AF Elbasani

Second place in the Kategoria Superiore in 2026 came with a Europa Conference League place attached, and that finish said more about the climb than any single result could. AF Elbasani was formed in August 2021 after the Elbasan Municipality moved to fill the gap left by KF Elbasani, which had been seized by the tax authorities and wound up; the new club took on the old one's support rather than competing against it.

The rise ran through every tier of the pyramid in three seasons. Denis Mici scored 29 goals in that debut campaign. The Kategoria e Parë title in 2023–24 took the Tigers into the top flight for the first time, Bedri Greca topping the scoring charts with 18 goals along the way.

Established status came quickly too: a fifth-place finish in the first Kategoria Superiore season, then the runners-up spot in 2025–26. Blaise Tsague led the scoring that season, while goalkeeper Razak Abalora, a Ghana international who joined in 2024, and captain Bruno Lulaj have been central to a squad still settling into the top division. In the Albanian Cup the same season, the club knocked out Partizani on penalties to reach the quarter-finals.

The Tigers play in yellow and blue at the Elbasan Arena, a four-star UEFA ground holding 12,800.