Football Club Kamza is a professional association football club based in Kamëz, Tirana County, Albania. Their home ground is the Kamëz Stadium and they currently compete in the Albanian First Division, the second tier of Albanian football. The club was founded on 10 September 1936 and it has competed in the lower levels of Albanian football for much of its history, except for the 2011–12 season where they were promoted to the Albanian Superliga for the first time but they were relegated in their debut season and have competed in the First Division since.
History
Background
The first game of football to be played in Kamëz took place on 26 July 1908, as a celebration of the Young Turk Revolution which was triggered 16 days earlier by Ahmed Niyazi Bey, who was Albanian. The game was organised by Refik Toptani of the noble Toptani family and it featured two groups of youths from Kamëz and Tiranë, named Tërkuzaj and Agimi respectively. The game took place on a field near Toptani's home, which is the current location of the Sevasti & Parashqevi Qirjazi University, near the Agricultural University of Tirana in Kodër Kamez. Around 1,200 people gathered from across Tiranë area in order to celebrate as well as watch the game, which started at 17:00 and ended in a 3–3 draw. Although the game was not played according to the rules, as there were no field markings or cross bars, it is still considered to be the first game of football to be played in Kamëz, as well as the first ever Tirana derby. The two sides met each other five times in friendlies held between 1908 and 1916, with Terkuzaj Kamëz winning once and Agimi Tiranë winning three times, with the two sides having drawn the first game.[1] Terkuzaj is considered to be the current FC Kamza's preceding club, as it is the first recorded side to have represented Kamëz in a football match, over 28 years before the establishment of Kamza.
Early history
The club was founded on 10 September 1936 and was named Kamza until 1949, when the club's name was changed to Ndërmarrja Bujqësore e Shtetit Ylli Kuq Kamëz, before being reverted to Kamza in 1950. Between 1953 and 1993 the club was called Dajti Kamëz, after Mount Dajt. Between 1993 and 2001 the club was called Kamza, before being renamed Dajti Kamëz in 2001. In 2009 the club reverted to Kamza.[2]
Qarri years (2006–present)
In November 2006 local businessman Naim Qarri became the president and primary investor of the club, while they were competing in the Albanian Second Division, the third tier of Albanian football.
Kamza achieved promotion to the Albanian Superliga for the first time in its 75-year history following a 4–1 victory over local rivals Partizani Tirana on 4 May 2011 with goals from Klevis Dalipi, Ermal Kenga and a brace from Andi Lame.[3] The following day at a packed Kamëz Stadium, promotion was celebrated, commemorating the history of the club and the historic achievement.[2]
Stadium
Kamëz Stadium in May 2016.
The club plays its home games at the Kamëz Stadium, which is owned and operated by the Municipality of Kamëz and has a capacity of around 5,500. The stadium was completed in 2008 and it initially had one main stand with a small amount of VIP seating and concrete steps on either side of the main stand for fans to watch games from. The Municipality regularly invested in the stadium to improve the conditions, and in 2012 work began on the construction of a new 1,300 seater stand on the east side of the stadium, opposite the main stand. Stand B was officially completed in February 2014 as 1,300 plastic seats were installed on 9 concrete steps. During the summer of 2016 the playing field was replaced, making it one of the best playing surfaces in not only the Albanian First Division but the country.
Achievements
Current squad
- As of 25 October 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Head coaches
References
External links
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