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.
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| Full name | Klubi i Futbollit Bylis | ||
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| Founded | 14 July 1972 as U.P.TH.N
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| Ground | Adush Muça Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 5,200 | ||
| President | Besnik Kapllanaj | ||
| Manager | Nevil Dede | ||
| League | Kategoria Superiore | ||
| 2023–24 | Kategoria e Parë, 2nd (promoted) | ||
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History
editEarly years
editThe 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
editIn 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
editKF 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
editKF Bylis in Europe
editAs of December, 2008.
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
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| 1999–00 | UEFA Cup | QR | Inter Bratislava | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–5 | |
| 2001 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | 1R | Universitatea Craiova | 0–1 | 3–3 | 3–4 |
- QR = Qualifying Round
- 1R = 1st Round
Players
editCurrent squad
edit- As of 1 September 2024[14]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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On Loan
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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U-19 Squad
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable players
editThis list of "famous" or "notable" people has no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help improve this article by defining clear inclusion criteria to contain only subjects that fit those criteria. (May 2024) |
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
Agim Metaj
Guy Madjo
Borjan Pancevski
Miloš Stojanović
Patrik Bordon
Marco Morgon
Ndubuisi Egbo
January Ziambo
Saliou Guindo
List of managers
editNaci Şensoy (Jul 2011 - Jun 2012)
Mauro De Vecchis (8 Oct 2015 - 23 Oct 2015)
Adnan Zildžović (29 Jan 2016 - Jul 2016)
References
edit- ^ Para viteve ‘90, asnjëherë mes më të mirëve Archived 2014-03-21 at archive.today
- ^ "Albanian football season 1996–97". Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ "Albanian football season 1998–99". Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ "Albanian football season 1999-00". Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ "Albania football season 2000–01". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ Universitatea Craiova 3–3 Bylis
- ^ Bylis 0 – 1 Universitatea Craiova
- ^ "Albanian football season 2002–03". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ Kapllanaj "Futbollit i kërkoj ndjesë, për 8 vite dhashë edhe shpirtin!" Archived 2014-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Bylish 0–0 Laçi". Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- ^ "Banditizëm në Ballsh, Kapllanaj i godet të gjithë me shkop gome". Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "Disiplina dënon aktet dhunës në futboll". Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ Disiplina përjashton Bylisin, ja se si ndryshon Superiorja Archived 2014-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Bylis Ballsh squad". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.