KF Vllaznia Shkodër

The club's ground has been the Loro Boriçi Stadium since it was built in 1952, which is named after former Vllaznia and Albania national team captain.

The first football club formed in Albania was Indipendenca Shkodër, which began operating in 1912 under the guidance of founder Palokë Nika, who was also the captain of the team.

[2] The first football game organised in city took place in October 1913 between Indipendenca Shkodër and the occupying Austro-Hungarian Imperial Navy.

Indipendenca Shkodër lost the game 2–1, with the captain Palokë Nika scoring the only goal for the home side.

Vllaznia is a concept in Albanian culture often translated as "brotherhood;" it refers to loyalty to one's fis (clan, tribe).

Later in the year for Albanian Independence Day on 28 November Vllaznia organised another football game against an Italian selection again, this time losing 5–1.

The club's first game outside of Albania was played on 31 August 1922 in Montenegro against FK Lovćen Cetinje, a match which they lost 4–0.

[2] The club would continue to play domestic friendly games until the creation of the Albanian Football Association in 1930 and the start of the Kategoria e Parë in the same year.

[citation needed] After years of silence, Albanian Football Association have appointed a dedicated commission with 5 members, which is involved in gathering enough evidence in this regard.

In the European Cup for Champions 1978/79 they beat Austrian team Austria Wien (who went on to the semifinals) 2–0 at home but lost 3–4 on aggregate.

This led to protests by the fans, making accusations that the Vllaznia staff and the President Valter Fushaj specifically did it for bribing reasons.

After successful negotiations with Napoli, Nava went on to buy Sebastián Rodríguez from Almería and Giorginho Aguirre from Corona Brasov.

[9] Vllaznia were relegated from the Albanian Superliga in the 2017/18 season, a club that suffered their last demotion almost six decades ago in the early 1960s.

They were then placed in the relegation play-off final against KF Besëlidhja Lezhë, but won 3–1 to secure their status as a top-flight club for another season.

In the 2023/24 Europa Conference League Qualifiers, they played the highly successful Northern Irish club Linfield F.C., but lost 3–2 on aggregate.

Vllaznia is one of the most popular and recognised teams amongst Albanian football fans in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia.

In the last 3 seasons the team has made a good performance in the league pretending for the title and also winning two Albanian Cups.

They have ties with Ultras Beveren, the supporters of Belgian team Waasland-Beveren Despite the low number of fans at Vllaznia's football games, they have recently turned up in strong numbers for the clubs basketball team, BC Vllaznia, due to their outstanding form in the past few years, having won the 3 Albanian Basketball League championships from 2014 to 2016.

The game was interrupted when Tirana's fans started throwing bottles and other objects to show their anger towards the referee's decisions.

However history suggests that Besëlidhja Lezhë and Vllaznia were the most popular Northern Albanian sides decades ago.

Since the Kategoria Superiore began in 1930, KF Vllaznia have played 1991 Superliga matches, scored 3181 goals and conceded 2053.

(As of 3 August 2023)[15] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

A 2003 postal stamp dedicated to the 1913 match between Austro-Hungarian Navy and Indipendenca Shkodër teams
Left-right: Kin Bushati (goalkeeper), Ernest Halepiani, Gjelosh Gjeka, Pjeter Gjoka, Qazim Dervishi (captain), Muhamet Halili, Asim Golemi, Luigj Radoja, Gjon Kiri, Myzafer Pipa, Hile Staka, and Luigj Shala (coach) in 1935
Loro Boriçi Stadium after reconstruction