FC Zana ( ka, საფეხბურთო კლუბი ზანა) is a Georgian municipal

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 the town of

Abasha Abasha ( ka, აბაშა) is a town in western Georgia (country), Georgia with a population of 4,941. It is situated between the rivers of Abasha (river), Abasha and Noghela, at 23m Above mean sea level, above sea level and is located some t ...

. They compete in Liga 4, the fourth tier of Georgian football.

History

The third tier is the highest division where Zana have taken part since the formation of independent Georgian championship in 1990. The team gained promotion to

Meore Liga Liga 3 ( ka, ლიგა 3), organized by the Georgian Football Federation, is the third division of professional football in Georgia. Introduced for the 2017 season with the launch of the Erovnuli Liga, it is a rebrand of the former Meore Liga ...

in 2015, although their tenure there lasted two seasons. Following their relegation in 2016, Zana spent seven seasons in

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 ...

. Zana came 3rd in their group tournament three times in four years, including in 2022, when the team was chasing promotion up until the last match. However, having lost a crucial game, they failed to overcome their two rivals and qualify for

playoffs 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 ...

. This season the club turned out to be the only fifth-division side to have prevailed over four opponents in the Cup campaign and progressed into the round of 16 for the first time in their history. The next year Zana finished 2nd in the western zone of the regional league tournament, which implied securing a play-off qualifying spot. Following a 2–1 win over ''UG 35'', the club earned promotion to the 4th league for 2024. The team is also a regular participant of the annual Western Cup competition, organized by the regional Football Federation of

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი, ) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 mun ...

. Zana won this tournament in 2020.

Seasons

Squad

''As of 4 September 2024'' (C)

Stadium

Zana play their home matches at a 1,000-seater stadium named after Mevlud Miminoshvili (1942–2023). Born in Abasha, he was a

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 ...

referee, working in the

Soviet Top League The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (), served as the top division (tier) of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991. The league's name was a conditional designation used for brevity since being completely owned and g ...

for ten seasons in the 1980s.

Name

Zana is the name of a river that flows for 42 km in Abasha municipality.

References

External links

Profile on Soccerway

Page in Facebook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zana Abasha Football clubs in Georgia (country) Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti