Liga 4 (Georgia)
| Founded | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Country |  Georgia |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 4 |
| Promotion to | Liga 3 |
| Relegation to | Regionuli Liga |
| Domestic cup(s) | Georgian Cup |
| Current champions | Locomotive II (2022) |
| Website | liga.gff.ge |
| Current: 2022 | |
Liga 4, organized by Georgian Football Federation, is the fourth tier of Georgian football league. It was founded in 2019 as a part of comprehensive reorganization of the league system.
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.[3]
Seasons run based on Spring-Autumn system.
The number of teams in each season:
• 2019 = 10
• 2020 = 16
• 2021 = 20
• 2022 = 16
Current members
WIT Georgia-2
Three participants of the upcoming season have taken part in the top division: Sulori (1991-92), Chikhura (2012-20) and Zestafoni (2004-15) with the latter being also the two-times champions.[4]
Based on their performance in the previous year, the following sixteen teams will be competing in 2023.
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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.
Promoted teams
| 2019 | Spaeri Tbilisi • Tbilisi City |
| 2020 | Varketili Tbilisi • Didube Tbilisi • Merani-2 Tbilisi • Magaroeli Chiatura |
| 2021 | Dinamo-2 Tbilisi • Zestafoni • Borjomi • Irao Tbilisi |
| 2022 | Locomotive-2 Tbilisi • Shturmi • Matchakhela |
Note: Teams indicated in bold are champions.
Relegated teams
| 2019 | N/A |
| 2020 | N/A |
| 2021 | Torpedo-2 Kutaisi • Tbilisi • Imereti Khoni • Egrisi Senaki |
| 2022 | Didube Tbilisi • Samegrelo • Magaroeli • Iberia Tbilisi |
Participation per club
Taking into account the 2022 season, twenty nine teams have been members of this league for at least one year.
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Their current status as of 2022:
| Erovnuli Liga 2 | 2 | |
| Liga 3 | 7 | |
| Liga 4 | 16 | |
| Regionuli Liga | 4 |
References
- ^ "დიდი ცვლილებები ლიგა 4-ში". lelo.ge (in Georgian). 13 Feb 2020.
- ^ "სიახლე საქართველოს ჩემპიონატში". popsport.com (in Georgian). 25 Jan 2021.
- ^ "სფფ-ში აღმასრულებელი კომიტეტის სხდომა გაიმართა". gff.ge (in Georgian), 22 February 2022.
- ^ "Georgian Football League Champions by Year". myfootballfacts.com.
- ^ "Liga 4 in 2019". gff.ge.
- ^ "ლიგა 4 და თასი: წილი ნაყარია!." lelo.ge (in Georgian). 23 Jul 2020.
External links
| National teams | |
|---|---|
| League competitions | |
| Cup competitions | |