# 2012–13 Kategoria Superiore

The 2012–13 Kategoria Superiore was the 74th official season, or 77th season of top-tier football in Albania (including three unofficial championships of the World War II) and the fifteenth season under the name Kategoria superiore. The season began on 25 August 2012 and ended on 11 May 2013. Skënderbeu Korçë were the defending champions retained their title, winning their fourth Albanian league championship.

## Promotion and relegation

Pogradeci and Dinamo Tirana were directly relegated to the Kategoria e Parë after finishing 13th and 14th in the previous year's standings. They are replaced by Kategoria e Parë champions Luftëtari Gjirokastër and runners-up Kukësi.
The 10th placed Tomori Berat, 11th placed Kamza and 12th placed Apolonia Fier had to compete in single-match relegation play-offs. Kamza were relegated after were lost 2–0 against Kategoria e Parë fourth-placed club Besa Kavajë, while Tomori and Apolonia Fier were retained their place in the league. Tomori won the match against Kategoria e Parë fifth-placed club Besëlidhja Lezhë after a penalty shoot-out and Apolonia Fier were defeated a Kategoria e Parë third-placed club Lushnja 3–0.

## Teams
### Stadia and last season

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | Last season |
| Apolonia | Fier | Loni Papuçiu Stadium | 6,800 | 12th |
| Besa | Kavajë | Besa Stadium | 9,000 | Kategoria e Parë |
| Bylis | Ballsh | Adush Muça Stadium | 5,200 | 6th |
| Flamurtari | Vlorë | Flamurtari Stadium | 9,500 | 4th |
| Kastrioti | Krujë | Kastrioti Stadium | 10,000 | 5th |
| Kukësi | Kukës | Zeqir Ymeri Stadium | 10,000 | Kategoria e Parë |
| Laçi | Laç | Laçi Stadium | 11,000 | 8th |
| Luftëtari | Gjirokastër | Subi Bakiri Stadium | 8,500 | Kategoria e Parë |
| Skënderbeu | Korçë | Skënderbeu Stadium | 12,000 | Champions |
| Shkumbini | Peqin | Shkumbini Stadium | 5,000 | 9th |
| Teuta | Durrës | Niko Dovana Stadium | 13,000 | 2nd |
| Tirana | Tirana | Selman Stërmasi Stadium | 12,500 | 3rd |
| Tomori | Berat | Tomori Stadium | 14,450 | 10th |
| Vllaznia | Shkodër | Loro Boriçi Stadium | 16,000 | 7th |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Skënderbeu (C) | 26 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 43 | 14 | +29 | 58 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Kukësi | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 49 | 25 | +24 | 52 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Teuta | 26 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 24 | +8 | 48 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Flamurtari | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 49 | 33 | +16 | 46 | |
| 5 | Tirana | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 43 | |
| 6 | Vllaznia | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 30 | 26 | +4 | 38 | |
| 7 | Laçi | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 32 | 31 | +1 | 38 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 8 | Kastrioti | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 25 | 35 | −10 | 34 | |
| 9 | Bylis | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 32 | 29 | +3 | 33 | |
| 10 | Besa | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 23 | 26 | −3 | 32 | |
| 11 | Shkumbini (R) | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 18 | 33 | −15 | 29 | Relegation to the 2013–14 Kategoria e Parë |
| 12 | Tomori (R) | 26 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 30 | 50 | −20 | 19 | Relegation to the 2013–14 Kategoria e Parë |
| 13 | Luftëtari (R) | 26 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 24 | 44 | −20 | 19 | Relegation to the 2013–14 Kategoria e Parë |
| 14 | Apolonia (R) | 26 | 1 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 40 | −24 | 13 | Relegation to the 2013–14 Kategoria e Parë |
* ↑ Laçi qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2012–13 Albanian Cup.

## Results

| Home \ Away | APO | BES | BYL | FLA | KAS | KUK | LAÇ | LUF | SKË | SKU | TEU | TIR | TOM | VLL |
| Apolonia | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Besa | 1–1 | | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Bylis | 3–0 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 |
| Flamurtari | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 3–1 |
| Kastrioti | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| Kukësi | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 6–1 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 5–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| Laçi | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 2–1 |
| Luftëtari | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 |
| Skënderbeu | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 0–1 |
| Shkumbini | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Teuta | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| Tirana | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–6 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Tomori | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–5 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | | 2–2 |
| Vllaznia | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | |

### Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Skënderbeu | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kukësi | 10 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Teuta | 2 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Flamurtari | 7 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Tirana | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Vllaznia | 14 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Laçi | 9 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Kastrioti | 8 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Besa | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Bylis | 6 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Shkumbini | 12 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Tomori | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 |
| Luftëtari | 11 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| Apolonia | 4 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
* Leader and UEFA Champions League second qualifying round
* UEFA Europa League first qualifying round
* 2013–14 Kategoria e Parë

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Migen Memelli | Flamurtari | 19 |
| 2 | Lazar Popović | Kukësi | 16 |
| 3 | Gjergji Muzaka | Flamurtari | 12 |
| 3 | Pero Pejić | Skënderbeu | 12 |
| 5 | Solomonson Izuchukwuka | Bylis | 11 |
| 6 | Sebino Plaku | Skënderbeu | 10 |
| 6 | Daniel Xhafaj | Teuta | 10 |
| 8 | Igli Allmuça | Kukësi | 9 |
| 8 | Gilman Lika | Tirana | 9 |
| 10 | Andi Ribaj | Apolonia | 8 |
| 10 | Erjon Vucaj | Laçi | 8 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Pero Pejić | Skënderbeu Korçë | Vllaznia Shkodër | 1–3 | 24 August 2012 |
| Migen Memelli | Flamurtari Vlorë | Luftëtari Gjirokastër | 2–3 | 27 October 2012 |
| Solomonson Izuchukwuka | Bylis Ballsh | Laçi | 4–0 | 28 October 2012 |
| Migen Memelli | Flamurtari Vlorë | Bylis Ballsh | 3–0 | 13 February 2013 |
| Lazar Popović | Kukësi | Shkumbini Peqin | 5–1 | 30 March 2013 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month |
| Month | Player | Club | Ref |
| September | Pero Pejić | Skënderbeu Korçë | |
| October | Sabien Lilaj | Skënderbeu Korçë | |
| November | Gerhard Progni | FK Kukësi | |
| February | Migen Memelli | Flamurtari Vlorë | |
| March | Gjergji Muzaka | Flamurtari Vlorë | |
| April | Gilman Lika | KF Tirana | |