Full name | Klubi i Futbollit Tërbuni Pukë |
---|---|
Nickname(s) |
Shqiponjat e Veriut Pukjanët |
Founded | 1936 |
Ground |
Ismail Xhemali Stadium Pukë, Albania |
Capacity | 3,000 |
President | Grand Frroku |
Coach | Viktor Gjoni |
League | Albanian First Division |
2015–16 | Albanian Superliga, 10th (relegated) |
Shqiponjat e Veriut
Klubi i Futbollit Tërbuni Pukë is an Albanian football club based in the city of Pukë. The club's home ground is the Ismail Xhemali Stadium and they currently compete in the Albanian Superliga.
The club was founded in 1936 but were not active until the 1940s. They first competed in a national championship in 1949, where they took part in the second tier championship. In their premier campaign they competed in group 3 of 13, which featured Kopliku, Lezha and the Shkodër agricultural enterprise, where the club competed under the name Puka. During the 1949 campaign they did not go past the first round of the competition as Kopliku and Lezha progressed to the second round, with Lezha finishing as joint champions alongside Spartaku Pogradec. The following year, the club competed in the second tier championship again, this time being eliminated in the first round by Kopliku, who defeated them 5–3 on aggregate following a 4–3 and 1–0 victory. In 1950, the ruling Communist dictatorship forced sports clubs in Albania to change their name to Puna, which literally translates to work, and in 1951 the club competed in group of the second tier under the name Puna Pukë alongside Dinamo Shkodër, Puna Kukës, Puna Lezhë and Spartaku Lezhë, where Puna Lezhë finished as the group and progressed to the next round of the competition. They would not play another competitive game until 1954, where they were in group 1 again in the second tier, this time alongside Dinamo Kukës, Dinamo Shkodër, Puna Lezhë, Spartaku Shkodër, and the Vasil Shanto tobacco plant, where Dinamo Shkodër won the group.
The club were resigned to compete in amateur and lower league competitions for the rest of the 50s and early 60s, but they were promoted back to the second tier in 1964 as they finished runners up in the Albanian Second Division, to reach the new western league format of the Albanian First Division under the new name of Tërbuni Pukë. Their first season back to footballing mainstream in Albania was not fruitful as they finished bottom of the league following just one victory in their 18 games. No teams were relegated during the 1964–65 campaign, meaning Tërbuni kept their place in the league, where they finished second from bottom the following season and avoided relegation after winning 3 and drawing 8 games out of 22. They again finished second from bottom the following season and remained in the league, as they won just once but managed 13 draws. The following season was played in 1968 between May and December, and Tërbuni achieved their best ever result in the league, as they finished in 9th place out of 12 team, with 3 wins, 11 draws to reach a total of 17 points. The Albanian Football Association reverted to the western league format the following season but divided the teams into 2 groups, with a northern and southern division featuring 25 teams in total. Tërbuni were placed in Group A, and they finished in 10th place out of 12 teams to avoid relegation again. They would finish in 8th place of Group A in the 1970–71 campaign, which beat their 9th league position in the 1968 competition. The club had become a regular relegation candidate but had managed to remain in the league following their promotion in 1964, and they finished in 10th place 1972, before finishing 7th in 1973. They finished in 6th place in the 1973–74 campaign, but as there were only 10 teams competing in Group A, the previous season's 7th-place finish out of 14 teams remained their best result. Their 10-year spell in the Albanian First Division came to an end in 1975, as they finished 9th out of 10 teams and were relegated to the Albanian Second Division with 5 wins and 4 draws yielding a total of 14 points, 3 points behind 8th placed Erzeni Shijak.