From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 120 days on the sidelines for Ilia Buzaladze, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chikhura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The manager plants his flag on Nika Kapanadze
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Nika Kapanadze’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chikhura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market9 Nov 2026
The name of Mateja Premović keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Chikhura say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Chikhura are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chikhura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
105% of the income goes out in wages at Chikhura
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chikhura, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Ardit Peposhi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Lenos Sofroniou
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The manager plants his flag on Lenos Sofroniou
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Lenos Sofroniou’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
Ardit Peposhi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Rati Burdiladze
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A season on the outside for Enzo Geerts
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Chikhura has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chikhura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
187% of the income goes out in wages at Chikhura
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
41 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chikhura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Sep 2026
Whatever happens, Chikhura do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shota Mikautadze, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A mark of 7.52, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Match26 Sep 2026
Chikhura and Sioni cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Sioni came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 5.70, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
5.73 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chikhura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Lenos Sofroniou
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match19 Sep 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Samtredia came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A season on the outside for David Barrero
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Chikhura has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Luka Makharadze trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Sep 2026
Ardit Peposhi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 9.10 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match12 Sep 2026
A 1‑0 win over Sapovnela, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ilia Buzaladze, and the manager let it.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A season on the outside for Enzo Geerts
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Chikhura has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A defender's afternoon for Nika Mumladze
Defensive actions: 12. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market14 Sep 2026
The name of Mateja Premović keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Chikhura say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Sep 2026
7 matches without a win for Chikhura
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Chikhura are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Enzo Geerts in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chikhura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
151% of the income goes out in wages at Chikhura
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Luka Makharadze
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match5 Sep 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match29 Aug 2026
The wait goes on for Chikhura
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Ardit Peposhi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market31 Aug 2026
The paperwork is done: Shota Mikautadze joins from Kolkheti in a deal worth $35.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Chikhura's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chikhura has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chikhura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match22 Aug 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Kolkheti will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Aug 2026
Chikhura bow out of the cup
Kolkheti go through and Chikhura go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Match15 Aug 2026
4 matches without a win for Chikhura
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Chikhura are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chikhura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Ardit Peposhi
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match15 Aug 2026
0‑1 to Shukura, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Lenos Sofroniou asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Chikhura would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces10 Aug 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 23 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Ardit Peposhi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mateja Premović, and the manager let it.
Match8 Aug 2026
A bad afternoon for Chikhura against Guria
0‑1 to Guria, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Market10 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Chikhura, another week without a signature from Ilia Buzaladze.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market10 Aug 2026
Chikhura bring in an old head
Ardit Peposhi is 33 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Market10 Aug 2026
Chikhura bring in an old head
Guðmann Þórisson is 39 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Market10 Aug 2026
At 34, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Giorgi Tsartsidze and Chikhura agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chikhura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tedo Macharashvili, and the manager let it.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.