FC Mertskhali () is a professional football club based in Ozurgeti, the administrative center of Guria. The team competes in Liga 4, the fourth tier of Georgian football.
Mertskhali have spent four seasons in Umaglesi Liga, the top Georgian division.
History Early period Founded in 1936, the team finished 2nd in Division 2 in 1938 and advanced to the main league of the Soviet Georgian championship.
In 1958, they claimed their first bronze medals. In the next two years Mertskhali twice clinched the Republican Cup. Also, in 1964 and 1966 the club again came the third, and in 1967 became a winner of the league, which paved the way for their participation in the Soviet championship.
Mertskhali played there for seven consecutive seasons and later, in the 1980s, spent five more years in the third tier of the Soviet league system. Twice they came close to the promotion to the First League, including through a promotion play-off spot secured in 1985.
The period between 1982 and 1987, when the team under long-time manager Bakhva Giorgadze secured five medals, is considered most remarkable in the club's history.
Since 1990 After Georgia restored its independence, the club played in Umaglesi Liga during the first three seasons after 1990 and also in 2003–04. Between 2007 and 2009 Mertskhali participated in the third tier, followed by nine successive seasons in Pirveli Liga. Most noteworthy among them was the 2011–12 season when they finished 2nd and booked a place in promotion play-offs.
For the next three years the club was mainly in mid-table, although dismal performance in the 2015–16 season resulted in relegation to Meore Liga. Prior to the new season drastic changes were made, including appointment of well-known coach Khariton Chkhatarashvili as a manager. He guided the team to the second place, but according to regulations introduced for this transitional season, only group winners could stay up. For this reason Mertskhali dropped down further to the fourth division, thus suffering two consecutive relegations within two years. It worsened the financial situation as well. The club was proposed for sale in early 2019, although unsuccessfully.
Mertskhali's tenure in the regional league lasted seven years before the club won 21 out of 24 matches, finished their league campaign on top of the table and advanced to Liga 4 in 2023.
Seasons + Year League Pos M W D L GF–GA Pts Domestic Cup 2009/10 Pirveli Liga 9/15 28 9 4 15 29–45 31 2nd round 2010/11 Pirveli Liga 13/17 32 8 8 16 41–68 32 1st round 2011/12 Pirveli Liga A 2/10 18 12 2 4 24–17 38 1st round 2012/13 Pirveli Liga B 8/12 30 5 10 15 37–52 25 1st round 2013/14 Pirveli Liga A 9/13 24 7 2 15 29–54 23 1st round 2014/15 Pirveli Liga B 5/10 36 13 9 14 45–68 48 1st round 2015/16 Pirveli Liga 18/18 34 6 8 20 42–77 26 1st round 2016 Meore Liga Group B 2/8 14 10 2 2 29-15 32 – 2017 Regionuli Liga West A 13/15 28841648–6628 2nd round 2018 Regionuli Liga West C 6/8 14 3 5 6 16–2114– 2019 Regionuli Liga West 8/11 10 4 0 6 16–22 12 1st round 2020 Regionuli Liga West 6/6 10 1 0 9 11–37 3 – 2021 Regionuli Liga West7/9 24 6 1 17 30–60 19 – 2022 Regionuli Liga Group C8/1120 8 5 7 33–45 29 1st round 2023 Regionuli Liga Group C1/13242121109–1965– 2024 Liga 4 11/1528 11 413 57–64 37 1st round 2025 Liga 4 11/1630 10 911 61–67 39 1st round 2026 Liga 4 2nd round
Squad As of 25 April 2026
(C)
Honours Pirveli Liga (Tier 2) Silver Medal winner: 1993–94, 2002–03, 2011–12 Bronze Medal winner: 1996–97 Soviet Second League (Tier 3) Silver Medal winner: 1984 Bronze Medal winner: 1968, 1985 Georgian Soviet Championship (Tier 4) Champion: 1967, 1982, 1987 Bronze Medal winner: 1958, 1960, 1964, 1966 Regionuli Liga (Tier 5) Winner: 2023 (Group C) Georgian SSR Cup Champion: 1959, 1960, 1982 Notable players
• Omar Tetradze
• Irakli Zoidze
• Grigol Dolidze
Stadium A football ground with the capacity of 10,000 seats was built in 1968, although after the reconstruction it was later reduced to 3,500.
In May 2026, the arena, previously known as the Megobroba (literally "Friendship") stadium, was named after Kote Gogatadze (1924–1996) who spent most of his life at the club as a player, coach and high-ranking official.
Names • 1938–46 Makharadze district team
• 1946–47 Dinamo
• 1947–54 Makharadze district team
• 1954–59 Kolmeurne
• 1960 Sikharuli
• 1961–93 Mertskhali
• 1993–95 Anako
Note: Makharadze was the Soviet-time name for Ozurgeti.
References
External links Profile on Soccerway