2024 will go down in Georgia history. The year the men’s national football team made their
debut at a major tournament. We take a look at the rise of Georgia FA and how Euro 2024
was almost a decade in the making.
The Georgian FA became a member of UEFA and FIFA in 1992, enabling the national team to
play competitive matches. Until this summer’s Euros, the men’s national team had failed to
qualify for a tournament. Their debut at an international tournament was a result of a nine
year process by the Georgian FA.
2015 was the year it all began. The year Anthony Martial made – at the time – the world’s
most expensive transfer for a teenager when he moved to Manchester United. When Jurgen
Klopp moved to Liverpool and the year that Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi netted
almost 75% of Barcelona’s goals as they won the Spanish treble.
Georgia were ranked 122 nd in the FIFA world rankings. The Georgian FA launched their first
strategic cycle. By 2017, they’d rebranded the country’s football league (Erovnuli Liga);
reducing from 16 to 10 teams, whilst also changing the calendar year of football seasons in
order to raise viewership.
The Georgian FA continued to grow the sport by extending the sport’s infrastructure. The
number of league formats increased from 2015 with now five leagues contested in 2024.
With this came more facilities. The FA built 37 pitches from 2016 onwards, with a further 18
currently under construction.
Football continued to gain exposure in Georgia with the country hosting several
international youth tournaments; the U19s European Championships in 2017 and the U21s
Euros in 2023. This was Georgia U21s debut at a major tournament. After initially topping
their group containing Portugal, Netherlands and Belgium, they then bowed out in the
quarter-finals on penalties against Israel. Six players in last year’s U21s Euro squad made the
26-man squad this summer for the senior team – Sigua, Mamardashvili, Gocholeishvili,
Davitashvili, Mekvabishvili and Tsitaishvili.
From this, it was clear a pathway was being created for the Georgia national team.
Consistency played across the board with youth coaches moving across age groups with
players in order to maintain relationships and continue developing talented young players.
The number of licensed players in Georgia rose rapidly from just over 13,000 in 2015 to
38,000 in 2023.
In 2021, former France International Willy Sagnol was appointed head coach as the
Georgian Federation continued to make progress. In the 38 games that Sagnol has managed,
he has given 24 debuts to senior players. It is clear the investment in infrastructure is paying
off as players move from youth teams to youth teams before making the step-up to Sagnol’s
senior squad. 11 of the 26 players at Euro 2024 were under 25 years-old.
Sagnol’s playing style was quickly imprinted onto the pitch but a first major tournament was
too soon by Euro 2020. After initially ending a qualifying campaign disappointingly, Georgia
were given hope as their Nations League performances provided a glimmer of hope as they
were offered a Path D play-off final but lost out to North Macedonia.
Georgia continued to improve on the pitch though. In November 2022, they topped their
Nations League C Group after winning five and drawing one of their six games. They earned
promotion to the Nations League B and qualified for their second successive play-offs for
the Euros. After overcoming Luxembourg 2-0, they faced Greece in March 2024 who they
beat 4-2 on penalties. The country was in elation.
23 year-old Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and 23 year-old Napoli winger
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are two of seven Georgian players currently playing in Europe’s top 5
leagues. In the 2022/23 season, Napoli lifted the Serie A title for the first time in 33 years;
Khvicha was a key part of the campaign where he was awarded with a place in the Serie A’s
team of the season and also won UEFA Champions League Young Player of the Season. He
netted 14 times in 43 appearances.
Whilst a majority of players still compete across Europe in relatively smaller leagues, the
number of Georgia internationals playing in top European action is improving. In the
2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, players have seen more action in the top 5 leagues (7,777
and 8,187 minutes) than in the previous decade (7,294 minutes across 2013/14-2021/22
seasons).
With more players break into the European market, the national team will only continue to
improve. After providing one of the Euros biggest upsets with a 2-0 win over Portugal in
their final group game this summer before putting in another resilient performance in their
4-1 loss to Spain in the round of 16 , more players have made their way into the limelight.
Big transfers moves on the horizon are inevitable.
Whilst it’s taken nine years to get to this point, Georgia’s story has only just begun. Next
stop: World Cup 2026 qualification.
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