The 2022–23 Kategoria e Parë was the 75th official season of the Albanian football second-tier since its establishment. The season began on 3 September 2022 and ended on 18 May 2023.[1] There were 14 teams competing this season. The winning and runner-up teams gained promotion to the 2023–24 Kategoria Superiore. The promotion play-offs winner will play a promotion play-off match against the 8th ranked team of the 2022–23 Kategoria Superiore. Dinamo Tirana and Skënderbeu were promoted to the 2023–24 Kategoria Superiore. Besëlidhja, Oriku, Tërbuni and Turbina were relegated to the 2023–24 Kategoria e Dytë.
| Season | 2022–23 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Skënderbeu 4th title |
| Promoted | Skënderbeu Dinamo Tirana |
| Relegated | Oriku Turbina Tërbuni Besëlidhja |
| Matches played | 182 |
| Goals scored | 416 (2.29 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Abdul Temitope Denisson Silva (12 goals each) |
| Biggest home win | Dinamo 5−0 Burreli (18 September 2022) Dinamo 5−0 Lushnja (10 December 2022) |
| Biggest away win | Besëlidhja 0−4 Dinamo (4 March 2023) Dinamo 1−5 Flamurtari (24 October 2022) Turbina 0−4 Skënderbeu (23 April 2023) |
| Highest scoring | Apolonia 5−2 Turbina (10 September 2022) |
| Longest winning run | 4 matches Luzi 2008 |
| Longest unbeaten run | 15 matches Skënderbeu |
| Longest winless run | 12 matches Besëlidhja |
| Longest losing run | 7 matches Tërbuni |
← 2021–22 2023–24 → | |
Changes from last season edit
Team changes edit
From Kategoria e Parë edit
Promoted to Kategoria Superiore:
Relegated to Kategoria e Dytë:
To Kategoria e Parë edit
Relegated from Kategoria Superiore:
Promoted from Kategoria e Dytë:
Locations edit
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Stadia by capacity and locations edit
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apolonia | Fier | Loni Papuçiu Stadium | 6,800 |
| Besa | Kavajë | Shkumbini Stadium | 9,000 |
| Besëlidhja | Lezhë | Brian Filipi Stadium | 5,000 |
| Burreli | Burrel | Liri Ballabani Stadium | 3,000 |
| Dinamo Tirana | Tirana | Selman Stërmasi Stadium | 9,500 |
| Flamurtari | Vlorë | Flamurtari Stadium | 8,200 |
| Korabi | Peshkopi | Korabi Stadium | 6,000 |
| Lushnja | Lushnjë | Roza Haxhiu Stadium | 8,500 |
| Luzi 2008 | Luz i Vogël | Luz i Vogël Stadium | 600 |
| Oriku | Orikum | Orikum Stadium | |
| Skënderbeu | Korçë | Skënderbeu Stadium | 12,343 |
| Tërbuni | Pukë | Ismail Xhemali Stadium | 1,950 |
| Tomori | Berat | Tomori Stadium | 17,890 |
| Turbina | Cërrik | Nexhip Trungu Stadium | 6,600 |
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Skënderbeu (C, P) | 26 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 37 | 13 | +24 | 49 | Promotion to 2023–24 Kategoria Superiore |
| 2 | Dinamo Tirana (P) | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 48 | 23 | +25 | 47 | |
| 3 | Flamurtari | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 40 | 16 | +24 | 46 | Promotion play-off to 2023–24 Kategoria Superiore |
| 4 | Tomori | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 27 | +2 | 43 | |
| 5 | Korabi | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 39 | |
| 6 | Apolonia | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 31 | 30 | +1 | 38 | |
| 7 | Luzi 2008 | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 31 | 26 | +5 | 38 | |
| 8 | Besa | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 32 | 26 | +6 | 37 | |
| 9 | Lushnja (O) | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 30 | 42 | −12 | 32 | Relegation play-out to 2023–24 Kategoria e Dytë |
| 10 | Burreli (O) | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 22 | 29 | −7 | 31 | |
| 11 | Oriku (R) | 26 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 27 | 33 | −6 | 30 | Relegation to 2023–24 Kategoria e Dytë |
| 12 | Turbina (R) | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 24 | 45 | −21 | 26 | |
| 13 | Tërbuni[a] (D, R) | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 41 | −25 | 24 | Excluded from the league |
| 14 | Besëlidhja[b] (R) | 26 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 17 | 41 | −24 | 14 | Relegation to 2023–24 Kategoria e Dytë |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Goal difference; 6) Goals scored; 7) Draw.
(C) Champions; (D) Disqualified; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ Tërbuni was excluded from the league and relegated to the Kategoria e Dytë for the next season, after a violent incident during a match against Turbina in the 21st round.
- ^ Besëlidhja was deducted 3 points after failing to show up in an away match against Korabi.
Results edit
Positions by round edit
The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches.
| Leader and promotion to 2023−24 Kategoria Superiore | |
| Promotion to 2023−24 Kategoria Superiore | |
| Promotion play-off | |
| Relegation play-off | |
| Relegation to 2023–24 Kategoria e Dytë |
Promotion play-offs edit
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| Flamurtari | 1 | |||||
| Apolonia | 1 | |||||
| Flamurtari | 1 | |||||
| Korabi | 2 | |||||
| Tomori | 0 | |||||
| Korabi | 1 | |||||
Semi-finals edit
| Flamurtari | 1−1 | Apolonia |
|---|---|---|
Pedro  45+6' |
Umejiego 64' |
Flamurtari qualified to the final as the team with the higher ranking.
Final edit
| Flamurtari | 1−2 | Korabi |
|---|---|---|
| Kondaj 81' |
Keko 45+1', 90+11' |
Korabi qualified to the final play-off match.
Relegation play-offs edit
Both clubs remained in their respective divisions.
Both clubs remained in their respective divisions.
Top scorers edit
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Abdul Temitope
|
Skënderbeu | 12 |
 Denisson Silva
|
Dinamo Tirana | ||
| 3 |  Albers Keko
|
Korabi | 11 |
| 4 | Mikel Canka
|
Lushnja | 10 |
 Mmesoma Umejiego
|
Apolonia | ||
| Taulant Marku
|
Dinamo Tirana | ||
| 7 | Chinonso Onuh
|
Besa | 9 |