Abkhazia national football team

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Abkhazia
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationFootball Federation of Abkhazia
ConfederationConIFA
Head coachBeslan Gubliya
Top scorerRuslan Shoniya (8)
Home stadiumRepublican Stadium, Sukhumi
FIFA codeABK
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Abkhazia 1–1 Nagorno-Karabakh 
(Sukhumi, Abkhazia; 25 September 2012)
Biggest win
 Abkhazia 9–0 Chagos Islands 
(Sukhumi, Abkhazia; 29 May 2016)
Biggest defeat
 Nagorno-Karabakh 3–0 Abkhazia 
(Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh; 21 October 2012)
CONIFA World Football Cup
Appearances3 (first in 2014)
Best resultChampions, 2016
CONIFA European Football Cup
Appearances2 (first in 2015)
Best result3rd 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

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 2019, Abkhazia made their first appearance ever in the CONIFA European Cup, where they finished third.

In 2023, Abkhazia was drawn in the 2024 CONIFA World Cup Qualification Group D with Artskah. 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
Sápmi 2014 8th 5 1 3 1 6 6
Abkhazia 2016 1st 5 4 1 0 15 1
Ogaden 2018 9th 6 4 1 1 15 4
Kurdistan Region 2024 cancelled
Total 16 9 5 2 36 11
Year Position GP W D L GF GA
Székely Land 2015 did not enter
Northern Cyprus 2017 4th 5 1 3 1 5 6
Republic of Artsakh 2019 3rd 5 2 3 0 6 3
County of Nice 2021 Cancelled
Northern Cyprus 2023 Cancelled
Total 10 3 6 1 11 9

Results and fixtures

2020

25 September 2020 (2020-09-25) Friendly Abkhazia  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 (2021-07-11) Friendly Abkhazia  1–0 Russia PFC Sochi Sukhumi, Abkhazia
--:-- UTC+4 Kvitsinia 54' Stadium: Dinamo Stadium
Attendance: 2,000

2022

16 November 2022 (2022-11-16) Friendly Abkhazia  1–1 Adygea Adygea Sukhumi, Abkhazia
--:-- UTC+4 Kvitsinia 42' Report Delok 45' Stadium: Dinamo Stadium
23 November 2022 (2022-11-23) Friendly Abkhazia  2–4  Kabardino-Balkaria Sukhumi, Abkhazia
17:00 UTC+4
  • Bazhev 32'
  • Bekboev B 51'
  • Khutov 65'
  • Abazhev 80'
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 1GK Ilia Sherba (1987-08-25) 25 August 1987 (age 37) 0 0 Georgia (country) Gagra
2 2DF Georgi Zhanaa (1995-01-28) 28 January 1995 (age 29) 15 0 Abkhazia Nart Sukhum
3 2DF Astamur Tsishba (1988-02-23) 23 February 1988 (age 36) 13 1 Georgia (country) Gagra
4 3MF Danil Chirikba (1998-05-12) 12 May 1998 (age 26) 0 0 Abkhazia New Athos
5 3MF Tarash Khagba (1991-01-14) 14 January 1991 (age 33) 18 3 Abkhazia Dinamo Sukhum
6 3MF Akaki Zvanba (1992-10-28) 28 October 1992 (age 32) 1 0 Abkhazia New Athos
7 3MF Alan Khugaev (1991-08-31) 31 August 1991 (age 33) 13 0 Russia Spartak Vladikavkaz
8 3MF Shabat Logua (1995-03-22) 22 March 1995 (age 29) 18 3 Serbia OFK Bačka
9 2DF Lev Tarba (1999-12-02) 2 December 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Abkhazia Nart Sukhum
10 4FW Dmitri Maskayev (1987-12-27) 27 December 1987 (age 36) 4 1 Russia Torpedo Moscow
11 4FW Ramin Bartsits (1990-01-26) 26 January 1990 (age 34) 0 0 Georgia (country) Gagra
12 1GK Inal Katsuba (1995-09-21) 21 September 1995 (age 29) 8 0 Abkhazia Nart Sukhum
13 3MF Roman Zikrach (1998-01-18) 18 January 1998 (age 26) 0 0 Kazakhstan FC Kairat
14 3MF Viktor Pimpiia (1998-12-15) 15 December 1998 (age 25) 4 1 Abkhazia Ritsa
15 4FW Danilo Ardzinba (1999-05-27) 27 May 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Russia FC Strogino Moscow
16 3MF Daur Chanba (2000-07-07) 7 July 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Serbia OFK Bačka
17 2DF Lev Baburin (1997-07-11) 11 July 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Russia Baltica-M
18 3MF Giga Benidze (1998-09-18) 18 September 1998 (age 26) 0 0 Abkhazia Dinamo Sukhum
19 3MF Gudisa Smyr (2000-03-06) 6 March 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Russia FC Druzhba Maykop
20 3MF Timur Agrba (1999-12-01) 1 December 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Abkhazia 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 %
Abkhazia Jemal Gubaz 2007–2008 2 0 2 0 000.0
Abkhazia Juma Kvaratskhelia 2012–2017 28 12 12 4 042.9
Abkhazia Beslan Ajinjal 2017–2019 12 7 4 1 058.3
Abkhazia Beslan Gubliya 2020– 4 1 2 1 025.0
Totals 46 20 20 6 43.47

Honours

Non-FIFA competitions

See also

References