Qazim Laçi (born 19 January 1996) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Süper Lig club Çaykur Rizespor and the Albania national team.
Raised in Greece from a young age, Laçi began his career with Olympiacos, and had loan spells with APOEL, Levadiakos and Ajaccio before joining Ajaccio permanently in 2018, helping the team achieve promotion to Ligue 1 in the 2021–22 season. He later played for Sparta Prague, winning two Czech First League titles and the Czech Cup, before signing for Turkish club Çaykur Rizespor in 2025.
He represented Albania at youth and senior level, including at UEFA Euro 2024.
Club career Early career Laçi was born in Peshkopi, Albania, and is of origin from Laç, reflected in his surname, before moving with his family to Greece at a young age. His family was placed in Galatsi and he began his youth career in with Olympiacos, where he progressed through the academy system.
Laçi was part of the Olympiacos U19 squad that competed in the inaugural 2013–14 UEFA Youth League, making five appearances as the team was eliminated in the group stage. In the 2014–15 UEFA Youth League, he became a regular starter, scoring four goals in the group stage, including against Malmö and Juventus, and converted a penalty in the shoot-out against Shakhtar Donetsk as Olympiacos were eliminated after a 1–1 draw. He also featured in the 2015–16 UEFA Youth League as one of three overaged players, making five appearances as Olympiacos finished level on points with Arsenal and Bayern Munich but placed third on head-to-head record.
Olympiacos For the first time Laçi was included in the Olympiacos first team squad for the 2014–15 Greek Cup semi-final against Apollon Smyrnis on 8 April 2015 by coach Vítor Pereira, but did not feature in the match. He was again included in the squad for the second leg three weeks later, but remained unused as Olympiacos progressed with a 4–1 aggregate victory after a 1–1 draw. In the 2015–16 season, Laçi was included in the matchday squad for a 2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage fixture against Dinamo Zagreb on 20 October 2015, marking his first involvement in a senior UEFA Champions League match. He made his professional debut on 3 February 2016 under coach Marco Silva in a 2015–16 Greek Cup quarter-final against Asteras Tripolis, coming on as a late substitute.
Loan spells (2016–17 season) On 16 June 2016, Laçi joined Cypriot champions APOEL on a one-year loan. However, he did not make any official appearances and his loan was terminated on 4 January 2017, after which he returned to Olympiacos.
On 8 January 2017, Laçi was loaned to Levadiakos. He made his debut on 14 January 2017 in a match against Veria, coming on as a late substitute in a 2–0 loss. Following his debut, he made his first start on 19 January 2017, playing 77 minutes in a 3–0 away defeat against PAOK, marking his second consecutive appearance for the club. After a run of poor results without a win, he lost his place in the starting lineup and was used sparingly as a substitute, finishing his loan spell with a total of 10 appearances, including 5 starts and 5 as a substitute. The team finished 14th in the 2016–17 Super League Greece with 26 points and would have been relegated, but retained their top-flight status after Iraklis (29 points) were relegated due to financial issues.
Ajaccio
In July 2017, Laçi joined Ligue 2 club Ajaccio on loan for the 2017–18 season. He made his debut on 6 August 2017 in the 2017–18 Ligue 2 matchday 2 against Brest, coming on in the 70th minute. During his first season, Laçi was mainly used as a substitute, although he also made five starts in his 21 league appearances. He scored his first goal for the club on 18 August 2017 against Paris, coming on as a substitute in the 66th minute for fellow goalscorer Johan Cavalli, sealing a 2–0 victory with a counter-attack goal. On 23 October 2017, he scored his second goal in a 2–0 derby win over Gazélec Ajaccio, coming on in the 83rd minute and scoring just two minutes later. On 19 April 2018, after a two-month absence due to a leg injury, Laçi returned by scoring in Ajaccio's 2–0 win against Nancy, coming on as a substitute in the 70th minute and scoring the opening goal four minutes later. Ajaccio finished third in the 2017–18 Ligue 2 after a 2–2 draw against Chamois Niort on the final matchday on 11 May 2018, officially qualifying for the promotion play-off semi-final. On 20 May 2018, Laçi scored in the penalty shoot-out as Ajaccio defeated Le Havre 5–3 after a 2–2 draw in the Ligue 2 promotion play-off semi-final, helping the club reach the Ligue 1 relegation play-off final. In a two-legged tie against Toulouse, Laçi appeared as a substitute in the 3–0 first-leg defeat and started in the 1–0 second-leg loss, as Ajaccio were beaten 4–0 on aggregate and missed promotion to Ligue 1.
Following the end of his loan spell, Laçi completed a permanent move from Olympiacos to Ajaccio in July 2018. During the 2018–19 Ligue 2 season, Laçi initially had limited playing time, alternating between substitute appearances and occasional starts during the opening months until October, mainly due to competition for places in midfield under manager Olivier Pantaloni; he then established himself mainly as a starter until early March 2019, before later falling back to a secondary role from the bench for the remainder of the campaign.
On 13 August 2019, Laçi scored in a 4–1 win over Valenciennes in the first round of the 2019–20 Coupe de la Ligue, helping Ajaccio advance to the next stage of the competition. Throughout the 2019–20 Ligue 2 season, Laçi was a regular starter, with only occasional substitutions and very limited absences early in the campaign before becoming consistently ever-present from mid-season onwards and regularly completing full matches until the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, establishing himself as a reliable midfield presence, and in April 2020 he stated that he had enjoyed an excellent season with Ajaccio, having been a key player in Ligue 2 and finishing the campaign with 3 goals in 27 league appearances. On 1 November 2019, Laçi scored the winning goal against Rodez, securing a valuable 1–0 victory that temporarily moved the club to the top of the Ligue 2 standings. On 19 December 2019, Laçi was included in the Team of the Week after scoring for Ajaccio despite his team being defeated by Lens during matchday 18. On 4 February 2020, Laçi scored in a 3–2 away win over Paris, netting with a volley for his third goal of the season as Ajaccio remained in the promotion race for Ligue 1. On 8 March 2020, Laçi provided an assist in Ajaccio's important Ligue 2 title match against Lorient, delivering the cross for the opening goal in the 52nd minute in an eventual victory. On 12 March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was suspended indefinitely, with Ajaccio in third place at the time and on 30 April 2020, the LFP declared the championship concluded with no remaining matches to be played, applying the standings as they stood, and thus the promotion play-offs were cancelled, meaning the club missed the chance to compete for promotion to Ligue 1.
On 11 August 2020, Laçi signed a new three-year contract with Ajaccio, keeping him at the club until 2023. During the 2020–21 Ligue 2 season, Laçi recorded a personal best in appearances for Ajaccio, featuring in 36 matches, the majority as a starter, and remained a regular presence in midfield despite frequent substitutions, while also receiving a career-high number of yellow cards for the club. The team, however, experienced difficulties in attack throughout the campaign, registering one of the lowest goal tallies in the league and finishing in mid-table. On 18 April 2021, Laçi scored his only goal of the season in a 3–0 win over Chamois Niort, sealing the result with a long-range left-footed strike from outside the box.
On 25 July 2021, Laçi scored twice in a 2–2 draw away in the opening round against Toulouse, helping his team secure a point despite playing with 10 men for around 50 minutes. Following his brace and performance, Laçi was included in the Ligue 2 Team of the Week and received an 8.6 rating from Sofascore. On 19 March 2022, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Nîmes, a long-range strike that kept Ajaccio in the promotion race, and it was his third goal of the season. On 19 April 2022, Laçi provided an assist in a 2–1 win over Dunkerque, setting up the opening goal in the third minute of the match. Ajaccio ultimately finished as runners-up and secured promotion to Ligue 1. He made his Ligue 1 debut on 6 August 2022, coming on as a substitute in the 89th minute in a 2–1 loss to Lyon on the opening matchday of the 2022–23 Ligue 1 season. During the early part of the campaign, Laçi was mainly used as a substitute before earning a brief run in the starting line-up, including one full match appearance. However, he subsequently lost his place in the rotation and featured only sporadically with limited minutes, as he was not a regular selection under manager Olivier Pantaloni and faced reduced playing time throughout the first half of the season, leaving the club after five years in which he made 158 appearances and scored 11 goals across all competitions, ahead of a move to the Czech Republic to join Sparta Prague.
Sparta Prague On 29 December 2022, Laçi signed a contract with Sparta Prague, competing in the Czech First League. He made his debut on 12 February 2023 in a 2–6 away win against Bohemians 1905 on matchday 19 of the 2022–23 Czech First League, coming on as a substitute in the final minutes of the match. A week later, he made another appearance against Jablonec, entering the match in the 29th minute and providing an assist in a 3–0 home win. Laçi featured in every remaining regular-season league match, mostly as a substitute but also making four starts, as Sparta Prague finished top of the table and qualified for the championship group after remaining unbeaten, with all victories except for two draws. During the championship group in May 2023, Laçi started in a 1–0 win, appeared as a substitute in two further victories, and played the full 90 minutes in two matches in which Sparta Prague failed to score, as the club secured its 37th league title, ending a nine-year wait, following a 0–0 draw against Slovácko on 23 May 2023. Laçi was involved also in the 2022–23 Czech Cup, starting in the quarter-final victory against Slovan Liberec, while also appearing as a substitute in the semi-final win and the final, which ended in a 2–0 defeat to Slavia Prague.