KF Bylis

KF Bylis is an Albanian professional football club based in Ballsh, part of Mallakastër municipality. They compete in the Abissnet Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. Their home ground is the Adush Muça Stadium.

KF Bylis
Full nameKlubi i Futbollit Bylis
Founded14 July 1972; 51 years ago (1972-07-14) as Ballshi i Ri
GroundAdush Muça Stadium
Ballsh, Albania
Capacity5,200
PresidentBesnik Kapllanaj
ManagerArjan Bellaj
LeagueAbissnet Superiore
2023–24Kategoria e Parë, 2nd (promoted)

History

Early years

The club was formed on 14 July 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, as the best goal scorer was Agim Metaj, making it a national record which was even noted by the prestigious French magazine France Football. However, despite their record breaking season they only 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 Inter Bratislava, 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 them 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 consecutive promotions back to the Albanian Superliga for the 2008–09 season.[citation needed]

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 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 abused 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]

Recent seasons

SeasonLeaguePosPldWDLGFGAPts
2007–0821342356702074
2008–09193391014283837
2009–1021302235572669
2010–11163313416444843
2011–121726989403735
2012–13110269611322930
2013–14112335919205424
2014–152 B1271728462653
2015–1619368820275332
2016–172 B2261763401538
2017–182 B2261475432429
2018–192 B1262132521045
2019–20173612159463851
2020–21193671019285131
2021–2221302235511869
2022–23193691116314238
2023–2421332256553171

KF Bylis in Europe

As of December, 2008.

SeasonCompetitionRoundCountryClubHomeAwayAggregate
1999–00UEFA CupQR Inter Bratislava0–21–31–5
2001UEFA Intertoto Cup1R Universitatea Craiova0–13–33–4
  • QR = Qualifying Round
  • 1R = 1st Round

Players

Current squad

As of 2 February 2024[14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos. NationPlayer
78FW  ALBErgi Hodo
90FW  ALBXhordan Lajthia
99FW  BRAKibe
GK  ALBRejdi Jahaj
DF  ALBDavid Hoxha
DF  ALBFabjan Përndreca
MF  ALBElvi Berisha
MF  BRAGuilherme Buranelli
MF  SENBabacar Fall
MF  BRAVictor Juffo
MF  ALBSkerdilajd Levendi
MF  ALBLaert Papa
MF  ALBAlvaro Tafa
MF  GREAngelos Toska
FW  NGAIbrahim Ademola Akibu
FW  GUIMohamed Diallo
FW  ALBAurel Marku
FW  NGAAuwal Mikailu
FW  GUIMamady Oulare
FW  ALBAlojs Vrenozi

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

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

List of managers

References