I‘ve came back to Georgia after one year and a bit more, this time - alone and independent. The stadiums have still not been my main target, but when the opportunity appeared to visit one, I was definitely not missing it. The first of them happened already during my few days long stay in Lagodekhi, almost at the border with Azerbaijan, when I walked aside the local stadium during an evening walk.
The view I have seen was rather sad (maybe except for the mountains in the background...):
The field itself looked acceptable, taking into account the level of the league, where the local team had been playing
but the rest of the stadium...
The track, if it could be named the track, was already covered with fissures and grass was growing up in many places.
The stands were even worse. The old benches had disappeared and only their holding posts remained.
The fans, by the way rather not numerous, who‘d like to watch the match of the local team, must had been satisfied with sitting on a stone steps covered with a needle-cover.
Near the stadium there‘s also a training base of the Georgian Football Federation, but visitors are not allowed there.
As for the history - people were playing football in Lagodekhi already in 1945, but the first available to me info about league football dates back to 1959, when a team named „Chanchkara“ („A Waterfall“) appeared in the Georgian SSR 2nd league (5th level in USSR). It hadn‘t passed a lot of time, when it changed name for „Hereti“ (the name of the old principality reigning over these lands). Most probably the team had been playing at this level till 1972, when it finished last in the group, and, as it seems, was relegated to the lower league.
Next time it appeared in the 2nd GSSR league in 1977, and till 1988 it never played in a lower league. From 1982 to 1985 it even got promoted to the Georgian SSR top division's Eastern group. Its best result was 3rd place in the Eastern Group, and eventually 5th place in a final tournament in 1983.
In the independent Georgia the team had a lot of difficulties. In the 90s, the team had been playing most often at the 3rd level (1990, 1991 and 1992/3), with a short spell at level 5 in 1991/2 due to the league system reorganisation. Then, for many years, the team either has been playing in the regional qualifying tournaments (there are almost no information about them survived), or it temporarily ceased to exist.
The team has returned for a short time in 2002/3 season - in the beginning they were playing their matches in nearby village Chabukiani, and in the next season they came back to Lagodekhi. This try, however, was not successful, and the team has disappeared again for a few next years.
The next try happened in 2006. This time with better result, as the club has survived till 2012, managing even to gain promotion to the First League (2nd level). Its best result was 7th place in the Eastern Group in 2008/9 season.
After a one year break, the team was reactivated again. First in cooperation with an University of Georgia (Tbilisi) team in 2013/14, and later already as an independent team, but again in Chabukiani (2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons). At this time the team was playing in the 3rd, lowest level. In 2016 the home matches returned to Lagodekhi. After a transitional season in 2016, the team eventually got their place in the Regional League - what meant 4th level in 2017 and 2018, and from 2019 - the 5th, lowest level. In the current season, Hereti should have been playing in the Regional League's group D (East), but till now the league hasn‘t started yet due to the pandemic situation.
The other club I‘ve met in Lagodekhi was “Rani“.
Its teams have never appeared in the senior men football, but, as I could see, they had quite active child teams, and, I suppose, even a women football team.
Their training conditions maybe aren‘t the best, but the views during matches - are perfect :)