FC Borjomi is a Georgian football club based in Borjomi. Since 2021, they have played in Liga 3, the third tier of the Georgian football system.
 | |||
| Full name | FC Borjomi | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1936 | ||
| Ground | Jemal Zeinklishvili Stadium Borjomi, Georgia | ||
| Capacity | 4,000 | ||
| Chairman | Koba Tediashvili | ||
| Manager | Konstantine Asanidze | ||
| League | Liga 3 | ||
| 2023 | 11th of 16 in Liga 3 | ||
The team has spent four seasons in the top flight.
Their home ground is Jemal Zeinklishvili Stadium.
History
Founded in 1936, FC Borjomi participated in the Georgian regional championship for many years.
From 1993/94 they spent several seasons in the second and third division. In 2004/05 Borjomi finished 2nd in Liga 2[1] and got promoted to Umaglesi Liga, where the club competed for four seasons.
The fifth place in 2005/06 is the best result Borjomi have achieved in Georgian leagues. It is noteworthy that the club won 14 home games out of 15, including against the top three leaders.[2]
In the 2007/08 season Borjomi won the group stage of David Kipiani Cup and reached the semifinals,[3] but the next year the club finished in the bottom place and quit the league.
A few years later Borjomi experienced some significant revival. Having convincingly won the third division in 2014, the next year team achieved great progress towards the return to the top league. As the runners-up, they booked a place for promotion play-off game against Lokomotive Tbilisi. This dramatic final match ended 3-3 and the winner of the tie was determined after the penalty shoot-out.[4]
Shortly some harsh times followed with two relegations within four seasons. Borjomi sank to a low ebb in 2019 when they failed to preserve a place in the third division.[5] Аs a result, the head coach was replaced and 90% of players parted ways with the club.[6]
In 2021, the club won the first stage of Liga 4 competition, qualified for the Promotion Group and managed to advance back to the third league from the third place.[7]
Seasons
Season League Pos. P W D L GF GA Pts Cup 1993/94 Pirveli Liga East 13 34 12 5 17 48 59 41 – 1994/95 Pirveli Liga East 10 30 9 4 17 47 70 31 – 1995/96 Pirveli Liga East 19 36 5 4 27 31 78 19 – 1996/97 Pirveli Liga East 7 38 21 4 13 51 52 67 2nd Round 1998/99 Pirveli Liga East 9 26 9 2 15 36 42 29 Preliminary Round 2000/01 Pirveli Liga 7 22 8 5 9 22 19 29 – Relegation Round 2 10 5 2 3 12 8 32 – 2001/02 Pirveli Liga 12↓ 22 2 1 19 16 68 7 – 2002/03 Regionuli Liga Centre – 2003/04 Regionuli Liga Centre ↑ – 2004/05 Pirveli Liga 2↑ 30 22 3 5 74 36 69 1st round 2005/06 Umaglesi Liga 5 30 19 2 9 50 26 59 Quarterfinals 2006/07 10 26 8 6 12 29 35 30 Quarterfinals 2007/08 9 26 9 4 13 32 39 31 Semifinals 2008/09 11↓ 30 2 7 21 21 85 13 Round of 32 2013/14 Meore Liga 1↑ 30 24 5 1 107 25 77 – 2014/15 Pirveli Liga, B 2 30 16 6 14 40 43 54 – 2015/16 Pirveli Liga 4 34 17 10 7 45 32 61 – 2016 Pirveli Liga 3↓ 16 8 1 7 22 17 22 2nd Round 2017 Liga 3 White 4 18 7 7 4 22 17 28 2nd Round Relegation Group 3 18 8 6 4 30 21 30 2018 Liga 3 7 38 18 7 13 66 56 61 1st Round 2019 Liga 3 9↓ 36 12 3 21 30 57 39 Round of 32 2020 Liga 4 Red Group 3 14 7 2 5 27 13 21 2nd Round 2021 Liga 4 Red Group 1 18 13 3 2 46 16 42 2nd Round Promotion Group 3↑ 18 11 3 4 30 19 36 2022 Liga 3 8 30 12 5 13 47 40 41 1st Round 2023 11 30 11 2 17 50 78 35 2nd Round
Current squad
As of 12 March 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | MF |  GEO | Tornike Muzashvili |
| 13 | DF | GEO | Davit Udumashvili |
| 14 | FW | GEO | Giorgi Paksashvili |
| 16 | GK | GEO | Saba Shalikashvili |
| 19 | DF | GEO | Temur Iluridze |
| 20 | MF | GEO | Mikheil Kochakidze |
| 21 | MF | GEO | Saba Nadiradze |
| 24 | FW | GEO | Mikheil Acharadze |
| 25 | DF | GEO | Vano Kurdghelashvili (C) |
Managers
| Name | Nat. | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Koba Tediashvili | | 2018 | 2019 |
| Malkhaz Latsabidze | | 2020 | 2022 |
| Gocha Avsajanishvili | | 2022 | 2022 |
| Giorgi Macharadze | | 2023 | 2023 |
| Malkhaz Latsabidze | | 2023 | 2023 |
| Konstantine Asanidze | | 2023 |
Honours
Stadium
The club's home ground is a stadium named after Borjomi-born player Jemal Zeinklishvili, who was a member of Dinamo Tbilisi squad during their victorious season in the Soviet Top league in 1964.
The arena was announced unfit for hosting official matches in 2020, which forced the local municipal authorities to unveil reconstruction plans.[8] In March 2024, an eighteen-month rehabilitation project was announced.[9]
For this reason, since 2021 the team has been using other football grounds such as Mtskheta Park and the Khashuri stadium for their home games.
Name
Between 1936 and 2004 - FC Tori Borjomi
Since 2004 - FC Borjomi
The term Tori comes from a medieval name of the region where Borjomi and surrounding areas are situated.
FC Tori, another football club based in Borjomi, competed in Regionuli Liga between 2016 and 2022.