Klubi i Futbollit Laçi is an

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 share ...

n professional

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 ...

club based in

Laç Laç (; sq-definite, Laçi) is a town and a former Municipalities of Albania, municipality in Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Kurbin. It was the adm ...

that competes in 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 ...

, the top flight of Albanian football. Founded in 1960 as Industriali Laç, it became KS Laçi in 1991 and KF Laçi in 1997. The club's home ground is the

Laçi Stadium Laçi Stadium ( sq, Stadiumi Laçi) is a multi-use stadium in Laçi, Albania. It is used mostly for football matches and hosts the home games of KF Laçi of the Kategoria Superiore. The stadium currently has an official seated capacity of 8,000. ...

which has a seated capacity of 2,300 Under the ownership of local businessman and club president Pashk Laska Laçi has established itself as a top-half

side since being promoted back to the division in 2009, with their highest-ever finish coming in the

2013–14 Kategoria Superiore The 2013–14 Kategoria Superiore was the 75th official season (or 78th season overall, including three unofficial championships during World War II) of top-tier football in Albania and the sixteenth season under the name ''Kategoria superiore' ...

season where they finished third. The club have also won 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 ...

on two occasions during this period, 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

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, they have qualified for the Europa League seven times, reaching the second qualifying round on three occasions, and they have qualified for the

Europa Conference League The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on their ...

one times, reaching the third qualifying round in 2021.

History

Early years

The club was founded in 1960 under the name ''Industriali Laç'', and they competed in the

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 ...

, the third tier, for the majority of their early years. They reached the championship final of the 1974–75 Second Division, but lost to Vetëtima Himarë and were subsequently not promoted to the First Division. The name was changed to ''KS Laçi'' in 1991 when the club first participated in the

, the name was changed for the last time to ''KF Laçi'' in 1997. The first trophy won by the club was the 2008–09

Albanian First 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 ...

. Altin Cuko is the only Laçi player to have won the

Golden Boot whilst still playing for the club. This was achieved in the 1995–96 season where KF Laçi finished in 12th place, out of 18. Cuko had already scored 5 goals for

Tomori Berat KF Tomori is an Albanian football club based in the city of Berat. The club's home ground is the Tomori Stadium and they currently participate in the Kategoria e Parë. History The sport of football was introduced to the city of Berat in the ear ...

before moving to KF Laçi in January 1996, where he netted another 16 times to give him the Golden boot with a total of 21 goals throughout the entire season with both Tomori and Laçi.

Kategoria Superiore era

The club played their first season at the top tier, the

, in the 2004-05 season. They relegated back to the First Division after just one season, setting many records along the way. They returned to the Kategoria Superiore in 2009 and brought in new players such as Erjon Vucaj,

Arlind Nora Arlind Nora (born 4 July 1980, in Gjirokastër) is a retired Albanian footballer playing as a forward. Career stats Honours Club ;Elbasani *Albanian Superliga The Kategoria Superiore, officially known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorsh ...

, Julian Brahja, Emiliano Çela, Emiliano Veliaj and Ervin Llani. They narrowly lost their first game of the campaign to

Skënderbeu Korçë , 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 ...

4–3 and they only won one of their first seven games, which was win against

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 hom ...

. After spending the early stages of the season in the relegation zone, the club hit form and finished in fourth place head of more established clubs such as

Flamurtari Vlorë 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 one ...

and Vllaznia Shkodër, which also meant they qualified for Europe for the first time in the club's history. Ahead of the 2010–11 season the club brought in new players in order to build upon their fourth-place finish the previous season as well attempt to go through to the next round of 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. ...

. They were drawn against Belarusian side Dnepr Mogilev in the first qualifying round of the 2010–11 Europa League, and they played their first ever European game on 1 July 2010 at the

Niko Dovana Stadium The Niko Dovana Stadium, officially Stadiumi "Niko Dovana", is a multi-use stadium located in Durrës, Albania. It is the home ground of Teuta. The capacity is 12,040, making it the fifth largest ground in the country. It was renamed in 1991 in ...

due to the

not meeting the UEFA criteria to host European games. Bledar Marashi opened the scoring just before half time, scoring the club's first ever goal in a European competition, but his goal was cancelled out in added time as the game ended in a 1–1 draw. However, the second leg proved to be a failure as the club was sent crashing out of the competition following a 7–1 loss, with Valdan Nimani scoring the only goal for the club. Following their exit from Europe, the club brought in players such as Elton Doku, Vangjel Mile and Stipe Buljan ahead of the

campaign in order to build upon their fourth-place finish the previous season. The club defeated

FK Kukësi Futboll Klub Kukësi is an Albanian professional football club based in the city of Kukës. The club plays its home games at the Zeqir Ymeri Stadium and they currently compete in the Kategoria Superiore, the highest tier of Albanian football. Th ...

2–1 in the 2015 Albanian Cup Final to win the

for a second time, meaning they qualified for the

2015–16 UEFA Europa League The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League was the 45th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the seventh season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The 2016 UEFA Europa League Final w ...

KF Laçi statistics in Kategoria Superiore

Since the

began in 1930, KF Laçi have played 675 Superliga matches, scored 733 goals and conceded 839. The club has collected so far 848 points, won 251 games, drawn 153 and lost 271. The club's goal difference is -106 and the winning difference is -106.

Recent seasons

Management

The club appointed current manager

Stavri Nica Stavri Nica (born 8 July 1954) is an Albanian football coach who most recently was manager of KF Devolli in the Albanian First Division. Managerial career Nica replaced Elvis Plori as manager of KS Kastrioti, Kastrioti in October 2018. After winn ...

on 7 July 2006, ahead of the 2006–07 season in the

. The owner of the club Pashk Laska revealed the new manager at the club's Stadiumi Laçi in front of a considerable number of fans. Nica has guided the club to promotion to the top tier of Albanian football and won the

title in the 2008–09 season. Laçi made their best finish in the Kategoria Superiore in the 2009–10 season; where they finished 4th and qualified for the

Stadium

The club plays its home games at the purpose built

located in the centre of

, which has an official seated capacity of 2,300, but attendances have reached 4,000 in recent years. The stadium was renovated following the club's promotion to the

and further work was carried out when in the summer of 2010 as they qualified for Europe for the first time in their history. Laçi had hoped that they would be able to host their home Europa League at their own stadium, but they were not able to complete the reconstruction in time, meaning their first home European tie against Dnepr Mogilev of

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

was held at the

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

. During the reconstruction, the three stands surrounding the playing field were renovated and around 2,300 blue plastic seats were installed to turn the stadium into an all seater. The newly renovated stadium was inaugurated in a home league game against

Shkumbini Peqin KF Shkumbini is an Albanian football club based in the city of Peqin. The club's home ground is the Shkumbini Stadium and they compete in the Kategoria e Dytë. History Football was first introduced to the city of Peqin in the early 1920s after ...

on 30 August 2010 in front of 1,500 spectators, where Laçi won 2–0. During the summer of 2015 the stadium's turf was replaced for the first time since 2006, and minor cosmetic renovation was carried out throughout the rest of the stadium.

European competitions record

Laçi first qualified for European play after a very good 2009–10 domestic campaign in which they finished 4th to earn a place in the Europa League. The club's first ever European game was played on 1 July 2010 at the Stadiumi Niko Dovana in

. They played Dnepr Mogilev of

in the Europa League 1st qualifying round and their first ever match finished 1–1. Although Laçi had the lesser of the chances and only had 2 goal attempts in the match, they still led for much of the second half through a goal by youngster Bledar Marashi in injury time in the first half. However Dnepro equalised in the 92nd minute through Dmitri Turlin which ruined a dream European debut for Laçi. ;Notes * 1Q: First qualifying round * 2Q: Second qualifying round * 3Q: Third qualifying round

Honours

**Winners (2): 2012–13, 2014–15 **''Runners-up (3):'' 2015–16, 2017–18, 2021–22 *

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):

**''Runners-up(1):''

**''Runners-up (1):'' 2021–22 *

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 promo ...

**Winners (2): 2003–04, 2008–09 *

Kategoria e Dytë Kategoria e Dytë is the third professional level of football in Albania. It was called the ''Second Division'' until 2003. Kategoria e Dytë has two groups, A and B. which are divided geographically. It is made up of 23 teams. The winners of each ...

**''Runners-up (1):'' 1974–75

Records

*Biggest ever home league victory: KF Laçi 7–0 Albpetrol Patos – Sept 27, 1997 *Biggest ever home league defeat: KF Laçi 1–7 Vllaznia Shkodër – Dec 18, 2004 *Biggest ever away league victory:

2–5 KF Laçi – March 11, 2011 *Biggest ever away league defeat: KF Skënderbeu Korçë 6–1 KF Laçi – March 4, 2016 *Biggest ever European away defeat: Dnepr Mogilev 7–1 KF Laçi – July 8, 2010 ''Albanian records from September 1997''

Players

Current squad

Records

Below is the list with top ten players with most appearances in all competitions for KF Laçi.

Historical list of coaches

* Astrit Maçi (1990-1991) * Mikel Janku (1992-1993) * Luigj Dodaj (1993-1994) * Arben Feshti (1994-1995) * Kujtim Ceka (1996-1997) * Luigj Dodaj (1997-1999) * Luigj Dodaj (2003-2004) * Ritvan Kulli ( – 10 Sep 2004) *

Hysen Dedja Hysen Dedja (born 16 October 1960) is an Albanian association football, football manager and former player. Playing career A former defender and captain of his hometown club KF Vllaznia Shkodër, Vllaznia Shkodër, he made his debut for them on ...

(10 Sep 2004 – 6 Nov 2004) * Luan Metani (6 Nov 2004 – 3 Apr 2005) * Sinan Bardhi (3 Apr 2005 -) *

(7 Jul 2006 -) * Përparim Daiu (2007-2008) * Ilir Gjyla ( – 21 Sep 2008) *

Edi Martini Eduard "Edi" Martini (born 2 January 1975) is an Albanian football manager and former player, who is the current head coach of Teuta in the Kategoria Superiore. Playing career Club During his playing career, Martini represented mostly Vllaznia ...

(21 Sep 2008 – Jun 2009) *

(Jul 2009 – Jun 2011) * Nevil Dede (Jul 2011 – 20 Dec 2011) * Përparim Daiu (20 Dec 2011 – 28 Aug 2012) *

(28 Aug 2012 – 26 Sep 2012) * Ylber Zani (26 Sep 2012 – 22 Oct 2012) (caretaker) * Ramadan Shehu (22 Oct 2012 – 1 Jan 2013) *

(1 Jan 2013 – 3 Aug 2014) * Armando Cungu (3 Aug 2014 - 31 Dec 2015) *

(1 Jan 2016 – 27 Mar 2016) *

Eugent Zeka Eugent Zeka (born 21 February 1974) is an Italian football coach who was the Sporting Director of KF Vllaznia in the Albanian Superliga. Playing career Early life Zeka was born in Shkodër in 1974 where he attended Jordan Misja High School. He ...

(27 Mar 2016 - 13 Apr 2016) * Ramadan Ndreu (13 Apr 2016 - Dec 2016) *

Marcello Troisi Marcello Troisi Moreira (born 9 March 1976) is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a striker, and the current coach of Turbina in the Kategoria e Parë Kategoria e Parë is the second level of professional football in Albania, behi ...

(Jul 2016 - Oct 2016) * Bledar Sinella (Jan 2017 - Apr 2017) *

(Apr 2017 – Sep 2017) * Gentian Mezani (Sep 2017 - 6 Jun 2018) * Besnik Prenga (6 Jun 2018 - 7 Aug 2018) *

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 ...

(7 Aug 2018 - Oct 2018) *

Migen Memelli Migen Memelli (born 25 April 1980) is an Albanian professional football coach and a former player. Regarded as one of the best strikers of Albanian football, he was known for his goalscoring ability, and has twice been the top goalscorer in th ...

(Nov 2018 - Dec 2018) * Besnik Prenga (Dec 2018 - Mar 2019) *

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 ...

(Mar 2019 - Oct 2019)Ndryshime te Laçi, ikën Prenga dhe vjen Starova
- Gazeta Si * Armando Cungu (Oct 2019 - Nov 2020 ) *

(Nov 2020 – Dec 2020) * Klevis Hima (Dec 2020 – Dec 2020) (caretaker) *

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 Jovanovsk ...

(Dec 2020 – Aug 2021) * Dejan Vukićević (Aug 2021 – 16 Oct 2021) * Sero Noka (17 Oct 2021 – 24 Oct 2021) (caretaker) *

Mirel Josa Mirel Josa (born 1 June 1963) is an Albanian former football player and current coach of Vllaznia in the Kategoria Superiore. As a player, he played in the Greek Alpha Ethniki for Nea Kavala and Aris, as well as making 27 international appearan ...

(25 Oct 2021 – 5 Apr 2022) *

(7 Apr 2022 – 31 July 2022) * Dejan Vukićević (4 Aug 2022 – 17 November 2022) * Gentian Mezani (19 Nov 2022 – )

References

External links

Official websiteLaçi at SoccerwayLaçi at BetstudyLaçi at IMscoutingLaçi at Football.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laci, KF Association football clubs established in 1960 Football clubs in Albania 1960 establishments in Albania Kurbin Albanian Third Division clubs