Abkhazia national football team
| Association | Football Federation of Abkhazia | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation | ConIFA | ||
| Head coach | Beslan Gubliya | ||
| Top scorer | Ruslan Shoniya (8) | ||
| Home stadium | Republican Stadium, Sukhumi | ||
| FIFA code | ABK | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
| 1–1 Nagorno-Karabakh (Sukhumi, Abkhazia; 25 September 2012) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
| 9–0 Chagos Islands (Sukhumi, Abkhazia; 29 May 2016) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| Nagorno-Karabakh 3–0 (Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh; 21 October 2012) | |||
| CONIFA World Football Cup | |||
| Appearances | 3 (first in 2014) | ||
| Best result | Champions, 2016 | ||
| CONIFA European Football Cup | |||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2015) | ||
| Best result | 3rd place, 2019 | ||
The Abkhazia national football team is the team representing the partially recognised state of Abkhazia. They are not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA, and therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship.
They competed at the first ConIFA World Football Cup in 2014, finishing 8th overall,[1] and they hosted and won the second edition in 2016.
History
On the eastern coast of Black Sea where the Caucasus mountains meet is Abkhazia. It is sandwiched between Russia and Georgia. It is currently an independent state which declared sovereignty in 1990 and is only recognized by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and some other unrecognized nations. They were first registered in 2008 by Russia. However, Georgia still declares that Abkhazia is part of Georgia.[1][2]
Football
Football is a major sport in Abkhazia and FC Dinamo Sukhumi, a former Soviet second division league team is in the forefront. All Abkhaz football teams closed shop after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.[2] The first Abkhazian Premier League was founded in 1994 with 15 teams and Dynamo Sukhumi won the inaugural title. Another club, Nart Sukhumi, started in 1997, is dominating in the recent times in the domestic circuit with 12 league titles and 9 domestic cups. Former Russian lower league player Juma Kvaratskhelia was heading the Football Federation of Abkhazia in 2012. Later, Ruslan Adzhindzhal, who was the president, resigned in January 2017 and Kvaratskhelia was re elected in 2017.[3] He also served as chief coach from 2012 to 2017.[2]
After a revival in 2012, Abkhazia competed internationally under the umbrella of the CONIFA. The team made their debut in the CONIFA World Cup in 2014 and won the edition that they hosted in 2016. In 2018, they won a match against Tibet 3-0 in the World CONIFA Championship at London.[4] But later, the defending champions went out at the first stage. They drew 2-2 with Northern Cyprus in their final group game and made an exit after the group stage itself.[5]
In 2019, Abkhazia made their first appearance ever in the CONIFA European Cup, where they finished third.[6]
In 2023, Abkhazia was drawn in the 2024 CONIFA World Cup Qualification Group D with Artskah.[7] The match was originally to be played on the 10th of July. However, the match was postponed.
International record
| Year | Position | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 8th | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| 2016 | 1st | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 2018 | 9th | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 4 |
| 2024 | cancelled | ||||||
| Total | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 36 | 11 | |
| Year | Position | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | did not enter | ||||||
| 2017 | 4th | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 2019 | 3rd | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| 2021 | Cancelled | ||||||
| 2023 | Cancelled | ||||||
| Total | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 9 | |
Results and fixtures
2020
| 25 September 2020 Friendly | 0–0 | Donetsk PR | Sukhumi, Abkhazia | |
| --:-- UTC+4 | Report | Stadium: Dinamo Stadium | ||
| Note: Match Abandoned at half-time due to floodlight failure. | ||||
2021
| 11 July 2021 Friendly | 1–0 | PFC Sochi | Sukhumi, Abkhazia | |
| --:-- UTC+4 | Kvitsinia 54' | Stadium: Dinamo Stadium Attendance: 2,000 |
2022
| 16 November 2022 Friendly | 1–1 | Adygea | Sukhumi, Abkhazia | |
| --:-- UTC+4 | Kvitsinia 42' | Report | Delok 45' | Stadium: Dinamo Stadium |
| 23 November 2022 Friendly | 2–4 | Kabardino-Balkaria | Sukhumi, Abkhazia | |
| 17:00 UTC+4 |
|
|
Stadium: Dinamo Stadium |
Current squad
The following 23 players were called up to the squad for the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Ilia Sherba | 25 August 1987 | 0 | 0 | Gagra |
| 2 | DF | Georgi Zhanaa | 28 January 1995 | 15 | 0 | Nart Sukhum |
| 3 | DF | Astamur Tsishba | 23 February 1988 | 13 | 1 | Gagra |
| 4 | MF | Danil Chirikba | 12 May 1998 | 0 | 0 | New Athos |
| 5 | MF | Tarash Khagba | 14 January 1991 | 18 | 3 | Dinamo Sukhum |
| 6 | MF | Akaki Zvanba | 28 October 1992 | 1 | 0 | New Athos |
| 7 | MF | Alan Khugaev | 31 August 1991 | 13 | 0 | Spartak Vladikavkaz |
| 8 | MF | Shabat Logua | 22 March 1995 | 18 | 3 | OFK Bačka |
| 9 | DF | Lev Tarba | 2 December 1999 | 0 | 0 | Nart Sukhum |
| 10 | FW | Dmitri Maskayev | 27 December 1987 | 4 | 1 | Torpedo Moscow |
| 11 | FW | Ramin Bartsits | 26 January 1990 | 0 | 0 | Gagra |
| 12 | GK | Inal Katsuba | 21 September 1995 | 8 | 0 | Nart Sukhum |
| 13 | MF | Roman Zikrach | 18 January 1998 | 0 | 0 | FC Kairat |
| 14 | MF | Viktor Pimpiia | 15 December 1998 | 4 | 1 | Ritsa |
| 15 | FW | Danilo Ardzinba | 27 May 1999 | 0 | 0 | FC Strogino Moscow |
| 16 | MF | Daur Chanba | 7 July 2000 | 0 | 0 | OFK Bačka |
| 17 | DF | Lev Baburin | 11 July 1997 | 0 | 0 | Baltica-M |
| 18 | MF | Giga Benidze | 18 September 1998 | 0 | 0 | Dinamo Sukhum |
| 19 | MF | Gudisa Smyr | 6 March 2000 | 0 | 0 | FC Druzhba Maykop |
| 20 | MF | Timur Agrba | 1 December 1999 | 0 | 0 | Nart Sukhum |
Top goalscorers
Only matches at CONIFA tournaments are counted.
| # | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruslan Shoniya | 8 |
| 2 | Dmitri Kortava | 6 |
| 3 | Shabat Logua | 5 |
| 4 | Ruslan Akhveldiani | 4 |
| 5 | Vladimir Argun | 3 |
| Dmitri Maskayev | 3 | |
| Astamur Tarba | 3 | |
| Amal Vardania | 3 |
Managers
| Manager | Period | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jemal Gubaz | 2007–2008 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Juma Kvaratskhelia | 2012–2017 | 28 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 42.9 |
| Beslan Ajinjal | 2017–2019 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 58.3 |
| Beslan Gubliya | 2020– | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 25.0 |
| Totals | 46 | 20 | 20 | 6 | 43.47 | |
Honours
Non-FIFA competitions
- CONIFA World Football Cup
- Champions (1): 2016
- CONIFA European Football Cup
- Third place (1): 2019
See also
- Abkhazia national football team results (2012–2019)
- Abkhazia national football team results (2020–present)
- Abkhazia national football team results (unofficial matches)
References
- ^ a b conifa.org
- ^ a b c "CONIFA World Cup 2020 profiles: Abkhazia". Young Pioneer Tours. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ "ДЖУМА КВАРАЦХЕЛИЯ ИЗБРАН ПРЕЗИДЕНТОМ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ ФУТБОЛА АБХАЗИИ". abkhazinform.com (in Russian). Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ https://abkhazmoscow.com/en/news/news476
- ^ "5 of the Greatest Upsets in CONIFA Tournament History". SI. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ "Road to glory revealed for CONIFA SPORTSBET.IO European Football Cup 2019". CONIFA. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ "CONIFA Men's World Cup Qualifiers - Europe". CONIFA. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2025.