Liga 4
Founded2019 (2019)
Country Georgia
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams16
Level on pyramid4
Promotion toLiga 3
Relegation toRegionuli Liga
Domestic cup(s)Georgian Cup
Current championsGonio
(2023)
Websiteliga.gff.ge
Current: 2023 Liga 4

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

Structure and format

In 2018, the 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, the Federation 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 was reduced to two places. In contrast with it, four teams will be relegated in 2024.

Starting from 2022, three clubs secure promotion without entering the play-offs.

The number of teams in each season:

2019 = 10

2020, 2022, 2024 = 16

2021 = 20

2023 = 14

Current members

Location of Liga 4 football clubs in 2024

Sixteen teams will be competing in the league in 2024. Matchakhela were due to be one of them, but they retained their place in tier 3 after the GFF announced it was demoting Shukura to Liga 4 for financial issues.[4]

Shukura, Chikhura, Mertskhali and Sulori have taken part in the top division. There are also six junior teams of higher league members represented in the league this season.

The clubs are listed below in alphabetical order.

ClubPosition last seasonLocationRegion
Algeti9thMarneuli[a]Kvemo Kartli
Chikhura16th in Liga 3SachkhereImereti
Didube1st in Regionuli Liga ATbilisiTbilisi
Gagra-21st in Regionuli Liga BTbilisiTbilisi
Margveti 20065thZestafoniImereti
Merani Martvili-27thMartviliSamegrelo-Z.Svaneti
Merani Tbilisi-215th in Liga 3TbilisiTbilisi
Mertskhali1st in Regionuli Liga COzurgetiGuria
Odishi 19194thZugdidiSamegrelo-Z.Svaneti
Samgurali-26thTskaltuboImereti
Shukura[b]10th in Erovnuli LigaKobuletiAdjara
Skuri12thTsalenjikhaSamegrelo-Z.Svaneti
Sulori8thVaniImereti
Varketili-211thTbilisiTbilisi
WIT Georgia-210thTbilisiTbilisi
ZanaRegionuli Liga PO winnerAbashaSamegrelo-Z.Svaneti

a Based in Tbilisi

b Expelled from Liga 2 by the Football Federation

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, Promotion and Relegation Groups were created after the first phase. 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 and 2023 seasons were held as a single two-round tournament.

2019Spaeri Tbilisi • Tbilisi City
2020Varketili TbilisiDidube TbilisiMerani-2 TbilisiMagaroeli Chiatura
2021Dinamo-2 Tbilisi ZestafoniBorjomi • Irao Tbilisi
2022Locomotive-2 TbilisiShturmiMatchakhela
2023GonioBetlemiGardabani

Note: Teams indicated in bold are champions.

Relegated teams

2019N/A
2020N/A
2021Torpedo-2 Kutaisi • Tbilisi • Imereti KhoniEgrisi Senaki
2022Didube Tbilisi • SamegreloMagaroeli • Iberia Tbilisi
2023Kolkheti-2 1913Dinamo Zugdidi

Participation per club

Taking into account the 2024 season, thirty-eight teams have been members of this league for at least one year.

Team Par.
Algeti6
Odishi 19196
Skuri5
Sulori5
WIT Georgia-25
Betlemi4
Margveti 20064
Merani-2 Martvili4
Samegrelo4
Didube3
Egrisi3
Iberia3
Imereti3
Team Par.
Magaroeli3
Samgurali-23
Borjomi2
Matchakhela2
Merani-2 Tbilisi2
Shturmi2
Varketili2
Varketili-22
Zestafoni2
Chikhura1
Dinamo Tbilisi-21
Dinamo Zugdidi1
Gagra-21
Team Par.
Gareji1
Gonio1
Irao1
Kolkheti-2 19131
Locomotive-21
Mertskhali1
Shukura1
Spaeri1
Tbilisi1
Tbilisi City1
Torpedo-21
Zana1

Their current status as of 2024:

Erovnuli Liga 24
Liga 38
Liga 416
Regionuli Liga6
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. "ეროვნული ლიცენზირების შედეგები". gff.ge (in Georgian ). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  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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