A strange country of football - Georgia!
Although Georgian football is not as famous as their delicious wines, with the outstanding performances of players such as Mamardashvili, Çakhvetadze and Kvaratskhelia in recent years, Georgian football has gradually come into the spotlight and has seen the world's football talent from the south of the Caucasus!
Compared to Georgia's wine, football there has always been underrated in international football. Many people think that the level of football in this region is low, the development of the league is stagnant, and there is little international media coverage. However, players like the ones mentioned above who have established themselves in European football have forcefully refuted this view with their excellent performances.
In fact, Georgia's football history has also had a glorious chapter! Georgia's giant team, Dynamo Tbilisi, was a strong team in the Soviet era and performed strongly in the Soviet Championship.
What's more, Dynamo Tbilisi also lifted the European Cup Winners' Cup trophy in 1981, which is arguably the most glorious achievement in the history of Georgian football!
To this day, it remains the only Georgian club to have won in European competitions. However, the level of football in Georgia has declined sharply after independence, and the conflict in Abkhazia has brought Georgian football to a standstill.
While talented players such as Alvize, Kinklaitzer, Kobyashvili and Ketsbaya emerged at the time, the Georgian national team was unable to make a breakthrough and qualify for the World Cup or European Championship finals. Recently, though, Georgian football has finally caught international attention when they qualified for an important tournament as an independent nation for the first time!
In 2020, the Georgian national team was just one step away from beating North Macedonia, but in the end, it fell short, leaving the whole country in a slump. However, they then won the victory over Kosovo and ushered in a turning point. Since then, they have gone 11 games unbeaten and have been firmly at the top of the UEFA Nations League group since last October.
The Georgian domestic league has also undergone some reforms, moving into a 10-team format, which has increased the competitiveness of the teams from a football competition point of view. However, the league has seen a decline in recent years, as top players have been poached by more competitive leagues. The financial constraints imposed by the pandemic have also hindered the introduction of high-quality players, leading to a decline in the overall level of the league.
However, Georgia is still seeing a steady stream of young talent, with the youth academy of capital side Dynamo Tbilisi consistently producing high-potential players such as Gocholesvili, Palkadze and Sigua.
Everyone is certainly looking forward to the next 'Kvaratskhelia', but the Napoli winger's meteoric rise in Italian football is so phenomenal that it will be difficult for Georgia to replicate such success at the same time.
Another notable improvement is the increase in the number of registered players. From 2015 to 2021, the number of registered players in Georgia more than doubled, from 14,676 to 37,600.
In addition, with the help of UEFA, Georgia has made significant progress in infrastructure development, refurbishing aging stadiums and establishing several training centers throughout the country, providing the best conditions for the development of young players.
After a decade of careful planning and strategic efforts, the Georgian national football team has finally reached its peak moment – they have qualified for Euro 2024 in Germany, where they will face Portugal, Turkey and the Czech Republic in Group F.
No matter what they achieve in this intense competition, the future of Georgian football is undoubtedly bright!