FC Gareji Sagarejo

FC Gareji 1960 (Georgian: საფეხბურთო კლუბი გარეჯი 1960), commonly referred to as Gareji, is a Georgian football club from Sagarejo. Following the 2025 season, they were relegated to the Erovnuli Liga 2, the 2nd tier of Georgian football.

The team first made headlines after achieving three consecutive promotions in 2018–20. In 2025, Gareji participated in the top flight for the first time in their history.

The Central stadium located in Sagarejo is their home ground.

Established in 1960, during the Soviet period, Gareji participated in the Georgian Republican Championship for many years. After 1990, they spent several seasons in the second and third divisions.

Their recent rise started from Regionuli Liga in 2018. After winning the Eastern Group, Gareji secured an easy win in a home-and-away play-off tie against their Liga 3 opponents.^[1] As members of the newly created Liga 4, they finished just below the promotion zone, which was still widely regarded as a success for the debutants. However, after Tskhinvali failed to fulfill their financial obligations, they were expelled from Liga 3^[2] and replaced by Gareji, who filled the vacuum as the 3rd-placed team.

During the 2020 Liga 3 season, under head coach Tengiz Kobiashvili, the newly promoted club performed strongly and remained among the top teams throughout the campaign. The team won 14 of its 18 matches and secured promotion. As a result, Gareji advanced from the fifth division to Liga 2 within a relatively short period.

Once in the second league, for most of 2021 Gareji were still aiming for promotion, competing with Merani Martvili for a third qualifying place. Ultimately, the latter gained the upper hand, although Gareji recorded some impressive victories, including 8–0, which was the biggest win of the season for any Liga 2 team. Forward Giorgi Kharebashvili shined in this match by scoring six times.^[3]

During the 2023 season, the club seemed clear favourites to gain yet another promotion with going eleven points clear of immediate rivals at one point in June.^[4] However, Kolkheti 1913 managed to close the gap and finish atop the league table after a 1–1 draw in a crunch game held in Sagarejo on the final day of the season. Gareji could have still advanced to the top flight via play-offs, but suffered a 5–4 aggregate defeat at the hands of Samtredia.^[5] Their striker Levan Papava finished this season as the league top scorer with 23 goals.

Papava improved his statistics in the 2024 season to win the same title again. This season, the club made history after winning a tight contest for promotion to the top tier. Despite a disappointing start to the season (five points in six matches), Gareji avoided dropping points in the crucial periods of the season for once and secured the title after a 3–2 away win at Kolkheti Khobi with a game still in hand.^[6]

Because stadiums with artificial turf are prohibited under Erovnuli Liga regulations, Gareji became the only team in 2025 forced to move to another city. The club chose the Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi, located 60 km away from Sagarejo, as their temporary football ground.^[7] They shared points with Dinamo Batumi in their first top-tier game held on March 6th. Cameroonian striker François Ekongolo scored Gareji's first ever top-flight goal against Samgurali, despite them losing 3–1.^[8] Eventually, Gareji were relegated after a narrow defeat in League 1/2 playoffs.

In 2019, Gareji became the first ever 4th division team in Georgian football history to reach the semifinals of the Georgian Cup.^[9] Head coach Davit Kokiashvili quit Gareji two days prior to the game, affecting the club's morale,^[10] but they offered Locomotive Tbilisi a decent resistance during the entire match. Despite taking the lead after the first 45 minutes, Gareji eventually lost after conceding the third goal from the penalty spot.^[11]

The next year Gareji were eliminated by Samgurali, the eventual runners-up of the Cup.^[12]

The team reached the quarterfinals in 2021 where they lost to future Cup winners Saburtalo in the dying minutes of the game.^[13]

In 2024, Gareji knocked out two top-tier teams, including league leaders Dila, but they eventually crashed out in the quarterfinals following a narrow extra-time defeat at the hands of Kolkheti 1913.^[14]

As of 15 March 2026^[15]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

• Erovnuli Liga 2

Champions: 2024

Runners-up: 2023

• Meore Liga / Liga 3

Winners: 2020

• Regionuli Liga

Winners: 2018 (Group East D)

Gareji also have a reserve team, which participates in Group A of Regionuli Liga. This team is Gareji II.^[16]

Gareji's home arena is the Central stadium with the capacity of 2,000 seats, which sustained major reconstruction works in 2018.^[17]

Gareji is the name of ancient rock-hewn St.David monastery complex, situated in the southern semi-desert part of the Sagarejo minicipality, which is inscribed on the club emblem.

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