Albanian A-1 League (Women) Explained

Albanian A-1 League (Women)
Pixels:150
Country: Albania
Confed: FIBA Europe (Europe)
Founded:1946
Divisions:Albanian A-1 League (Women)
Teams:8
Levels:1
Champions:KB Tirana (42nd title)
Season:2023-24
Tv:TVSH and Supersport (highlights)
Most Champs:KB Tirana (42 titles)

The Albanian Basketball League for women is a league competition featuring professional basketball clubs from Albania. It was founded in 1946 from the Albanian Basketball Association, several days after the latter was formed. It is the top level basketball league in Albanian from its foundation. The team with the most championships is KB Tirana with 42 championships.[1] [2]

The Albanian Basketball League consists of 12 professional basketball clubs in Albania and it is one of the oldest basketball competitions in the Balkans having started in 1946. The sport rapidly grew in Albania and by the 1970s almost every city and town had its own basketball club and basketball field. After communism fell many of the basketball clubs folded as many players left the country to play for foreign teams. The basketball attendance decreased and the popularity of this sport declined worryingly. However, after 1993 basketball rose up again with many cities re-establishing their teams. Now in Albania there are twelve professional teams while there are plenty of amateur teams ready to enter the league.

History

The Albanian Basketball League is one of the oldest continuing basketball competitions in the region of the Balkans, having started in 1946. The league was formed less than two years after the Communist Party of Albania gained control of the country, and the sport gradually grew in popularity over the years before experiencing a rapid rise in popularity in the 1970s, leading to most cities and towns in Albania forming their own basketball clubs and building basketball grounds. Following the fall of communism in 1991 many basketball clubs were forced to fold due to lack of any investment, which led to the decline in the popularity of the sport as a whole in the country. However, since 1993 there has been some re-establishment of the folded teams as private investment along with some state funded has allowed teams to continue functioning.

Competition

The members of the Albanian Basketball League are grouped in two divisions: A1 League and B2 League. Each division has six teams and they have to play four times against each other in two different phases during the regular season. In every phase a club plays each of the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents. This makes a total of 20 games played per season in the regular season.

After the regular season ends the top four clubs qualify for the play-offs, where the team placed first faces the one placed fourth while the second and the third placed teams play each other. From these encounters qualifies the team that gets first two victories while games are played once home, once away until the two victories are reached. The teams that win their encounters qualify for the finals which are played in the clubs respective grounds, the game will once be played home and once away, depending on the draw. The team that gets first the three victories is crowned as champion.

Clubs that win get two points that the ones that lose get one point. At the end of the regular season the bottom two clubs miss the play-offs. The bottom club gets relegated while the fifth placed club will play the second placed of the B2 League. The team that wins the play-out has the right to play in A1 League.

Winners

SeasonChampionRunner upResult
194717 Nëntori
194817 Nëntori
194917 Nëntori
195017 Nëntori
195117 Nëntori
195217 Nëntori
195317 Nëntori
195417 Nëntori
195517 Nëntori
195617 Nëntori (*)
195717 Nëntori
195817 Nëntori
195917 Nëntori
196017 Nëntori
196117 Nëntori
196217 Nëntori
196317 Nëntori
196417 Nëntori
196617 Nëntori
196817 Nëntori (**)
196917 Nëntori
197017 Nëntori
197117 Nëntori
197217 Nëntori
197317 Nëntori
197417 Nëntori
1975B.C. Apolonia
197617 Nëntori
1977PBC Flamurtari
1978BC Skënderbeu Korçë
1979PBC Flamurtari
1980PBC Flamurtari
1981PBC Flamurtari
198217 Nëntori
198317 Nëntori
1984PBC Flamurtari
1985PBC Flamurtari
198617 Nëntori (***)
198717 Nëntori
198817 Nëntori
1989Partizani Tirana
1990PBC Flamurtari
199117 Nëntori
1992KB Tirana
1993KB Tirana
1994KB Tirana
1995KB Tirana
1996PBC Flamurtari
1997KB Tirana
1998KB Tirana
1999KB Tirana (****)
2000BC Skënderbeu Korçë
2001PBC Flamurtari
2002BC Luftëtari
2003BC Luftëtari
2004BC Luftëtari
2005PBC Flamurtari (*)
2006PBC Flamurtari
2007PBC Flamurtari
2008PBC Flamurtari
2009PBC Flamurtari
2010PBC Flamurtari
2011PBC Flamurtari KB Tirana2-1
2012B.C. ApoloniaPBC Flamurtari 3-2
2013PBC Flamurtari B.C. Apolonia3-0
2014PBC Flamurtari B.C. Apolonia3-0
2015PBC Flamurtari B.C. Apolonia3-2
2016PBC Flamurtari (**)
2017PBC Flamurtari KB Tirana3-1
2018PBC FlamurtariKB Tirana3-0
2019KB TiranaTirana II3-0
2020---
2021PBC FlamurtariBC Partizani3-0
2022PBC FlamurtariBC Partizani3-0[3]
2023PBC FlamurtariBC Partizani3-1[4]
2024KB TiranaPBC Flamurtari3-1[5]

Championship winning teams

width=20%Teamwidth=5%Winners
KB Tirana42
PBC Flamurtari 25
BC Luftëtari3
B.C Apolonia2
BC Skënderbeu Korçë2
BC Partizani Tirana1
PBC Tirana 1

Also look

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Historia e kupave ne basketboll femra . 2011-12-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120404165341/http://www.fshb.al/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=40&Itemid=131 . 2012-04-04 . dead .
  2. http://www.shkodrasport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3033%3Ahistoriku-i-federates-shqiptare-te-basketbollit&catid=46%3Aarkiv&Itemid=109&lang= Shkodra Sport
  3. http://www.panorama.com.al/sport/basketboll-femra-flamurtari-shpallet-kampion-i-shqiperise-per-here-te-24-t/ Panorama Sport
  4. http://www.panorama.com.al/sport/basket-femra-flamurtari-kampion-i-shqiperise-vlonjatet-thyejne-partizanin-dhe-festojne-ne-kryeqytet/ Panorama Sport
  5. https://telesport.al/tirana-shpallet-kampione-e-shqiperise-ne-basketboll-per-femra-flamurtari-dorezon-titullin/ Telesport.al