
| Clubname: | Telavi |
| Fullname: | Football Club Telavi |
| Ground: | Givi Chokheli Stadium Telavi, Georgia |
| Capacity: | 12,000 |
| Chairman: | Soso Grishikashvili |
| Manager: | Giorgi Mikadze |
| League: | Erovnuli Liga 2 |
| Season: | 2025 |
| Position: | 8th of 10 (relegated) |
| Pattern La1: | _jakochallenge2122rs |
| Pattern B1: | _jakochallenge2122rs |
| Pattern Ra1: | _jakochallenge2122rs |
| Pattern Sh1: | _jakochallenge2122rs |
| Leftarm1: | 0000FF |
| Body1: | 0000FF |
| Rightarm1: | 0000FF |
| Shorts1: | 0000FF |
| Socks1: | 0000FF |
| Pattern La2: | _jakochallenge2122wla |
| Pattern B2: | _jakochallenge2122wla |
| Pattern Ra2: | _jakochallenge2122wla |
| Pattern Sh2: | _jakochallenge2122wla |
| Socks2: | ffffff |
FC Telavi (Georgian: แกแแคแแฎแแฃแ แแ แแแฃแแ แแแแแแ) is a Georgian professional football club based in the city of Telavi, Kakheti. Following the 2025 season, they were relegated to Erovnuli Liga 2, the second tier of Georgian football.
In the early 2020s, Telavi spent successive six seasons in the top division.
While the municipal stadium named after Givi Chokheli awaits a thorough reconstruction, Telavi use Kavkasioni Arena as their home ground.
The football club was founded in 2016 by former football players Irakli Vashakidze, Soso Grishikashvili and Aleksandre Amisulashvili.[1] Telavi successfully completed their first season in Regionuli Liga in 2016 and earned a place in III division. The next year they finished 2nd in Group White and in promotion play-offs defeated Guria 3โ2 on aggregate.[2]
In 2018, Telavi took a foothold in Liga 2 coming 5th in the final table. In David Kipiani Cup Telavi eliminated four opponents, including Dila Gori, and reached the semifinals where they lost to Torpedo Kutaisi, the future champions of the competition.[3]
The next year they booked another promotion play-off, beat Rustavi in both games and advanced to the Erovnuli Liga.[4] With this result the team achieved three promotions within the four seasons. Also, after a twelve-year pause the first-tier football finally returned to the capital of Kakheti.
Following this promotion, nine new players, including four foreigners, strengthened the squad for 2020.[5] During their very first season the club was widely praised for decent performance. Having lost just two games out of 18, FC Telavi finished in the 6th place.[6]
The next season began poorly. After being winless for 17 games Telavi seemed a primary candidate for relegation, which resulted in the exit of manager. Starting from mid-June the team experienced some revival, producing an unbeaten run for seven matches, including five wins. They secured six more victories in the last quarter of the season, leapfrogged the rivals and accomplished a great escape. With this achievement Giorgi Mikadze claimed the Manager of Erovnuli Liga Round 4 (OctoberโDecember) award[7] and received a nomination for Coach of the Season.[8]
Despite a promising forecast to the season, things went awry in early 2023. By mid-season, with the club sitting bottom of the table, fourteen players had been released in a summer overhaul preceded by departure of two managers. Instead, more than a dozen of new players was brought led by Irakli Rukhadze, the top goalscorer for three consecutive seasons a few years earlier.[9] ะขhese changes brought an immediate impact. After the summer break Telavi won six of their eight games and climbed out of the relegation zone. As a result, when the Erovnuli Liga summed up part 3 (rounds 19โ28) of the season, Giorgi Mikadze was recognized as best manager with three players - Begiฤ, Guti and Rukhadze - named in the best eleven of the league.[10]
Starting from 2023, Telavi fought three successive relegation battles against their 2nd division opponents. Their third playoff ended in a penalty shootout defeat to Meshakhte which resulted in their first demotion from an upper league.
| Year | Division | Pos | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 3rd, White Group | bgcolor=Silver | 2/10 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 30 | 18 | 35 | finals |
| Promotion Group | 3/10 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 56 | 15 | 39 | |||
| 2018 | 5/10 | 36 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 45 | 43 | 48 | finals | ||
| 2019 | 3/10 | 36 | 19 | 6 | 11 | 70 | 36 | 63 | finals | ||
| 2020 | 6/10 | 18 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 21 | 14 | 24 | finals | ||
| 2021 | 6/10 | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 35 | 53 | 44 | finals | ||
| 2022 | 7/10 | 36 | 8 | 15 | 13 | 29 | 36 | 39 | finals | ||
| 2023 | 8/10 | 36 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 34 | 62 | 37 | finals | ||
| 2024 | 9/10 | 36 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 32 | 43 | 34 | finals | ||
| 2025 | bgcolor=LimeGreen | 8/10 | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 36 | 59 | 36 | finals |
| Season | Div. | Player | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2nd | Giorgi Nikabadze | 10 | |
| 2019 | 2nd | 16 | ||
| 2020 | 1st | Irakli Rukhadze | 5 | |
| 2021 | 1st | Irakli Rukhadze | 7 | |
| 2022 | 1st | 3 | ||
| 2023 | 1st | Imeda Ashortia Irakli Rukhadze | 6 | |
| 2024 | 1st | 6 | ||
| 2025 | 1st | Mikheil Basheleishvili Inigo Martin | 5 |
| Name | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2018 | ||
Denys Khomutov | 2019 | 2019 | |
| 2019 | 2021 | ||
Giorgi Mikadze | 2021 | 2021 | |
| 2022 | 2022 | ||
| 2022 | 2023 | ||
| 2023 | 2023 | ||
Giorgi Mikadze (2) | 2023 | 2023 | |
Georgios Kostis | 2023 | 2023 | |
| Oleg Vasilenko | 2024 | 2024 | |
Armen Adamyan | 2024 | 2024 | |
Pambos Christodoulou | 2024 | 2024 | |
Valery Gagua | 2025 | 2025 | |
Giorgi Mikadze (3) | 2026 |
As of 4 September, 2025[11]
(on loan from Dinamo Tbilisi) (on loan from Dinamo Tbilisi)
The club is governed by shareholders. Currently, 33% of the share belongs to chairman Soso Grishikashvili while the rest have been purchased by Armenian businessmen Vardan Hakopian and Tigran Hakobian.[12]
Telavi received the first Armenian investment in March 2023.[13]
| Position | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Giorgi Mikadze | |
| Assistant coach | ||
| Fitness coach | ||
| Goalkeeping coach | Bukhu Odikadze | |
| First-team analyst | Andro Giorgobiani |
In early 2018, FC Telavi signed a sponsorship contract with m2 Development company.[14]
In late 2022, the club announced a partnership deal with a wine-producing company based in Telavi.[15]
Givi Chokheli football ground is home to FC Telavi, although the club played most of their home games in the last several seasons at 2,000-seater Kavkasioni Rugby Arena.[16]
In October 2020, local authorities made a presentation on construction plans for a brand new stadium.[17]