Albanian Superliga

Albanian Superliga

Countries	Albania
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	1930
Number of teams	12
Levels on pyramid	1
Relegation to	First Division
Domestic cup(s)	Albanian Cup
International cup(s)	Champions League Europa League
Current champions	Dinamo (2009–10)
Most championships	KF Tirana (24 titles)
Website	Official
2010–11 Albanian Superliga

The Albanian Superliga (Albanian: Kategoria superiore), the highest level of association football in Albania, was founded in 1930 under the name Kategoria e Pare (First Division).

At its inception, six teams competed for the league title. In the 1998-1999 season it became the 'Kategoria superiore' with sixteen teams participating; in 1999-2000 that number was reduced to 14. Since the 2006-2007 season, 12 teams play in the Superliga.

History

The First Division in Albanian football was founded in 1930. Like many countries though, a Premier Division (Superliga) has been founded since then and First Division is now the second level in Albanian football. This became the case in 1998. The league has been dominated by clubs from Albania's capital city, Tirana, with only fourteen titles going elsewhere in the country. Nine of those fourteen titles have gone to Vllaznia Shkodër.

All-time champions, second placed and leading goalscorers

Note: from 1958 to 1991, SK Tirana and KS Elbasani were named respectively 17 Nëntori and Labinoti

Performance by club

24 championships

• SK Tirana - (26 if WWII championships added)

18 championships

• Dinamo

15 championships

• Partizani

9 championships

• Vllaznia - (10 if WWII championships added)

2 championships

• KS Elbasani

1 championship

• Flamurtari
• Skënderbeu
• Teuta

Top 20 clubs all time ranking

All-time top scorers

Seasons top scorers

Competition format

The Albanian Superliga consists of twelve teams. Each team plays each of the other sides three times for a total of 33 games. A draw at the start of the season determines the fixtures and who gets the advantage over an opponent by playing two home games against them. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points has won the championship. The first three teams earn the right to compete in European competitions, with the champion entering UEFA Champions League at the First Qualifying Round and the other two teams entering UEFA Europa League, also at the First Qualifying Round. Teams that finish in the bottom two places at the end of the season are relegated to First Division and are replaced by two other clubs from that division for the following season.

Teams for the 2010–11 season

Albanian Superliga

External links

• FutbolliShqiptar.net(Albanian)
• Albanian Soccer News(Albanian)(English)
• Albania Sport(Albanian)
• Shqiperia-Futboll(Albanian)