HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Football Club Chikhura Sachkhere, commonly known as Chikhura Sachkhere or simply Chikhura, is a Georgian
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club based in
Sachkhere Sachkhere ( ka, საჩხერე ) is a town at the northern edge of the Imereti Province in Western Georgia. It is the center of the Sachkhere Municipality. Farming is a major contributor to the economy of Sachkhere. Alva LLC estimates tha ...
. Following the 2024 season, the club was relegated to
Regionuli Liga Regionuli Liga ( Georgian: რეგიონული ლიგა), run by Georgian Football Federation since 1990, is the fifth and lowest division of the Georgian league system after Erovnuli Liga, Erovnuli Liga 2, Liga 3 and Liga 4. Its par ...
, the fifth tier of Georgian league system.


History

Founded in 1938, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the club was disbanded, but later they resumed participation in low leagues of the republican championship. Since 2002 Chikhura has been financed by the Georgian businessman
Bidzina Ivanishvili Bidzina Ivanishvili (; born 18 February 1956), also known as Boris Grigoryevich Ivanishvili, is a French-Georgian businessman, politician and billionaire oligarch. He is founder and the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party and has ruled G ...
. The club spent many years in lower divisions before getting promoted to
Umaglesi Liga The Erovnuli Liga ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა; ) is the top division of professional top tier football in Georgia. Since 1990, it has been organized by the Professional Football League of Georgia and Georgian Football Federati ...
in 2012. The league gained a stable and decent member, known as a tough rival for championship title candidates. From the outset the club proved they were going to challenge the best teams. In 2013 Chikhura knocked out top flight sides Shukura, Dila and Sioni and reached
David Kipiani Cup The Georgian Cup ( ka, საქართველოს თასი) is the main annual association football knockout cup competition in Georgia. It is organized by the Georgian Football Federation (GFF) and is open to clubs of all divisions. The ...
final. Despite the defeat from
Dinamo Tbilisi Dinamo Tbilisi is a sports club from Tbilisi, Georgia (country), Georgia. It was founded in 1925. Among its highest honors, is the European trophy earned by its Association football, football team which won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1981, beating ...
, they qualified for the
2013–14 UEFA Europa League The 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was the 43rd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the fifth season under its current title. The final was played between Sevilla and Benfica at the Juventus Stadium in Tu ...
1st round. This was the first season that Chikhura Sachkhere appeared in European Competition with their first opponent being
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
's Cup-winners
Vaduz Vaduz (; or ; High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' ...
. From now until 2020 the club started regularly taking part in
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
competitions, missing out just one season in between. In almost each case this provincial team with relatively negligent financial resources, which played their matches mostly in far-away Tbilisi, could afford to show a fighting spirit against their far stronger opponents. In this regard Chikhura drew attention and respect from Georgian fans during the European campaign regardless of who they supported in the domestic league. According to the statistics, the club achieved better results in away games. In 2014 Chikhura eliminated
Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...
club
Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği, commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkey, Turkish professional sports club based in the city of Bursa. Founded in 1963, the club is best known for its football team, which has a rich history in Football in Turkey, Turk ...
in the second round of
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
competition. This remains one of the most memorable successes in the club's history. In 2016 Chikhura won White Group of the league by finishing six points clear of
Dinamo Tbilisi Dinamo Tbilisi is a sports club from Tbilisi, Georgia (country), Georgia. It was founded in 1925. Among its highest honors, is the European trophy earned by its Association football, football team which won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1981, beating ...
and took part in championship
play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
, where they were beaten by
Samtredia Samtredia ( ka, სამტრედია ) is a town in Imereti, Georgia (country), Georgia, lying in a lowland between the rivers Rioni River, Rioni and Tskhenis-Tsqali, west of the capital Tbilisi, and west of Georgia's third largest city K ...
. This was the closest point to champion's title the club have ever reached in their history. The next season Chikhura finally reaped the fruits of their efforts. After reaching the finals or semifinals of the Cup for five successive seasons, they clinched their first title. Goalkeeper
Dino Hamzić Dino Hamzić (born 22 January 1988) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for First League of the RS club Slavija Sarajevo. International career In 2009, he played for the Bosnia and Herzegovina under-21 national team ...
, who did not concede a single goal during the entire campaign, was named man of the match.
Giorgi Gabedava Giorgi Gabedava (born 3 October 1989) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Erovnuli Liga club Gagra. He has played in four countries and won eight titles in all competitions in Georgia. Individually, with 22 goals sco ...
became another player, who was awarded following the 2018 season. He won in four nominations, including as the best striker of the season and top scorer with the latter shared with
Budu Zivzivadze Budu Zivzivadze () ( ka, ბუდუ ზივზივაძე; born 10 March 1994) is a Georgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club 1. FC Heidenheim and the Georgia national team. Being the winner of the ...
. In the summer the club made headlines yet again, this time after their victory over
Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club (), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply Beitar (), is an Israeli professional football club based in the city of Jerusalem, that plays in the Israeli Premier League, the top tier in Israeli football ...
and a home draw with Maribor Ljubljana. 2019 marked the beginning of the crisis. While thrashed by
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
in
Europa league The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...
, Chikhura failed to achieve anything noteworthy either in
Erovnuli Liga The Erovnuli Liga ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა; ) is the top Division (sport), division of professional top tier Association football, football in Georgia (Country), Georgia. Since 1990, it has been organized by the Professional ...
or the Cup and with several key players departed, head coach
Samson Pruidze Samson (Soso) Pruidze ( ka, სამსონ (სოსო) ფრუიძე) (born 6 October 1957 in Kutaisi) is a retired Georgian and Soviet football player and later Georgian manager. Player Soso Pruidze spent an uneventful season at ...
left the club. The former
Torpedo Kutaisi FC Torpedo Kutaisi ( Georgian: საფეხბურთო კლუბი ტორპედო ქუთაისი) is a Georgian professional football club based in Kutaisi, Georgia's third largest city. The team competes in the Erovnuli ...
right-back had trained Chikhura for twelve seasons, an absolute record in national football history since the independence, which made him a legend among this generation of Georgian managers. In 2020 Chikhura played all home games in Tbilisi and in the worst result in years finished in the drop-zone. Although the club avoided an automatic relegation, they suffered a defeat in both play-off games from in-form Samgurali. Following this season defender Shota Kashia, who had spent eight seasons in Chikhura, including last six years as a captain, parted ways with the club. Chikhura's woes stretched into the next four years, when they ended up at rock bottom of second, third and fourth leagues. However, after the 2022 season the club avoided relegation due to disqualification of another team from Liga 3.


Statistics


Domestic

:


European competitions

;Notes


Honours

*
Erovnuli Liga The Erovnuli Liga ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა; ) is the top Division (sport), division of professional top tier Association football, football in Georgia (Country), Georgia. Since 1990, it has been organized by the Professional ...
**Runners-up (1):
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
*
Georgian Cup The Georgian Cup ( ka, საქართველოს თასი) is the main annual association football knockout cup competition in Georgia. It is organized by the Georgian Football Federation (GFF) and is open to clubs of all divisions. Th ...
**Winners (1):
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
**Runners-up (2):
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
, 2013–14 *
Georgian Super Cup The Georgian Super Cup is a super cup tournament in Georgian football. Founded in 1996 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2023 by four teams, those being the first, second, and third placed teams in the Erovnul ...
**Winners (1): 2013 *
Pirveli Liga The Georgian Erovnuli Liga 2 ( ka, ეროვნული ლიგა 2; ), organized since 1990 by the GFF, serves as the second division of professional football in Georgia. The league was introduced for the 2017 season under the current ...
**Winners (2): 2005-06 and 2011-12


Stadium

The team's home ground is the 2,000-seat Central stadium, although in recent years they played home games at ''Ivantsminda stadium'', situated in six km from the district center.


Name

The club have had different names throughout their history, including ''"Spartaki"'', ''"Kolmeurne"'', ''"Peikari"''. ''Chikhura'' is the name of a river in
Sachkhere Sachkhere ( ka, საჩხერე ) is a town at the northern edge of the Imereti Province in Western Georgia. It is the center of the Sachkhere Municipality. Farming is a major contributor to the economy of Sachkhere. Alva LLC estimates tha ...
.


References


External links

*
FC Chikhura Sachkhere
at
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
.com
FC Chikhura Sachkhere
at
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
.com (archived) {{Erovnuli Liga teamlist
Chikhura Sachkhere Football Club Chikhura Sachkhere, commonly known as Chikhura Sachkhere or simply Chikhura, is a Georgia (country), Georgian football (soccer), football club based in Sachkhere. Following the 2024 Liga 4 (Georgia), 2024 season, the club was rele ...
1938 establishments in Georgia (country) Association football clubs established in 1938