KF Bylis Ballsh

KF Bylis Ballsh

Full name	Klubi i Futbollit Bylis Ballsh
Founded	September 1972 (1972-09) as Ballshi i Ri
Ground	Adush Muça Stadium Ballsh, Albania
Ground Capacity	5,200
Chairman	Agron Kapllanaj
Manager	Adnan Zildžović
League	Albanian Superliga
2014–15	Albanian First Division, 1st
Home colours Away colours

Klubi i Futbollit Bylis Ballsh is an Albanian football club based in Ballsh, Mallakastër District. The club's home ground is the Adush Muça Stadium and they currently compete in the Albanian Superliga.

History

Early history

The club was formed in September 1972 as Ballshi i Ri, and they played in the Albanian Third Division between 1973 and 1976. But between 1976 and 1981 they were not allowed to participate in Albanian football due to laws restricting a single team from each district. They began playing once again in the Third Division in 1981, which they eventually won in 1986 and were promoted to the Albanian Second Division. The club played in the Second Division for 10 years between 1986 and 1996, where they were promoted following a successful 1995–96 season which saw the club score 124 goals and concede just 21, making it a national record which was even noted by prestigious French magazine France Football. However, despite their record breaking season they finished as runners-up in the league but still achieved promotion to the Albanian Superliga.^[1]

Golden days

In their debut season in the top flight of Albanian football the club finished in 14th place out of 18 teams.^[2] During the 1998–99 season the club finished in third place, just 2 points behind the eventual champions KF Tirana^[3] this earned the club a place in the UEFA Cup for the first time. In their first European experience KF Bylis played Slovakian side FK Senica, whom they lost 5–1 to on aggregate. The following season they would again finish strongly, this time in 5th place, joint on points with 4th place side Vllaznia Shkodër, who they lost 4–3 to in the play-off for the UEFA Intertoto Cup place.^[4] In the 2000–01 season they finished 5th once again^[5] and earned a place in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, where they met Romanian side FC Universitatea Craiova the following season. They lost 4–3 on aggregate, after a memorable 3–3 draw away in Romania^[6] and a 1–0 home loss.^[7]

Recent history

KF Bylis then began to struggle, eventually getting relegated after a poor 2002–03 season which saw they finish second to last with just 26 points and 3 wins from 26 games.^[8] They were relegated once again to the third tier after the 2004–05 season in which they scored just 13 league goals in total. Between 2007 and 2009 the club achieved back-to-back promotions back to the Albanian Superliga for the 2008–09 season.

Besnik Kapllanaj was the club's president between 2006 and 2014 and owned a 75% share in the club, with the remaining 25% owned by the Ballsh Municipality.^[9]

On 15 March 2014 in a home tie against KF Laçi^[10] the club's president was involved in an altercation with the FSHS head of competitions, Besnik Çela. Kapllanaj hit the FSHF delegate Çela in the head with a baton which required him to be rushed to hospital due to the injury. Cela refused to start the game due to overcrowding inside the Adush Muça Stadium. Once some of the fans had left the they began to throw rock into the stadium in disapproval of the FSHF's decision to not let them watch the match, which kicked off 20 minutes later than scheduled. Kapllanaj then allegedly caused a power cut so that SuperSport Albania cameras could not transmit the game live as was planned. In the closing stages of the game KF Laçi were awarded a penalty which caused crowd trouble, as they began to throw rocks onto the pitch. KF Laçi's president Pashk Laska instructed captain and penalty taker Erjon Vuçaj to miss the penalty intentionally to avoid further trouble and danger for his teammates. Following the final whistle Kapllanaj physically abuses KF Laçi's players by hitting them with a baton, as well as Besnik Çela, who later filed a police report against Kapllanaj once he left the hospital.^[11] On 19 March the club's president Besnik Kapllanaj resigned from his post hours before the verdict from the FSHF disciplinary commission, who punished him with a lifetime ban from sporting activities in Albania. The commission also expelled the club from the Albanian Superliga with 9 remaining games of the 2013–14 season, relegating the club to the Albanian First Division for the 2014–15 season as well as handing KF Laçi a 3–0 victory in the game which originally ended 0–0.^[12] The following day Kapllanaj turned himself in to the Fier police authorities after being charged for assault.^[13]

Seasons

KS Bylis in Europe

As of December, 2008.

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away
1999–00	UEFA Cup	QR		FK Senica	0–2	1–3
2001	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R		Universitatea Craiova	0–1	3–3

• QR = Qualifying Round
• 1R = 1st Round

Current squad

As of 1 February 2016

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 Stivi Frashëri 2 DF Duško Dukić 3 DF Amir Bilali 4 DF Julian Brahja 5 DF Borislav Simić 6 DF Albi Alla (on loan from Skënderbeu) 7 FW Ardit Hoxhaj 8 MF Flamur Tairi 9 FW Brunild Pepa 10 FW Edmílson 11 FW Qemal Mustafaraj 12 GK Shkëlzen Ruçi 12 GK Mikel Kaloshi 14 DF Arben Muskaj 16 DF Elis Doksani

No. Position Player 17 MF Ledjon Muçaj 19 MF Orgest Gava 20 DF Sulaimon Adekunle 22 DF Ardit Peposhi 29 MF Renato Hyshmeri 67 FW Juan Manuel Varea 78 MF Emmanuel Mbella 88 DF Samir Sahiti — FW Solomonson Izuchukwuka — MF Plarent Fejzaj 1 GK Kushtrim Mushica 4 DF Elton Basriu 6 DF Maringlen Shoshi 16 MF Rofrenc Nelaj 88 DF Ahmet Haliti

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries. Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Bylis Ballsh.

Past (and present) players who are the subjects of Wikipedia articles can be found

Managers

• Andrea Marko (Sept 21, 2002 – Dec 7, 2002)
• Ilir Spahiu (July 1, 2010 – Sept 18, 2010)
• Agim Meto (interim) (Sept 18, 2010 – Sept 20, 2010)
• Nikola Ilievski (Sept 21, 2010 – March 12, 2011)
• Agim Canaj (March 17, 2011 – June 30, 2011)
• Naci Şensoy (Sept 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012)
• Agim Canaj (July 1, 2012 – Nov 22, 2012)
• Naci Şensoy (Nov 22, 2012 – June 30, 2013)
• Ndubuisi Egbo (Aug 1, 2013 – June 30, 2014)
• Roland Nenaj (June 30, 2014–)

References