Klubi i Futbollit Tirana B is an Albanian football club based in Tiranë. The club is the B team of Albania's most successful club KF Tirana, and it was originally founded in 1932 but had since dissolved before it was refounded on 22 January 2013.
History
In 1932, ahead of the Albanian First Division campaign that was to take place, Sportklub Tiranë decided to put together a reserve team to participate in the first officially recognised reserves competition held in Albania. They competed in Group A along with reserve teams of Teuta Durrës, Bashkimi Shkodran, SK Elbasani and Skënderbeu Korçë. Sportklub Tiranë B, as the club was known at the time won the competition, but were not eligible to compete in the championship finals for the main Albanian First Division title and promotion to the Albanian Superliga. The following year the Albanian Football Association held the same competition, in which Sportklub Tiranë B won once again in the second and final year. The team dissolved in 1933 and the players either joined the youth team of Sportklub Tiranë or the first team. New B teams were recreated over the years, notably in 1980 where a team was recreated in order to compete in a friendly cup competition held by the Albanian Football Association, in which the team won.
On 22 January 2013 the first official KF Tirana reserve team was founded as a result of a decision undertaken by the Municipality of Tirana to restructure the club's academy system as well as to improve the efficiency and image of the club as a whole. The team was formed in order to allow younger players to gain first team experience in the lower divisions of Albanian football, and also for first team players to prepare for first team games through featuring in reserve games as players from the first team, under-19s and under-17s are eligible to play for the B team.[1] The club was officially registered to the Albanian Football Association on the same day as its foundation, and they competed in the Albanian Third Division in the 2012-13 season, which is the fourth and lowest tier of the Albanian Football Association competitions. The club's first manager was named as former KF Tirana player Ardian Mema, who guided the club to a third place finish in the 2012-13 Albanian Third Division campaign. The following season the club finished top of Group A and reached the championship final against Teuta Durrës B, in which they won 2-0 through a brace scored by Franci Kosova, which handed KF Tirana B their first officially recognised honour and promotion to the Albanian Second Division.[2]
Stadium
KF Tirana plays most of its official and friendly games mainly at the Selman Stërmasi stadium in Tirana. The Selman Stërmasi Stadium was built in 1956 and was previously named the 'Dinamo' Stadium till 1991 when it was permanently given its new name. The Football Association of Albania and the club decided to name the stadium post mortem after the eminent KF Tirana player, coach and president, Selman Stërmasi. The stadium has a capacity of 12,500 (of which 6000 seated) and has recently ended a long phase of construction, involving development of the main pitch, central seated area, facilities around the ground and general lineaments. There are still improvements expected to be made soon, as side seated areas, an electronic clock and a KF Tirana shopping centre just under central seated. The internal facilities include a press conference room, journalists' corner and modern showers. The main parking area is located at the front of the stadium, which leads to the entrance. The whole external part of the stadium is surrounded by a 9 ft rail fence.[3][4]
Honours
- Albanian Football Association Cup
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| 1 |
 |
GK |
Mersin Hasi
|
| 1 |
|
GK |
Marsel Çaka
|
| 2 |
|
MF |
Liridon Mjekaj
|
| 3 |
|
DF |
Roland Lita
|
| 4 |
|
DF |
Marjano Bregasi
|
| 5 |
|
DF |
Elvis Lala (Captain)
|
| 6 |
|
MF |
Jon Zajmi
|
| 7 |
|
MF |
Kevin Kacoli
|
| 8 |
|
MF |
Florind Taku
|
| 8 |
|
MF |
Renis Gaci
|
| 9 |
|
MF |
Donald Muça
|
| 10 |
|
MF |
Emrush Kaloshi
|
| 10 |
|
MF |
West Cenaj
|
| 11 |
|
FW |
Dejvis Cangu |
|
|
|
Managers
- Ardian Mema (22 January 2013 – 30 June 2013)[5]
- Ilir Muça (30 June 2013-)
Current technical staff
- President: Refik Halili
- Club Secretary Eno Shyti
- Technical Director: Krenar Alimehmeti
- Head Coach: Ilir Muca
- Spokesperson: Iva Mera
- Academy Krenar Alimehmeti
- Goalkeeping Coach: Astrit Nallbani
- Club Doctor: Eduard Gjini
- Physiotherapist: Ylli Mihali
Recent seasons
Albanian Second Division
League table
Group A
Updated to match(es) played on 26 April 2015. Source:
SoccerwayRules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) head-to-head points; 5) head-to-head goal difference; 6) draw. (Head-to-head record is applied for clubs with the same amount of points only once all matches between said clubs have been played.)
Notes:
- ↑ FK Sukthi were deducted 3 points from classification for activating a player who had no right to play in the game against Korabi Peshkopi on 22 February 2015 and also Korabi were awarded with a 3-0 win.[6]
References
External links
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