2002–03 Albanian National Championship

Albanian National Championship
Season	2002–03
Dates	21 September 2002 –; 24 May 2003
Champions	Tirana; 20th Albanian title
Relegated	Apolonia; Erzeni; Bylis; Besëlidhja
Champions League	Tirana
UEFA Cup	Vllaznia; Dinamo Tirana
Intertoto Cup	Partizani
Matches played	182
Goals scored	446 (2.45 per match)
Top goalscorer	Mahir Halili (20 goals)
	← 2001–02 2003–04 →

The 2002–03 Albanian National Championship was the 64th season of the Albanian National Championship, the top professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1930.

Teams

Stadia and last season

Locations of the 2002–03 Albanian National Championship teams

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity	Last season
Apolonia	Fier	Loni Papuçiu Stadium	10,000	9th
Besa	Kavajë	Besa Stadium	8,000	Kategoria e Dytë
Besëlidhja	Lezhë	Brian Filipi Stadium	5,000	10th
Bylis	Ballsh	Adush Muça Stadium	6,000	11th
Dinamo Tirana	Tirana	Qemal Stafa Stadium^{[note 1]}	19,700	Champions
Elbasani	Elbasan	Ruzhdi Bizhuta Stadium	15,000	Kategoria e Dytë
Erzeni	Shijak	Tefik Jashari Stadium	4,000	12th
Flamurtari	Vlorë	Flamurtari Stadium	15,000	8th
Lushnja	Lushnjë	Abdurrahman Roza Haxhiu Stadium	12,000	7th
Partizani	Tirana	Qemal Stafa Stadium	19,700	3rd
Shkumbini	Peqin	Shkumbini Stadium	6,000	6th
Teuta	Durrës	Niko Dovana Stadium	12,040	4th
Tirana	Tirana	Qemal Stafa Stadium	19,700	2nd
Vllaznia	Shkodër	Loro Boriçi Stadium	15,000	5th

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Tirana (C)	26	19	3	4	57	18	39	60	Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round
2	Vllaznia	26	15	4	7	51	32	19	49	Qualification for the UEFA Cup qualifying round
3	Partizani	26	12	10	4	41	27	14	46	Qualification for the Intertoto Cup first round
4	Teuta	26	12	4	10	38	27	11	40
5	Shkumbini	26	11	7	8	33	23	10	40
6	Dinamo Tirana	26	10	8	8	29	24	5	38	Qualification for the UEFA Cup qualifying round^[a]
7	Flamurtari	26	10	6	10	27	28	−1	36
8	Elbasani	26	10	6	10	33	35	−2	36
9	Besa	26	9	9	8	29	37	−8	36
10	Lushnja	26	9	8	9	27	27	0	35
11	Apolonia (R)	26	10	5	11	27	33	−6	35	Relegation to the 2003–04 Kategoria e Parë^[b]
12	Erzeni (R)	26	6	6	14	23	37	−14	24
13	Bylis (R)	26	3	7	16	19	61	−42	16
14	Besëlidhja (R)	26	4	1	21	22	47	−25	13

Source: Albanian Football Association (in Albanian), RSSSF.org
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) points in head-to-head matches; 3) goal difference in head-to-head matches; 4) goals scored in head-to-head matches; 5) total goal difference; 6) total goals scored; 7) draw
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ Dinamo Tirana qualified for the UEFA Cup qualifying round by winning the 2002–03 Albanian Cup.
^ Lushnja and Apolonia finished the season level on points so the Albanian Football Association decided to organise a playoff game to determine which side will be relegated to the Kategoria e Parë.

Results

Home \ Away	APO	BYL	BES	BSL	DIN	ELB	ERZ	FLA	LUS	PAR	SKU	TEU	TIR	VLL
Apolonia		1–2	2–0	1–0	1–0	4–2	2–1	1–2	1–0	2–0	0–0	2–0	0–2	1–1
Bylis	0–3		1–1	2–0	2–5	1–0	1–1	0–0	1–3	0–1	0–4	1–1	0–4	0–5
Besa	1–1	0–0		1–0	1–0	1–1	0–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–0
Besëlidhja	2–0	2–0	0–3		0–1	1–2	5–2	0–2	0–1	1–2	2–0	0–1	1–2	0–3
Dinamo	1–1	2–1	2–0	2–0		2–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	0–0	0–0	2–1	2–3	1–2
Elbasani	0–0	6–1	2–1	2–0	0–0		1–0	1–0	2–1	2–2	0–1	1–0	2–1	3–3
Erzeni	2–0	2–1	1–2	3–0	1–0	1–1		2–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	2–0	1–4	0–1
Flamurtari	1–0	4–1	0–1	2–2	1–1	3–0	2–1		0–0	0–0	1–0	1–0	0–1	1–0
Lushnja	1–0	1–1	3–1	2–1	2–0	3–0	1–0	1–1		2–2	1–2	0–0	1–1	0–1
Partizani	5–0	1–0	4–5	2–0	0–0	3–1	0–0	3–2	3–1		0–2	0–0	1–3	3–1
Shkumbini	3–0	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–0	4–1	3–0	1–1		1–3	0–1	1–3
Teuta	3–1	4–0	5–0	2–1	2–0	1–3	3–0	3–1	2–1	1–2	2–1		0–0	2–1
Tirana	2–0	6–1	5–0	4–1	3–1	1–0	3–0	1–2	0–1	0–2	2–0	2–0		2–0
Vllaznia	2–3	3–1	4–2	3–2	1–1	2–1	5–1	1–0	3–0	0–0	2–1	2–1	2–4

Source: Albanian Football Association
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

Relegation playoff

28 May 2003

Lushnja	3–1	Apolonia
Çela 52' Kadiu 61' (pen.), 66'		Shala 70'

Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana

Attendance: 7,000

Referee: Pasquale Rodomonti (Italy)

Season statistics

Top goalscorers


Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Mahir Halili	Tirana	20
2	Vioresin Sinani	Vllaznia	17
3	Dorian Bubeqi	Shkumbini	10
3	Bledar Mançaku	Partizani	10
5	Sokol Ishka	Vllaznia	9
6	January Zyambo	Dinamo Tirana/Bylis	8
	Gentian Stojku	Elbasani
	Devi Muka	Tirana
	Dorian Bylykbashi	Elbasani
	Artan Karapici	Erzeni
	Skerdi Bejzade	Vllaznia
	Migen Memelli	Teuta
	Kreshnik Ivanaj	Besëlidhja