FC Spaeri
 | ||||
| Founded | 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground | Spaeri Stadium, Tbilisi | |||
| Capacity | 2,500 | |||
| Chairman | Zurab Javakhishvili | |||
| Manager | Anzor Kighuradze | |||
| League | Erovnuli Liga 2 | |||
| 2024 | Erovnuli Liga 2, 5th of 10 | |||
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FC Spaeri (Georgian: საფეხბურთო კლუბი სპაერი) is a Georgian professional association football club based in Tbilisi. The club competes in Liga 2, the second tier of Georgian football.
Along with Gagra, they are the only 2nd division club to have won the Georgian Cup.[1]
History
[edit]Spaeri was established in 2017 by five individuals working in the Special State Protection Service.[2] The team mostly consisted of the servicemen of this organization and initially participated in the Tbilisi Open League - the then 5th (now 6th) and lowest level of the league pyramid[3] before becoming a member of the Regionuli Liga.[4]
Spaeri finished the 2018 season as runners-up and obtained the right to take part in the newly created Liga 4. Having won 21 games out of 27, they claimed the 2019 Liga 4 title and won automatic promotion to Liga 3.
Their debut in the third division was impressive with Spaeri vying for a promotion play-off place up until the last matchday. Eventually, the club came two points short of third place.[5]
The team improved their performance in 2021 and, following an unbeaten run in 20 league games, won the 2021 Liga 3 title six rounds before the end of the season.[6]
Initially, they did not seem encouraging in the second division. With a single point in their initial four matches, Spaeri were sitting bottom of the table. However, the team quickly recovered, produced the longest unbeaten streak of the season and qualified for the promotion play-offs by coming 2nd in the league. Forward Levan Papava became the top scorer of the league with 17 goals netted during the regular season.[7] He added a brace in a dramatic promotion-relegation tie against Erovnuli Liga side Gagra but the team failed to secure promotion as Gagra won on penalties.[8] Spaeri took part in playoffs a year later as well, only to lose to Telavi.
In 2024, Spaeri managed to win the Georgian Cup, defeating Dinamo Tbilisi in the final.[9] Doing so, they qualified for their first time ever to European football, securing a spot in the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League second qualifying round. When Flashscore summed up European cup seasons in June 2025, it named Spaeri's triumph among the ten biggest "cupsets".[10]
In their debut performance in the Super Cup, the team produced a dominant display over Torpedo Kutaisi to reach the final where they fell to a late defeat against Dila.[11]
Seasons
[edit]| Season | League | Position | P | W | D | L | GF–GA | Pts | Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Tbilisi Open League | 1st of 9↑ | 21 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 112-18 | 59 | Did not enter |
| 2018 | Regionuli Liga, Group A | 2nd of 11↑ | 20 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 79-18 | 61 | 1st Round |
| 2019 | Liga 4 | 1st of 10↑ | 27 | 21 | 1 | 5 | 73-29 | 64 | 3rd Round |
| 2020 | Liga 3 | 4th of 10 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 31-20 | 30 | 3rd Round |
| 2021 | 1st of 10↑ | 26 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 79-20 | 64 | 3rd Round | |
| 2022 | Liga 2 | 2nd of 10[a] | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 57-35 | 51 | Round of 16 |
| 2023 | 3rd of 10[b] | 36 | 20 | 6 | 10 | 68-48 | 66 | Round of 16 | |
| 2024 | 5th of 10 | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 50–47 | 51 | Winners |
European competitions
[edit]| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | UEFA Conference League | 2nd qualifying round |  Austria Vienna
|
Current squad
[edit]8 March 2025[12]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Managers
[edit]| Name | Nat. | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kakha Maisuradze | 
|
2017 | 2024 |
| Anzor Kighuradze |
|
2024 |
Other teams
[edit]Spaeri has a youth academy with its teams taking part in different leagues and tournaments. The reserve team called Spaeri-2 competes in Regionuli Liga.[13]
Stadium
[edit]The Spaeri Stadium, located in an eastern suburb of Tbilisi, was officially opened in September 2018.[14] Тhe pitch has an artificial turf.
Honours
[edit]League
- Erovnuli Liga 2
- Liga 3
- Winners (1): 2021
- Liga 4
- Winners (1): 2019
- Regionuli Liga
- Runners-up (1): 2018 (East A)
- Tbilisi Open League
- Winners (1): 2017
Cup
- Georgian Cup
- Winners (1): 2024
- Georgian Super Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2025
References
[edit]- ^ "სპაერმა საქართველოს თასი "დინამოს" არ დაანება". atiani.ge (in Georgian). 5 December 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
- ^ "გავიცნოთ სპაერი". worldsport.ge (in Georgian). Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ "გავიცნოთ "სპაერი" - სახელმწიფო დაცვის სპეციალური სამსახურის კლუბი". worldsport.ge (in Georgian). Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
- ^ "ახალი ქართული კლუბი სპაერი". sportall.ge (in Georgian). Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ "2020 regular season". soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ "Liga 3, 2021". gff.ge. Archived from the original on 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
- ^ "Statistics, 2022". erovnuliliga.ge. Archived from the original on 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
- ^ "თრილერი ფლეი-ოფში: 3:3 და გაგრას გამარჯვება პენალტებში" [Gagra wins on penalties after a 3:3 playoff thriller]. crystalsport.ge (in Georgian). 12 December 2022.
- ^ ""დინამო" ევროტურნირებს მიღმა დარჩა: საქართველოს თასი "სპაერმა" მოიგო" [Dinamo are out of European competitions as Spaeri win Georgian Cup]. worldsport.ge (in Georgian). 5 December 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
- ^ Parks, David (10 June 2025). "10 of the biggest 'cupsets' across Europe throughout the 2024/25 season". flashscore.com. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
- ^ "გორის "დილამ" ისტორიაში პირველად საქართველოს სუპერთასი მოიგო (+VIDEO)" [Dila Gori wins their first Georgian Super cup in history] (in Georgian). worldsport.ge. 2 July 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
- ^ "List of players". erovnuliliga.ge. Archived from the original on 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
- ^ "Regionuli Liga B". tbff.com.ge. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
- ^ "სპაერის სტადიონი საზეიმო ვითარებაში გაიხსნა". sportall.ge (in Georgian). Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.