KF Tirana (Albanian: Klubi i Futbollit Tirana) is an Albanian men's football club in the Albanian Superliga, and based in Tirana. The club, part of the multidisciplinary sports club SK Tirana, is the most successful in Albania, having won 51 recognized major domestic titles. They play their home games at the Selman Stërmasi Stadium in Tirana.
1920–1929: Early years Football enthusiast and journalist Palokë Nika had already formed Vllaznia Shkodër, then on 15 August 1920 he started to train a new team in Tirana, Sportklub Tirona, with: A. Erebara (capitan), P. Jakova, A. Hoxha, Anastas Koja, P. Berisha, Avni Zajmi, H. Fortuzi, B. Pazari, L. Berisha, S. Frasheri, H. Alizoti, A. Gjitomi, and V. Fekeci. The captain was Erebara. After a few months the name changed to Futboll Klub Tirona. The club was multidisciplinary, but football was emphasised. In October 1920, the club played its inaugural FSHF sanctioned match at Shallvare in the centre of Tirana against Juventus Shkodër, a team with players from Bashkimi Shkodran, modern day Vllaznia Shkodër, led by its captain Palokë Nika.
In 1925, the association's governing council was elected and its members were Avni Zajmi, Selman Stërmasi, B. Toptani, Irfan Gjinali and Anastas Koja. Shortly after, in the same year, the club played its first international match against Yugoslav team Crnogorac Cetinje from Montenegro. On 16 August 1927, which was the seventh anniversary of the formation of the Agimi Sports Association, the club's name changed to Sportklub Tirana, which would be commonly referred to as SK Tirana.Kampionatet e kohës së Luftës II Botërore On that day the club's president was Teki Selenica.
1930–1937: Domestic dominance
With the formation of the Albanian Football Association on 6 June 1930 came the first officially recognised football competition held in Albania. This was the 1930 National Championship, for which SK Tirana had enrolled. The club reached the championship final after winning five games, drawing four and losing just one, to finish joint top with Skënderbeu Korçë, albeit with a slightly better goal difference. The championship final games against Skënderbeu Korçë were scheduled to be played on 26 June and 6 July respectively, but Skënderbeu Korçë forfeited both games by refusing to play. The team was protesting against the bias of the competition and the Albanian Football Association towards SK Tirana. SK Tirana was awarded both games 2–0, and were thus crowned champions of Albania for the first time. The winning team consisted of: Rudolf Gurashi, Abdullah Shehri, Irfan Gjinali, Xhelal Kashari, Vasil Kajano, Gjon Sabati, Llazar Miha, Mark Gurashi, Bexhet Jolldashi, Shefqet Ndroqi, Isuf Dashi, Adem Karapici, Hysen Kusi, Mustafa Begolli, Hilmi Kosova, Emil Hajnali, Rexhep Maçi, and Selman Stërmasi (as player-manager). Maçi and Hainali also won the inaugural golden boot for being the joint top goal scorers with three goals each. As a multi-disciplinary club, this was the second national championship that Tirana won, as the athletics team had already won the national championship in 1929. The team was received by Zog of Albania, and is, still to this day the only Albanian team to have been received by a monarch.
The following season the club brought former Fenerbahçe goalkeeper Vasfi Samimi onto the team. He had represented Sportklub Vlorë the previous season. Other players, such as Sabit Çoku, Muhamet Agolli and Halim Begeja joined the club as well. The Albanian Football Association decided to alter the format of the championship and divided the teams into two groups, with Tirana being placed in Group A along with Sportklub Vlorë and Bashkimi Shkodran. They played four games, winning two, drawing one and losing one, to finish top of the group level on points with Bashkimi Shkodran but still won the group due to a superior goal difference. The club met Group B winners Teuta Durrës in the championship final, managing a 1–1 draw at home at Shallvare. Tirana had opened the scoring and taken the lead with a Mark Gurashi goal, before Teuta Durrës' goalkeeper Niko Dovana instructed one of the forwards to cover for him in goal as he went to play as a forward. With a shot on goal he scored and equalised. His goal led to mass media coverage, with many Albanian football fans fascinated by the sight of the goalkeeper playing as a forward and scoring. Tirana complained to the Albanian Football Association on the grounds that a registered goalkeeper cannot play as an outfield player, but these complaints were ignored and the second leg of the tie was played a week later on 5 July 1931 in Durrës. Tirana won comfortably 3–0 to win 4–1 on aggregate, regaining the National Championship.
The Albanian Football Association once again changed the format of the championship and opted for a five team league format, where every club would play each other twice. The winner would be the league's top-finishing team, not a championship winner. SK Tirana went unbeaten throughout the season, with five wins and three draws to their name, including 6–0 wins over Urani Elbasan and Teuta Durrës respectively and a 9–2 away win against Urani Elbasan. The club were crowned Albanian champions for a third consecutive season, which further cemented their place in history as the first club to dominate football in Albania.
The 1933 National Championship proved to be less fruitful for the club, as they missed out on a fourth consecutive title, finishing in third place out of six, behind Bashkimi Shkodran and the winners Skënderbeu Korçë. However, they bounced back in the 1934 National Championship, finishing five points ahead of runners-up Skënderbeu Korçë in a seven team format. They won a total of ten games out of twelve, which included 9–0 wins over Teuta Durrës and Bashkimi Elbasanas respectively, as well as an 8–0 win over Sportklub Vlorë, with Mark Gurashi being named the top goalscorer with 12 goals. The following year there was no official competition held by the Albanian Football Association, so only friendly games were played.
In 1936 the National Championship returned and SK Tirana regained their title with a two-point difference ahead of runners-up Vllaznia Shkodër. The ethnic-Albanian forward from Yugoslavia Riza Lushta was the top goalscorer with 11 goals scored in the campaign. The following season the club once again won the National Championship, with Vllaznia Shkodër coming in second place, and Riza Lushta being named the top goalscorer, this time with a record 25 goals.< This was the last pre-World War II competition held by the Albanian Football Association as there was no championship held in 1938 and World War II broke out in 1939.
1939–1944: Interwar period In 1939, following the Italian invasion of Albania, a national football tournament was held featuring eight of the country's best clubs at the time including SK Tirana. Under the fascist rule of Victor Emmanuel III, king of the Albanian Kingdom, sports activities in the country were revamped to mirror the systems in place in Italy. Giovanni Giro, a trustee of Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano, was in charge of organising the first football competition under Victor Emmanuel III, which was called Turneja Kombëtare E Footbollit Për Ndeshjet E Trofeut Të Liktorit (lang:en|National Tour of Football for the Matches of the Lictor Trophy). In the first round of the tournament, SK Tirana met Dragoj Pogradeci, whom they defeated 7–0 in the first leg. Zyber Lisi opened the scoring in the seventh minute, after which Naim Kryeziu netted five goals in the eighth, 35th, 68th, 81st and 89th minutes. Zyber Lisi found the net once again in the 85th minute. SK Tirana's starting formation for the game consisted of previous championship winners: Rudolf Gurashi, Sllave Llambi, Foto Janku, Hasan Maluçi, Hasan Balla, Zyber Lisi, Haki Korça, Naim Kryeziu and Mark Gurashi. Tirana defeated Dragoj Pogradeci in the second leg as well 2–0, winning 9–0 on aggregate and thus reached the semifinals against Skënderbeu Korçë, in a match played on 6 August 1939. Mark Gurashi scored the opening goal of the game within 10 minutes, as SK Tirana went on to win 3–0 to reach the final against Vllaznia Shkodër on 30 September 1939. The final was played at the Shallvare field in Tirana, in the presence of many important figures in the National Fascist Party, as well as important Albanian nobleman, and other notables including: Eqrem Vlora, Aleksandër Xhuvani, Anton Harapi, Dhimitër Beratti and Karl Gurakuqi. Tirana won the final 6-5 and the championship trophy.
The ruling fascist regime organised a similar competition in 1940, this time in a group format where teams were divided into two groups based on geographical location. Two of the club's players from Kosovo had left Albania for Italy to join Bari and Roma. They met Vllaznia Shkodër on 17 March in a memorable game which ended in a 2–2 draw. The fans left the ground at Shallvare following two stoppages due to players and staff fighting. The game had started with Skënder Gjinali opening the scoring in the 10th minute for Vllaznia, following an assist by Frederik Shkjezi. Vasif Biçaku then equalised four minutes later, before Zyber Lisi gave Sportklub Tirana the lead in the 40th minute from a Skënder Begeja cross. However, Vllaznia levelled the score just 60 seconds later through Met Vasija, following a combination of Muç Koxhja, Loro Boriçi and the goalscorer Vasija. On 31 March they met Elbasani at Shallvare in a game which saw the home side go 3–0 down after goals by Progri, Shefqet Lamçja and Kasapi in the 30th, 48th and 56th minute respectively. Sportklub Tirana then scored a free kick by Vasif Biçaku in the 60th minute, to begin a comeback which saw three goals in three minutes, before Zyber Lisi scored the winner in the 85th minute. Vllaznia finished top of the group ahead of Sportklub Tirana, however, and reached the championship finals, where they defeated Skënderbeu Korçë 11–1 on aggregate to win their first national championship, to this day unrecognized by the Albanian Federal Association.