FC Dila Gori

FC Dila (Georgian: საფეხბურთო კლუბი დილა) is a Georgian professional football club based in Gori. The club takes part in the Erovnuli Liga, the first tier of Georgian football, and plays their home games at the Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium.

FC Dila Gori

Full name	Football Club Dila Gori
Nickname(s)	Guarders
Founded	1949; 76 years ago (1949)
Ground	Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium Gori, Georgia
Capacity	5,000
Chairman	Davit Koziashvili
Manager	Ricardo Costa
Coach	Francisco Castro
League	Erovnuli Liga
2024	3rd
Website	fcdila.ge
Home colours Away colours

Dila won the Georgian Cup in 2012 and Georgian Championship in 2015.

History

In the Soviet leagues

Founded in 1949, the club was named after poem "Dila" (literally - morning) written by Joseph Stalin, who was born in the city and spent his youth there.^[1]

Until 1961, they played under the name Dinamo Gori in Group A of Georgian republican championship. Following the second place in 1965, the next year Dila took part in the Soviet third league and despite an unbeaten run at home finished 11th among 20 clubs in zone 4, Group B.^[2]

In 1969, Dila won the competition among the Caucasian teams.^[3] The club played several seasons in zone 4 of the Soviet Second League and after 1979 moved to zone 9 where Transcaucasia was represented. In 1967, 1974, and 1986, Dila reached the 3rd place which was their best result in the Soviet third division.

In Georgian leagues

In 1990, Georgia formed an independent league, which included all clubs from the first three Soviet football divisions. Before 2000 Dila were an average team sitting in mid-table, but in the second decade their performance deteriorated. Although most of the seasons Dila participated in the top league, twice they were relegated to Liga 2 and once to Liga 3.

In 2010, the rise started with Dila gaining two consecutive promotions within two years. In 2012 the club clinched their first title after winning the Georgian Cup^[4] and during the next five seasons four times represented Georgia in qualifying rounds of UEFA club competitions, including the Champions League. Also, twice in a row Dila participated in Europa League play-offs. During this period they were reinforced by national team members Nukri Revishvili, Giorgi Navalovski, Otar Martsvaladze and Mate Vatsadze.

Dila won their first top-tier medals in 2013. With a single point in the starting four matches the club seemed an unlikely candidate for trophies, but later they produced an eleven-game winning run, beating all league opponents one after another, and ended up in the second place.^[5]

The club achieved their biggest success in the 2014/15 season under 25-year-old head coach Ucha Sosiashvili.^[6] Dila, whose squad included experienced players Aleksandre Kvakhadze, Irakli Modebadze and Nika Kvekveskiri, entered the title race in an early stage and concluded the season with six points clear from their two immediate rivals.^[7] Forward Irakli Modebadze became a league topscorer with 16 goals.

Facing some financial difficulties, FC Dila as a municipal property was sold at a public auction the next year.^[8] As a result, Israeli business group Starsportinvest took charge of the club in October 2016.^[9]

For three consecutive seasons starting from 2020 Dila emerged victorious from long tight contests over the league bronze medals. In 2023, they finished on equal points with Torpedo but missed out on the 3rd place due to disadvantage in head-to-head statistics only. A year later, the team sitting on top of the table at half season closed in on achieving their best result in ten years.^[10] However, they first squandered the lead and eventually, after suffering a narrow home defeat on the final day of the season, slumped to 3rd.

Seasons

Season	League	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GF	GA	P	Cup	Europe
1990	Umaglesi Liga	10	34	12	6	16	52	58	42	Round of 8
1991		11	19	7	3	9	29	32	24	Round of 8
1991–92		10	38	14	8	16	64	64	50	Round of 16
1992–93		13	32	11	5	16	39	49	38	Round of 8
1993–94		9	18	4	2	12	12	35	14	Round of 8
1994–95		8	30	10	7	13	25	35	37	Round of 8
1995–96		8	30	12	4	14	53	55	40	Quarter-finals
1996–97		8	30	10	7	13	30	39	37
1997–98		9	30	11	4	15	31	36	37	Semi-finals
1998–99		10	30	10	5	15	37	54	35	Round of 8
1999–00		8	14	6	2	6	19	24	20	Quarter-finals
2000–01		10↓[a]	22	5	3	14	14	44	18	Quarter-finals
2001–02	Pirveli Liga	2↑	22	15	4	3	51	14	49	Round of 8
2002–03	Umaglesi Liga	7	22	6	3	13	17	29	21	Quarter-finals
2003–04		6	22	10	4	8	28	20	34	Semi-finals	Inter-Toto Cup
2004–05		10	36	2	4	30	20	88	10	Round of 8
2005–06		11	30	9	4	17	35	44	31	Round of 16
2006–07		13	26	3	6	17	21	56	15	Round of 16
2007–08		14↓	26	1	5	20	12	53	8	Quarter-finals
2008–09	Pirveli Liga East	5↓	30	12	9	9	48	31	45	–
2009–10	Meore Liga East	1↑								–
2010–11	Pirveli Liga	3↑[b]	32	20	9	3	58	21	69	Round of 16
2011–12	Umaglesi Liga	5	28	10	7	11	38	32	37	Winner
2012–13		2	32	22	2	8	60	26	48	Quarter-finals	Europa League Play-off
2013–14		9	32	11	8	13	44	36	41	Semi-finals	Europa League Play-off
2014–15		1	30	19	7	4	50	21	64	Quarter-finals
2015–16		3	30	19	5	6	51	25	62	Second Round	Champions League 2Q
2016		5[c]	12	5	2	5	13	12	17	Second Round	Europa League 1Q
2017	Erovnuli Liga	7	36	11	8	17	41	51	41	Quarter-finals
2018		5	36	17	12	7	60	40	63	Round of 16
2019		7	36	11	10	15	40	44	43	Round of 16
2020		3	18	8	6	4	29	17	30	Quarter-finals
2021		3	36	17	10	9	48	35	61	Round of 16	Conference League 1Q
2022		3	36	17	8	11	48	35	59	Quarter-finals	Conference League 1Q
2023		4	36	17	9	10	56	39	60	Quarter-finals	Conference League 3Q
2024	3	36	19	11	6	58	30	68	Third round

Notes

1. Lost 0–2 to Samgurali in playoffs
2. Defeated Samtredia 2–0 in playoffs
3. Beat Guria 2–0 in playoffs

European competitions

Dila Gori debuted in UEFA competitions in 2004. Although the club did not obtain an Intertoto Cup slot based on their league position, they replaced a higher placed team, which abstained from the participation. After being held to a goalless draw at home, Marek Dupnitsa beat Dila in the return leg.^[11] Later the next decade there were three more cases when the Georgian side achieved relatively better results in away games than back home.

As the Cup winners, the team reached Europe League play-offs in 2012. During this campaign Dila eliminated two opponents, including Anorthosis Famagusta, which was further subjected to UEFA sanctions for crowd disturbances occurred during their home game.^[12]

The next year Dila similarly prevailed in two rounds of the competition before their road to the group stage was blocked by Rapid Vienna. The team's performance against Igor Tudor's Hajduk Split was widely hailed this season.^[13]

In next four cases the club wrapped up their European seasons after the first round.

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2004	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1Q	Marek Dupnitsa	0–2	0–0	0–2
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	2Q	AGF Aarhus	3–1	2–1	5–2
		3Q	Anorthosis Famagusta	0–1	3–0	3–1
		PO	Marítimo	0–2	0–1	0–3
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	2Q	AaB	3–0	0–0	3–0
		3Q	Hajduk Split	1–0	1–0	2–0
		PO	Rapid Wien	0–3	0–1	0–4
2015–16	UEFA Champions League	1Q	Partizan	0–2	0–1	0–3
2016–17	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Shirak	1–0	0–1	1–1[a]
2021–22	UEFA Europa Conference League	1Q	Žilina	2–1	1–5	3–6
2022–23	UEFA Europa Conference League	1Q	KuPS	0–0	0–2	0–2
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	1Q	DAC Dunajská Streda	2–0	1–2	3–2
		2Q	Vorskla Poltava	3–1	1–2	4–3
		3Q	APOEL	0–2	0–1	0–3
2025–26	UEFA Conference League	1Q

Notes

• 1Q: First qualifying round
• 2Q: Second qualifying round
• 3Q: Third qualifying round
• PO: Play-off round

Fully up to date as of match played 17 August 2023

1. Shirak won 4–1 on penalties.

Competition	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
UEFA Champions League	2	0	0	2	0	3
UEFA Europa League	14	7	1	6	14	11
UEFA Europa Conference League	10	3	1	6	10	16
UEFA Intertoto Cup	2	0	1	1	0	2
Total	28	10	3	15	24	32

Stadium

Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium

Main article: Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium

The club play their home matches at the Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium, a 5,000 seater football stadium situated in Gori.

Crest and colours

The club's colors are Red and light blue.

Shirt sponsors and kit manufacturers

Period	Kit Supplier	Kit Sponsor
2010–2011	Saller	HeidelbergCement
2011–2012	Jako
2012–2013	Nike
2013–2014	Saller	AGP
2014–2015	Saller	Lider-Bet
2021–2022	Adidas	Marsbet

Current squad

As of 21 March 2025^[14]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  GEO Davit Kereselidze 2 DF  GEO Tedo Kikabidze 3 DF  POR Pedro Mendes 4 DF  GEO Vakhtang Bochorishvili 5 DF  GEO Zurab Rukhadze 6 DF  GEO Aleksandre Andronikashvili 7 FW  MLI Aboubacar Konté 9 FW  SEN Ibrahima Dramé 11 MF  GEO Otar Parulava 12 GK  GEO Luka Sanikidze 13 DF  BRA João Araújo 14 MF  GHA Dominic Amponsah

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 MF  GHA Blankson Anoff 18 FW  GEO Lekso Otinashvili 20 MF  GEO Irakli Bugridze 21 MF  BFA Arouna Ouattara 22 FW  GEO Shota Shekiladze 23 MF  ANG António Lopes 26 DF  FRA Jean-Marc Tiboué 27 FW  GHA Cyril Edudzi 28 FW  CGO Déo Bassinga 30 FW  GHA Emmanuel Boansi 33 DF  CGO Ramaric Etou 34 DF  POR Tiago Ilori

Management

Position	Name
Chairman	Davit Koziashvili
Manager General	Ricardo Costa
Sporting director	Vano Khorguashvili
Head coach	Francisco Castro
Assistant coach	Sérgio Santos
Fitness coach	Vakhtang Akopyan
Goalkeeping coach	Ramaz Sogolashvili

Honours

• Erovnuli Liga
  • Champions: 2014–15
  • Runners-up: 2012–13
  • Bronze medals: 2015–16, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024
• Georgian Cup
  • Winners: 2011–12

Managers

• Gia Tsetsadze (Feb 1, 2010 – Oct 27, 2011)
• Temur Makharadze (Nov 15 2011 – Mar 26 2012)
• Temur Shalamberidze (March 27 – Sept 8 2012)
• Giorgi Daraselia (July 1, 2012 – Dec 31, 2012)
• Valdas Ivanauskas (January 23 – May 31, 2013)
• Giorgi Devdariani (June 1, 2013 – Oct 17, 2013)
• Ramaz Sogolashvili (17 Oct 2013 – 29 May 2014)
• Ucha Sosiashvili (30 May 2014 – 11 Jan 2017)
• Ziv Avraham Arie (16 January 2017 – 2 June 2017)
• Giorgi Dekanosidze (June – July 2017)
• Giorgi Daraselia (July 2017 – August 2018)
• Giorgi Shashiashvili (August – December 2018)
• Giorgi Dekanosidze (January – July 2019)
• Georgi Nemsadze (August 2019 – December 2020)
• Andriy Demchenko (December 2020 – August 2023)
• Irakli Modebadze (interim, August – October 2023)
• Ever Demaldé (October – December 2023)
• Rui Mota (January – June 2024)
• Francisco Castro (since July 2024)

Top goalscorers

Season	Name	Goals
2011–12	Davit Chagelishvili	5
2012–13	Roman Akhalkatsi, Irakli Modebadze	4
2013–14	Irakli Modebadze	9
2014–15	Irakli Modebadze	16
2015–16	Otar Martsvaladze	19
2016	Aleko Gamtsemlidze	3
2017	Giorgi Pantsulaia	8
2018	Mykola Kovtalyuk	21
2019	Alvin Fortes	8
2020	Mykola Kovtalyuk	10
2021	Tornike Kapanadze	10
2022	Tornike Kapanadze	9
2023	Thierry Gale, Mykola Kovtalyuk	10
2024	Tayrell Wouter	19