The club takes part in the Erovnuli Liga, the first tier of Georgian football, and plays their home games at the Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium.
Founded in 1949, the club was named after poem "Dila" (literally - morning) written by Joseph Stalin, who was born in the city and spent his youth there.
Following the second place in 1965, the next year Dila took part in the Soviet third league and despite an unbeaten run at home finished 11th among 20 clubs in zone 4, Group B.
During this period they were reinforced by national team members Nukri Revishvili, Giorgi Navalovski, Otar Martsvaladze and Mate Vatsadze.
With a single point in the starting four matches the club seemed an unlikely candidate for trophies, but later they produced an eleven-game winning run, beating all league opponents one after another, and ended up in the second place.
[6] Dila, whose squad included experienced players Aleksandre Kvakhadze, Irakli Modebadze and Nika Kvekveskiri, entered the title race in an early stage and concluded the season with six points clear from their two immediate rivals.
Although the club did not obtain an Intertoto Cup slot based on their league position, they replaced a higher placed team, which abstained from the participation.
During this campaign Dila eliminated two opponents, including Anorthosis Famagusta, which was further subjected to UEFA sanctions for crowd disturbances occurred during their home game.