KF Butrinti Sarandë is an Albanian football club based in the southern city of

Sarandë Sarandë (; sq-definite, Saranda; ) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Sarandë Municipality. Geographically, the city is located on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea within the Mediterrane ...

. The club's home ground is the Andon Lapa Stadium and they currently compete in the

Kategoria e Dytë Kategoria e Dytë is the third tier of professional football in Albania’s league system. Known as the Second Division since the 2004–05 season, it consists of 23 teams split into two geographically-based groups. The winners of each group secur ...

. The club falls under the KS Butrinti sports club which also features one of the most successful swimming teams in the country, with football being the second priority by the club. Their best season was in 2014–15 when they finished third in the

Kategoria e Parë Kategoria e Parë is the second tier of professional football in Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Se ...

History

The first sports club in the city of

was formed by Kristoforidh Harito, Ruhi Selfo and Nazar Sefo on 25 January 1936 as the Shoqeria Sportive Butrinti, which translates to the Butrint Sports Society. The name is taken from the Ancient Greek city of

Buthrotum Butrint (, , ) was an ancient Greek polis and later Roman city and the seat of an early Christian bishopric in Epirus. Originally a settlement of the Greek tribe of the Chaonians, it later became part of the state of Epirus and later a Roman ...

, which in Albanian is called Butrint. The current club was merely a continuation of the original Butrint Sports Society and it was formed on 2 March 1963 as Klubi Sportive Butrinti, which in English would be Butrint Sports Club. However, other sources including prominent football historian Giovanni Armillotta believe the club was formed in the mid-1940s as Butrinti Sarandë and they changed their name shortly after in 1949 to simply Sarandë for two years before being renamed Puna Sarandë by the ruling

Party of Labour of Albania The Party of Labour of Albania (PLA), also referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded on 8 November 1941 as the Communist Party of ...

between 1951 and 1958. In 1958, the club reverted to its original name of Butrinti Sarandë. The club's rivals are Delvina.

Honours

;

Albanian Second Division Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

*Winners (3): 1961, 1963–64, 1979–80 ;Sporti Popullor Cup *Winners (1): 1980

Current squad

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butrinti Football clubs in Albania Association football clubs established in 1936 Sarandë