Liga 4 (Georgia)

Liga 4, organized by Georgian Football Federation, is the fourth tier of Georgian football league. It was founded in 2019 as a part of a comprehensive reorganization of the league system.

Liga 4
Founded2019 (2019)
Country Georgia
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams14
Level on pyramid4
Promotion toLiga 3
Relegation toRegionuli Liga
Domestic cup(s)Georgian Cup
Current championsLocomotive II
(2022)
Websiteliga.gff.ge
Current: 2023 Liga 4

Structure and format

In 2018, GFF decided to form an additional division between Liga 3 and Regionuli Liga by introducing Liga 4 for the 2019 season. After the first year the top two clubs were promoted to Liga 3 and the bottom two were supposed to be relegated to Regional league.

However, in February 2020 the league regulation sustained new changes, which saved the doomed teams from relegation and enlarged the tournament with four more Regionuli Liga clubs.[1]

In January 2021, GFF announced that the number of clubs participating in the upcoming season would be increased to twenty,[2] although for the next year they were reduced back to sixteen.

After the 2022 season the top three teams earned automatic promotion to Liga 3 and the bottom four clubs were relegated to Regionuli Liga.[3]

The league underwent one change in 2023. With fourteen clubs competing this season, the drop zone has been reduced to two places.

The number of teams in each season:

• 2019 = 10

• 2020 = 16

• 2021 = 20

• 2022 = 16

• 2023 = 14

Current members
Location of Liga 4 football clubs in 2023

Following the pre-season withdrawal of Shevardeni 1906 and mid-season suspension of Tbilisi City, fourteen teams are competing in the league in 2023. Two of them, namely Dinamo Zugdidi and Sulori Vani have taken part in the top division. There are also five junior teams of higher league members represented in Liga 4 this season.

ClubPosition last seasonLocationRegion
Algeti[a]12thMarneuliKvemo Kartli
Betlemi4thKedaAdjara
Dinamo Zugdidi[b]ZugdidiSamegrelo-Z.Svaneti
Gardabani1st in Regionuli Liga BGardabaniKvemo Kartli
Gonio2nd in Regionuli Liga CBatumiAdjara
Kolkheti-2 19131st in Regionuli Liga CPotiSamegrelo-Z.Svaneti
Margveti 20069thZestafoniImereti
Merani-210thMartviliSamegrelo-Z.Svaneti
Odishi 191911thZugdidiSamegrelo-Z.Svaneti
Samgurali-28thTskaltuboImereti
Skuri5thTsalenjikhaSamegrelo-Z.Svaneti
Sulori7thVaniImereti
Varketili-21st in Regionuli Liga ATbilisiTbilisi
WIT Georgia-26thTbilisiTbilisi

a Based in Tbilisi.

b Expelled from Liga 2 on match-fixing allegations in May 2022, denied membership of Liga 3 in early 2023.[4]

Seasons

Previous years

In the first season ten teams played 27 games each. Eventually, two clubs from Tbilisi finished in top places awarding them promotion to the upper league.[5]

The 2020 season was scheduled to start in April, but Covid-2019 postponed it for four months. In July GFF decided to form White and Red Groups with winners getting automatic promotion and bottom two clubs going down.[6] 16 teams were split into two groups. The football season started in August and lasted five months with each team playing 14 games only. Two winners and two runners-up were promoted to Liga 3.

The next year after the first phase Promotion and Relegation Groups were created. In the end the first four teams of the former advanced to Liga 3, while the bottom four of the latter dropped down a further level to Regionuli Liga.

In contrast, the 2022 season was held as a single two-round tournament.

2019Spaeri Tbilisi • Tbilisi City
2020Varketili Tbilisi • Didube Tbilisi • Merani-2 Tbilisi • Magaroeli Chiatura
2021Dinamo-2 Tbilisi • Zestafoni • Borjomi • Irao Tbilisi
2022Locomotive-2 Tbilisi • Shturmi • Matchakhela

Note: Teams indicated in bold are champions.

Relegated teams
2019N/A
2020N/A
2021Torpedo-2 Kutaisi • Tbilisi • Imereti Khoni • Egrisi Senaki
2022Didube Tbilisi • Samegrelo • Magaroeli • Iberia Tbilisi

Participation per club

Taking into account the 2023 season, thirty-four teams have been members of this league for at least one year.

Team Par.
Algeti5
Odishi 19195
Samegrelo4
Betlemi4
Skuri4
Sulori4
WIT Georgia-24
Egrisi3
Iberia3
Imereti3
Magaroeli3
Borjomi2
Team Par.
Didube2
Margveti 20063
Merani-2 Martvili3
Matchakhela2
Samgurali-22
Shturmi2
Varketili2
Zestafoni2
Dinamo Tbilisi-21
Dinamo Zugdidi1
Gardabani1
Team Par.
Gareji1
Gonio1
Irao1
Kolkheti-2 19131
Locomotive-21
Merani-2 Tbilisi1
Spaeri1
Tbilisi1
Tbilisi City1
Torpedo-21
Varketili-21

Their current status as of 2023:

Erovnuli Liga 23
Liga 38
Liga 414
Regionuli Liga5
Defunct4

References
  1. "დიდი ცვლილებები ლიგა 4-ში". lelo.ge (in Georgian). 13 Feb 2020.
  2. "სიახლე საქართველოს ჩემპიონატში". popsport.com (in Georgian). 25 Jan 2021.
  3. "სფფ-ში აღმასრულებელი კომიტეტის სხდომა გაიმართა". gff.ge (in Georgian), 22 February 2022.
  4. "მეშახტე", "ზესტაფონი", "ჩიხურა": იმერული სამაია ლიგა 3-ში რჩება!". fczestafoni.ge (in Georgian). 17 January 2023.
  5. "Liga 4 in 2019". gff.ge.
  6. "ლიგა 4 და თასი: წილი ნაყარია!." lelo.ge (in Georgian). 23 Jul 2020.
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