team making its debut at the 1964 UEFA European Football Championship. The national football team also qualified for the 2016 UEFA European Football Championship. Many Albanian athletes have also achieved significant success and have won European and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

titles in numerous sports during the years, such as wrestling, football, athletics and weightlifting. Albanian athletes have won a total 49 medals for Albania in 8 different Mediterranean sports. Albania has had some success in others sport such as volleyball and basketball as well.

Football

Football is the most popular sport in Albania. It arrived in Albania at the beginning of the 20th century. Football is played by children at school and by grown-ups on the many indoor and outdoor fields located throughout the country. The sport is governed by the Football Association of Albania ''(Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit)''. The first recorded match was between students at a Christian mission in Shkodër. Other towns and cities followed suit and on 6 June 1930 the Football Association of Albania was established. The association became a member of football's governing body FIFA in 1932, and joined the European governing body

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

in 1954 as a founding member. Albania was the winner of the

1946 Balkan Cup The 1946 Balkan Cup was the 8th edition of this tournament. The participanting teams were Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and for the first time ever, Albania, who ended up winning the tournament in their first try. Squads *The four men ...

and the 2000 Malta International Tournament. At the

UEFA Euro 1964 The 1964 European Nations' Cup was the second edition of the UEFA European Championship. The final tournament was held in Spain. It was won by the hosts 2–1 over the defending champions, the Soviet Union. The tournament was a knockout compet ...

in Spain, Albania made its first-ever appearance at a major men's football tournament. Albania's highest

FIFA World Ranking The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, led by Brazil . The teams of the men's member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the ...

for men was 22nd, in August 2015. Albania qualified for the

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

in France. Playing in the Groupstage in Group A against France, Switzerland and Romania. The youth teams of Albania got a rich history in football as the Albania national under-21 football team won twice the Balkan Youth Championship in 1978 and 1981 and they also qualify once at the

1984 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 1984 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 4th staging of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The qualifying stage spanned two years (1982–84) and had 30 entrants. Albania, Iceland and Wales competed in the competition for the firs ...

, losing in the Quarterfinals against Italy.

1946: Champion of the Balkans

The early years oversaw a notably successful

Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. Overview The first edition featured Romania, ...

in the 1946 campaign. Albania won the cup after overcoming

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

on level points but a better goal difference. The final match ended in a 1–0 win against Romania. Four days earlier, Albania had already beaten Bulgaria 3–1. Albania wasn't expected to participate, but the withdrawal of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

from the tournament offered Albania a chance to join in the re-established post-war cup.

1964: Among the best 16 teams of the continent

Albania waited until 1962 to compete in a Euro Cup competition and the only time Albania was between the best 16 teams of the Continent, the reason being Albania got past the first leg as Greece, for political reasons forfeited the game. Albania would beat

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in the second leg in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

thanks to an early goal from Panajot Pano. Despite that win Albanian couldn't progress further as they lost the first leg with 4–0 away from home. At the end of the tournament Albania ranked 9th in Europe.

1964-1972 Albania's qualifying for Tokio and Munich at the Summer Olympics

Albania participated for the first time ever, in its history, in football at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the Men's qualification tournament. They faced

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

in the preliminary round, losing both matches, in close games, in the process. They would participate for the second and last time ever at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

in which they faced

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

at the Men's European Qualifiers in the Playoffs. Albania would lose both matches close with 2–1 in the first leg and 1–2 in the second leg.

1986 Albania's nearly qualifying for the World Cup in Mexico

In the

1986 FIFA World Cup qualification The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

Albania would face

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and their rivals

. Despite their first loss away from home against Belgium with 3-1 despite an equalizer from Bedri Omuri. Albania could draw against Poland away with 2-2 scoring their first point.After that Albania famously beat Belgium at home with 2–0 in the

Qemal Stafa Stadium The Qemal Stafa Stadium ( sq, Stadiumi Qemal Stafa), named after Qemal Stafa (1920–1942), a World War II hero, was a national stadium and the largest football stadium in Tirana, Albania. Construction started in 1939 and the stadium was inaugu ...

. The goals were scored by Mirel Josa and Arben Minga securing Albania their first and only win in this qualification. Despite all of that Albania couldn't win their next three matches as they only scored one more point against Greece in the final qualifying match. It was their most successful FIFA World Cup qualification in the history of Albania, finishing third above Greece but behind Belgium and Poland in the process.

2014–2016: Success at the European Championship

Albania qualified for

, its first appearance at a major men's football tournament after 50 years. This earned the team the Honor of Nation Order from Albania's President

Bujar Nishani Bujar Nishani (; 29 September 1966 – 28 May 2022) was an Albanian politician. He served as President of Albania from 24 July 2012 to 24 July 2017. Nishani was the youngest person to have been chosen as president of Albania, taking office at ...

. After the Serbia–Albania match, the national team of Albania was given awards of honor and city recognition by the cities of

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 ...

, Vlore, Kamëz, and

Bajram Curri Bajram Curri (16 January 1862 – 29 March 1925) was an Albanian chieftain, politician and activist who struggled for the independence of Albania, later struggling for Kosovo's incorporation into it following the 1913 Treaty of London. He w ...

. However, the team finished last among the third-placed teams and didn't progress beyond the group stage. In 2020, Albania won a group for the first time by finishing first in group 4 of

UEFA Nations League C The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

. Albania also won a spot for the play-offs of the 2022 World Cup and was promoted in UEFA Nations League B.

Kategoria Superiore

The

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 ...

is the main division in Albania, their first season started in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

. Apart from 1938 to 1944 it would be taken place every season. The club with the most titels is KF Tirana who won this competition 25 times. The Albanian Football Cup was founded since 1938-39 in which KF Tirana being the most successful club in the country with 16 titels closely followed by Partizani Tirana who won this competition 15 times so far. The Albanian league sides enjoyed success also in European football competitions. KF Skënderbeu Korçë qualify twice for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

first in 2015-16 and for the second time in 2017-18, as they qualify as the first Albanian football club after four qualifying rounds to the groupstage. Partizani Tirana won the one and only international club titel for Albania as they won the 1970 Balkans Cup against Beroe Stara Zagora in the finals. KF Tirana qualified three times in the Round of Sixteen in the European Cup first in 1982-83 defeating Linfield in the first round. They achieved the same results in 1988-89 by defeating this time in the first round Ħamrun Spartans from Malta after two leg's. They faced in the round of 16 the Swedish league side

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or simply Göteborg, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is the ...

but lost both matches after two legs were played. In the following year in 1989-90 KF Tirana would once more qualify for the best 16 of Europe as they defeated this time another Maltese side in Siliema Wanderers after two legs in the first Round. Their highest win at this competition came in the second leg at home defeating the Wanderers with 5–0. They faced in the next round Bundesliga side FC Bayern Munich. They couldn't go through to the quarterfinals as they lost both leg's. In the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

Flamutari Vlora is the most successful club for Albania. As they did compete for the first time in 1986-87 against

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

in the first Round drawing both matches and nearly qualified for the next stage, at this competition. Losing out on the away rule. At the following season in 1987-88 they achieved their greatest result so far. They qualified for the first time in the history at the Round of sixteen. Defeating surprisingly yugoslav side Partizan Belgrad with 2–0 at home and would qualify for the second round after a 1–2 defeat in which Sokol Kushta scored a famous goal for his club side. In the following round Flamutari Vlora defeated then East German side Wismut Aue after two legs, winning at home with 2–0. They faced for the second time in a row Barcelona in which they lost the first leg in Camp Nou with 4-1 but would beat the Spanish side in the following leg with 1-0 by a goal from Kushta, to secure the most famous win for Albania in a UEFA club competition.

Albania women's football

The women's national team was formed in 2011. The women's highest

was 40th in April 2015. The

FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...

was the first time Albania entered a senior competitive tournament. The Albanian Women's National Championship started its first championship since 2009. Vllaznia Shkodër is the most successful club at this competition, as they won so far nine league titles, in which also nine times in a row, between 2013–14 and most recently in 2021-22. They also do compete in Europe, since their debut in the 2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League. Most recently Vllaznia were able to achieve great success in the

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. The ...

. As they qualified for the first time ever in the history as a football club to the

knockout phase A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

in the Round of 32 in the

2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2019–20 UEFA Women's Champions League was the 19th edition of the European women's club football championship organised by UEFA, and the 11th edition since being rebranded as the UEFA Women's Champions League. The competition was postponed ...

, in which they faced

Fortuna Hjørring Fortuna Hjørring is a women's association football team from Hjørring, Denmark. The club was formed in 1966 and play in green and white. Their biggest achievement in European football was reaching the 2002–03 UEFA Women's Cup final where they ...

from Denmark. They would lose both matches, at home with 0-1 and away with 2–0, despite being one of the greatest successes in the history of women's football in Albania. After some years they were able to replicate the success they did earlier. After beating in Round 2 FC Vorskla Poltava from Ukraine, they first played a draw, but would win the following match with 2–1 to qualify, for the first time ever as a country to the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

of the UEFA Women's Champions League, in this years edition.

Volleyball

Albania has a long tradition in volleyball as it is the second-most successful club sport in Albania after football. Especially the Albanian female national team have a strong reputation in this sport. The women's of Dinamo Tirana reached the final of the

CEV Women's Champions League The Women's CEV Champions League, formerly known as CEV Champions Cup (from 1960 to 2000), is the top official competition for women's volleyball clubs of Europe and takes place every year. It is organized by the Confédération Européenne de V ...

twice in their history, in 1979–80 and 1989–90 finishing both times in third place. They also qualified for the finals in the CEV Cup in 1986-87 where they didn't take place in the finals, do to the Regime at that time. It is the best sport achievement for Albania out of any club sports, they participated so far. The Albania women's national volleyball team won at the 1987 Mediterranean Games in Syria, their biggest success ever. In their following participation at the Mediterranean Games in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

they finished their campaign in 4th place. In the same year the women's of Albania qualified for the

Women's European Volleyball Championship The Women's European Volleyball Championship is the official competition for senior women's national volleyball teams of Europe, organized by the European Volleyball Confederation ( CEV). The initial gap between championships was variable, but si ...

in 1991 Italy where they finished 11th. It is their only time they participated at this competition. The women's of Albania also participated with success at the Balkan Female Volleyball Championship. Winning this Tournament in 1990 in Bulgaria, two years before they finished runners up in Tirana. They collected four medals overall. The Albania national team participated in the

2018 Women's European Volleyball League The 2018 Women's European Volleyball League was the 10th edition of the annual Women's European Volleyball League, which features women's national volleyball teams from 20 European countries. Unlike previous seasons, the tournament had two divisio ...

, defeating

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

in the third-place match, winning an unforeseen bronze medal.

Achievements in Volleyball

Balkan Volleyball Championship

Basketball

EuroBasket

Albania competed in two European championships at

EuroBasket 1947 The 1947 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1947, was the fifth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA. Fourteen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) too ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

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, where the Albanians finished 14th and at

EuroBasket 1957 The 1957 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1957, was the tenth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Sixteen national teams affiliated with the International Basketball Federation (FIB ...

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

finishing in 16th place. Some years later they nearly qualified for the

EuroBasket 1975 The 1975 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1975, was the nineteenth FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. Venues First round Group A – Split Group B – Karlovac Group C ...

in Yugoslavia finishing third in the qualifying. Winning matches against Luxemburg with 95-71 beating

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

with a record win of 112-77 and Sweden with a score of 71-82 respectively. Missing out slightly for their "third" Eurobasket appearance in their Basketball history.

Mediterranean Games

Albania also participated twice at the Mediterranean Games in

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. Their debut participation came in

. They also participate in the 2009 Mediterranean Games in which they had their best performance by finishing 6th. Beating notably

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

with 83–69 to secure their first win at this competition.

Olympic Games

The Albania men's national basketball team, would try twice to qualify at the Summer Olympics in

. As they participate in two Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournaments. First in the qualifying in

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. They had three matches, losing all but one close against the

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84-81 missing out to the Playoffs. Their following participation came in 1992 in the 1992 Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament. They competed in Group A. The Albanians securing their first win at this competition against Switzerland 84-85 as it was their only win in their campaign. Albania had close loses against Italy 73-87 and Latvia with 78-94 despite that Albania failed to qualify for the playoffs stage. With a 5th-place finish.

Albanian Basketball League

The Albanian Basketball League have a long history as their first division was held in 1946 so far BC Partizani Tirana is the most successful Club at this League, as they won it 33 Times in their history most recently in 1996. It is also the most successful Albanian team in Europe. Competing in the past with success in the FIBA European Champions Cup and other major competitions. The history of B.C. Partizani Tirana in the European competitions starts on December 18, 1968, when Italian champions

Pallacanestro Cantù Pallacanestro Cantù, known for sponsorship reasons as Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Cantù, Lombardy. On the European-wide club competition scene, Cantù is second to Real Madrid – again ...

(then Oransoda Cantù) were seeking an “easy journey” in Albania when it had to meet B.C. Partizani Tirana in the Champion Club's Cup (in that time the highest European competition organized by FIBA). The match ended with the result 73–73. The playmaker of B.C. Partizani Tirana, Agim Fagu scored 48 points in this match, and for that was awarded with the “FIBA Banner Badge” by the Secretary-General of FIBA, William Jones, who was present at this match. BC Partizani Tirana first competed for the Albanian Basketball Superleague in the 1969–70 FIBA European Champions Cup,"Champions Cup 1969–70"
''linguasport''. but lost both their first-round games against CS Dinamo București. In the

1970–71 FIBA European Champions Cup The 1970–71 FIBA European Champions Cup was the 14th installment of the European top-tier level professional basketball club competition FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague). The Final was held at the Arena Deurne, in Antwerp, B ...

, forfeited against İTÜ from Turkey in the first round due to a cholera outbreak at the time in Turkey"Champions Cup 1970–71"
''linguasport''. In the 1972–73 FIBA European Champions Cup BC Partizani Tirana faced Jeunesse Sportivo Alep from Syria, who withdrew yet again, allowing BC Partizani Tirana to progress to the round of 16 for the first time in their history. They then faced Crvena zvezda from

, losing both games."Champions Cup 1972–73"
''linguasport''. The 1973–74 FIBA European Champions Cup campaign saw even bigger success for BC Partizani Tirana, who faced Csepel SC in Hungary. Despite an unlucky 57–58 loss away, at home the Albanian side won a FIBA European Champions Cup match for the first time, 78–71, to progress yet again in the round of 16 for the third year running. There, Partizani Tirana faced

Wienerberger Wienerberger AG is an Austrian brick maker which is the world’s largest producer of bricks, (Porotherm, Terca) and number one on the clay roof tile market (Koramic, Tondach) in Europe as well as concrete pavers (Semmelrock) in Central and Easter ...

from Austria. They proved for the first time to be competitive in such a high stage, winning with 72–71. In the second leg in

Wien en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

they missed their chance to qualify for the quarterfinals, losing 78–68."Champions Cup 1973–74"
''linguasport''. In the

1974–75 FIBA European Champions Cup The 1974–75 FIBA European Champions Cup was the 18th edition of the European top-tier level professional basketball club competition FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague). The Final was held at the Arena Deurne, in Antwerp, Belgi ...

Partizani Tirana played Sparta Bertrange away in Luxemburg, and won comfortably with 103–89, for their first away win in a

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

Cup competition. At home in

they beat the opposition deservedly with 90–70, resulting in an impressive aggregate of 193–159 in the process. In the round of sixteen Partizani Tirana had to face Bulgarian side

BC Balkan Botevgrad BC Balkan Botevgrad ( bg, БК Балкан Ботевград, BK Balkan Botevgrad) is a Bulgarian professional basketball club based in Botevgrad."Champions Cup 1974–75"
''linguasport''. After some years where BC Partizani Tirana did not participate in the FIBA European Champions Cup, they returned in the

1978–79 FIBA European Champions Cup The 1978–79 FIBA European Champions Cup was the 22nd season of the European top-tier level professional basketball club competition FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague). The Final was held at the Palais des Sports, in Grenoble, ...

, competing for the first time in the quarterfinals. In Group E they faced KK Bosna Royal, BC Brno and AEL Limassol B.C. as their opponents. In the first match they had to face at home BC Brno, Partizani beating them comfortably with 100–79. In the next match they faced KK Bosna Royal away in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

. Partizani lost the match with 64–99. In the third match they faced AEL Limassol at home. They beat them easily with 151–58 at the process being its highest win in this competition. In the fourth Quarterfinal's group match Partizani Tirana faced BC Brno away. It was the most important match for Partizani in its Basketball club history. As they still had the chance to qualify for the semifinals. Partizani couldn't hold on to the result, as they did in the first half (41-46) as they lost the match in the end with 104–83 and also their "chances" to qualify for the semifinals. In the following

1979–80 FIBA European Champions Cup The 1979–80 FIBA European Champions Cup was the 23rd season of the European top-tier level professional basketball club competition FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague). The Final was held at the Deutschlandhalle, in West Berlin, ...

season B.C. Partizani Tirana faced in the Quarterfinal Groupstage in group E KK Partizan Belgrade, Budapesti Honvéd SE and Al Ittihad Aleppo respectively. BC Partizani Tirana would show a strong display. Winning four matches alone three at Home. Defeating Budapesti Honvéd SE at home with 91-85 then KK Partizan Belgrade with 101-98 and Al Ittihad Aleppo at home with a result of 105–93. To finish second in this Group, missing out close on the semifinals at the end. Partizani was among the best twelve clubs of Europe.

Albania women's national basketball team

The

Albania women's national basketball team The Albania women's national basketball team ( sq, Kombëtarja e Femrave) represents Albania in international women's basketball competitions, and is controlled by the Albanian Basketball Association. History Albania women's national basketball ...

is the most successful Basketball team in Albania. They participated in two international Tournaments so far three times at the Mediterranean Games first in 1987 Syria. They won in their debut participation the tournament, after beating the women's from

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

in the finals. To win their maiden gold medal in their debut participation. They would compete two more times most recently for the third time in 2009 Pescara. Where they finished in 6th place. The Albanian female also competed regularly at the Championship for Small Countries. In which they won three medals. They first came runners up in 1996 losing to

with 81–73 respectively. Before winning just six years later against them with 84–79 to secure their second achievement in their history. In 2008 they once more won silber after losing to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

in the finals.

Achievements

Boxing

Boxing is a successful Sport in Albania. Albania competed recently at the AIBA World Boxing Championships held in 2021 Belgrade. Alban Beqiri would win the first-ever medal for Albania at this Competition. Winning Bronze in the Light middleweight category. Florian Marku is a former Kickboxer who competes in boxing. In 2014 he won the WKU World Championship in Kickboxing. He would win the IBF world title against Maxim Prodan. He won after 10 rounds via split decision. Being declared Boxing world Champion. He recently fought against Jorick Luisetto in the

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

, extending his unbeaten record in Boxing, after beating him via split decision. Albania would compete in Boxing at the

2018 Mediterranean Games The 2018 Mediterranean Games ( es, Juegos Mediterráneos de 2018), officially known as the XVIII Mediterranean Games ( es, XVIII Juegos Mediterráneos) and commonly known as Tarragona 2018, was an international multi-sport event held from 22 Jun ...

held in Tarragona. Krenar Zeneli would secure the silver medal in Boxing at the 2018 Mediterranean Games – Men's bantamweight, the first silver medal for Albania in Boxing at the Mediterranean Games

Summer Olympics

Albania made his debut at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

at the

in Munich. Four men and one female represented the country, in two different sports. The weightlifter Ymer Pampuri achieved a great feat as he is the first and only Albanian to break an Olympic record, in military press, after lifting 127,5 kg respectively. After 20 years without participating do to the regime, boycotting the next four

. Albania is participating since 1992 regularly at the Olympic games. They made their

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

debut in 2006 in Turin. In recent years Albania achieved some good results. Briken Calja finished 5th in Weightlifting at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 69 kg division. In the following olympics he came closer as he finished 4th at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Missing the bronze medal by one kg after lifting 341 kg. Luiza Gega qualified for the finals in

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

after finishing 5th in the semifinals, with a time of 9:23.85 being the first Albanian athlete to do so. In her final run she would finish in 13th place. Despite that Albania never won any medals at the Summer or Winter Olympics. But Albanians with Albanian ethnicity were quite successful at the Summer Olympics for other nations. Shaban Tërstena is a wrestler who won two medals for

at the Summer Olympics. In the 1984 Los Angeles games he won the gold medal at the Men's freestyle 52 kg division. In the following games he won the silver medal, being so the most successful athlete of Albanian descent. Fellow Wrestler

Shaban Sejdiu Shaban Sejdiu ( mk, Шабан Сејдиу; born 6 May 1959) is Macedonian retired freestyle wrestler. An ethnic Macedonian Albanian, Sejdiu, as part of the Skopje Wrestling Club, was trained by notable coaches Risto Takov, who had also train ...

participated in four Summer Olympics for Yugoslavia. He became the first Albanian athlete to win a medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Men's freestyle 68 kg category. Winning the bronze medal. In the following Summer Olympics in Los Angeles he once more stepped on the podium as he won, once more the bronze medal. This time in the Men's freestyle 74 kg discipline. He became the first athlete of Albanian descent to win multiple medals at the Olympic games.

Aziz Salihu Aziz Salihu (born 1 May 1954 in Pristina, Kosovo) is one of the best retired Super heavyweight boxer of Kosovar Albanian descent. He represented Yugoslavia at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, and won the bronze ...

is a boxer of Albanian descent from Kosovo. He participated three times for Yugoslavia, in the Super heavyweight category. He would win the bronze medal at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

in Los Angeles. In recent history, Albanians from Kosovo were quite successful at the Olympic games. Majlinda Kelmendi a Judoka from Peja competed for Albania at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London but without success. As she lost in the Round of Sixteen. Four years later she would participate for

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. In which she won the first ever gold medal for her country after beating Odette Giuffrida in the finals. At the following

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

in Tokio the Albanians from

were successful. As they won two gold medals by two female judokas. Distria Krasniqi won the first medal for Kosovo in Tokio in the Women's 48 kg category against Funa Tonaki in the finals. Followed by Nora Gjakova who won the gold medal in the Women's 57 kg event. Beating the French judoka Sarah-Léonie Cysique to secure the third gold medal for Kosovo. in its Olympic history, so far.

Mediterranean Games

Albania made his debut at the Mediterranean Games in 1987 Latakia, Syria. It would be their most successful games as the women of Albania would win gold in

and

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

. Kristi Robo would win one gold medal in Shooting. Albania won in total eight medals in their campaign. To finish the 1987 Mediterranean Games in an 11th-place finish. Their most successful sport is

Weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

in which Albania won 26 medals in which of them being 5 gold medals, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals. Followed by sports such as Shooting 7 medals and

with seven medals with two being gold. Albania won so far 49 medals in which of them being 11 Gold, 19 Silver and 19 Bronze medals, since their debut. They won medals in eight different sport competitions. Ranking 17th in the all-time medal table. Their highest ranking per Sports is 7th in

8th in

and 9th in Weightlifting, being the only three sports who Albania is ranking in the top ten so far.

Medals won by Albania

Athletics

Athletics has been a successful individual sport in Albania.

Izmir Smajlaj Izmir Smajlaj (born 29 March 1993) is an Albanian athlete who specialises in the long jump. He won the gold medal at the 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, the first gold medal for his country at a major athletics competit ...

won gold in the men's long jump in

2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held between 3 and 5 March 2017 at the Kombank Arena in Belgrade, Serbia. This was the second time this event was held in the city after the 1969 edition then known as the European Indoor Game ...

in Belgrade and Luiza Gega who won silver at the 2013 Summer Universiade in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athle ...

run. The first medal for Albania at the

Summer Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

. She also won silver in the women's 3000 metres steeplechase in the

2016 European Championships in Athletics The 2016 European Athletics Championships was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, between 6 and 10 July 2016. It was the first time the Netherlands hosted the event. Due to 2016 being an Olympic year, there was no racewalking and the marathon competi ...

in Amsterdam. She wrote history for Albania as she won the first ever gold medal for her country at the 2022 European Athletics Championships in Munich. Winning the contest with a time of 9:11.31. It is also her first gold medal, in her athletic carrier at the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for men ...

so far. Achieving also a European Athletics Championships record. Luiza Gega would also compete for Albania at the 2016 Summer Olympics and

in the Women's 3000 metres steeplechase. She would be the Flag bearer for Albania at the Summer Olympics in 2016 and 2020 together with Briken Calja. Luiza Gega would qualify as the first Albanian in history for Albania to the finals in

Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the Games. They were due to be held from 31 July – 9 August 2020, at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were postponed to ...

. As she would finish in 5th place with a time of 9:23.85 at the end enough to qualify for the final. In which she would finish in 13th respectively. Albania is also successful in

Athletics at the Mediterranean Games Athletics is one of the sports at the quadrennial Mediterranean Games competition. It has been one of the sports competed at the event since the inaugural edition in 1951. Editions Events As of the most recent 2018 edition, the athletics progra ...

in which they won seven medals. two gold, two silvers and three times bronze. Luiza Gega is the most successful athlete for Albania at this competition. Winning first silver in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

and her second medal came at the

winning Gold in the 3000 metres steeplechase. She recently won Gold in the 2022 Mediterranean Games. Improving her own record with a time of 9:14.29. She is the first Albanian athlete to achieve this feet at the Mediterranean Games.

Shooting

Shooting is a well-known sport in Albania. The most known shooter from Albania is Elizabeta Karabolli who won three medals at the

European Shooting Championships The European Shooting Championships are the global sport shooting European championships as regards the disciplines of the sport shooting of the rifle (25, 50 and 300 m) and the pistol (25 and 50 m). Sometimes the competition also includes trap s ...

. She won her first medal in 1977 Rome bronze then Silver in 1978 and Gold in Frankfurt 1979 in the 25 m pistol discipline. She was the first female European champion in shooting for Albania Ermira Dingu won in the 50m rifle prone her first gold medal in 1980 Madrid, the first medal in this category for her Country. Lindita Kodra became the third European female Shooting Champion for Albania in 2007 Granada in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. She also represented Albania at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China in Beijing. Albania won in total 5 medals at the European Shooting Championships with 3 of them being three gold, one silver and one bronze.

Gymnastics

It is a sport with a young history in Albania. As they did not participate previously in this sport. Matvei Petrov born in Russia has represented Albania since 2018 in the

Pommel horse The pommel horse is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal body covered with foam rubber and ...

event. In the

2020 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series The 2020 FIG World Cup circuit in Artistic Gymnastics is a series of competitions officially organized and promoted by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) in 2020. A number of events were originally scheduled to take place in 2020 and s ...

he would win bronze the first ever medal for Albania at this sport. He recently won the gold medal in the 2020 European Championships with a score of 14.566 in total. This is the first medal won for Albania at the

European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships The European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships are an annual series of artistic gymnastics championships for male gymnasts from European countries organised by the European Union of Gymnastics. History Originally held biannually and in od ...

, in their gymnastics history.

Weightlifting

is one of the most successful individual sports for the Albanians, with the national team winning medals at the European Weightlifting Championships and other international competitions. Albanian weightlifters have won a total of 32 medals at the European Championships with 9 gold, 12 silver and 12 bronze. In the

World Weightlifting Championships The World Weightlifting Championships is an event organised by International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). The first competition, held in March 1891, was won by Edward Lawrence Levy of England. Athletes compete in a total of 20 weight categorie ...

, the Albanian weightlifting team has won one gold medal in

, a silver in 2002 and a bronze in 2011. At the Mediterranean Games, the nation has won 5 gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals since their debut. * Ymer Pampuri finished 9th at the

1972 Summer Olympic Games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. * Briken Calja He finished 5th in the 2016 Summer Olympics. He also finished 4th at the

in Tokyo. *

Evagjelia Veli Evagjelia Veli (born 16 July 1991) is an Albanian weightlifter. She won the gold medal in her event at the 2022 European Weightlifting Championships held in Tirana, Albania. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro Rio de ...

finished 8th at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Wrestling

Wrestling is well participated in Albania. Especially most recently. Albania made his debut in Wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athen, since then they participated regularly in the Olympic games and in other competitions. Albania won so far five medals at the Mediterranean Games in

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

with one of them gold one time Silber and three times bronze, since their debut. Zelimkhan Abakarov is a Russian-born Albanian wrestler of Chechen origin. He is the most known Wrestler in Albania, as he won most recently the Gold medal, in the Mediterranean Games. The first ever gold medal for Albania in Wrestling. At the

2022 World Wrestling Championships The 2022 World Wrestling Championships was the 17th edition of the World Wrestling Championships of combined events and was held between 10 and 18 September 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia. The UWW Bureau approved the candidature of Belgrade, Serbia ...

in Belgrade he wrote history, as he became the first Albanian to win the Gold medal in the Men's freestyle 57 kg division. Sahit Prizreni, is a known wrestler from Albania. He is a World wrestling bronze medalist from 2007 in Baku. He competed for the second time for Albania in the Summer Olympics, in 2008 in Beijing. Sahit advanced to the round of 16 in the Men's freestyle 60 kg category where he lost to Bazar Bazarguruev from Kyrgyzstan. After that he would win the silver medal at the

2011 European Wrestling Championships The 2011 FILA European Wrestling Championships were held in Dortmund, Germany, from 29 March to 3 April 2011. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's freestyle External linksOfficial website {{E ...

in Dortmund.

National sports teams

Football

Albania national football team The Albania national football team ( sq, Kombëtarja e futbollit të Shqipërisë) represents Albania in men's international football, and is governed by the Albanian Football Association, the governing body for football in Albania. Albania com ...

* Albania national under-21 football team * Albania national under-20 football team * Albania national under-19 football team * Albania national under-18 football team * Albania national under-17 football team * Albania national under-16 football team *

Albania national under-15 football team The Albania national under-15 football team is the national under-15 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania and was founded in 2009. History The Albania under-15 were founded in 2009 for participating in ...

* Albania women's national football team *

Albania women's national under-19 football team The Albania women's national under-19 football team represents Albania in international women's football and is governed by Albanian Football Association. Fixtures and Results 2016 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship Qualification Group 11 ...

* Albania national futsal team

Basketball

* Albania national basketball team *

Albania national under-20 basketball team The Albania men's national under-20 basketball team is a national basketball team of Albania, administered by the Albanian Basketball Federation.Albania women's national basketball team The Albania women's national basketball team ( sq, Kombëtarja e Femrave) represents Albania in international women's basketball competitions, and is controlled by the Albanian Basketball Association. History Albania women's national basketball ...

Volleyball

* Albania women's national volleyball team * Albania men's national volleyball team

Tennis

* Albania Davis Cup team

References

{{Sports governing bodies in Albania

Football

1946: Champion of the Balkans

1964: Among the best 16 teams of the continent

1964-1972 Albania's qualifying for Tokio and Munich at the Summer Olympics

1986 Albania's nearly qualifying for the World Cup in Mexico

2014–2016: Success at the European Championship

Kategoria Superiore

Albania women's football

Volleyball

Achievements in Volleyball

Balkan Volleyball Championship

Basketball

EuroBasket

Mediterranean Games

Olympic Games

Albanian Basketball League

Albania women's national basketball team

Achievements

Boxing

Summer Olympics

Mediterranean Games

Medals won by Albania

Athletics

Shooting

Gymnastics

Weightlifting

Wrestling

National sports teams

Football

Basketball

Volleyball

Tennis

See also

Sporting venues

National leagues

Sports events

References