Soccer, the most popular sport
Georgian football has many financial problems, but like almost everywhere else in the world, it is the country's most popular sport. However, the national team's record of success remains very modest, with no appearances in international competitions and far more defeats than victories. Yet since its first official match in 1990, Georgian football has managed to produce some good players, including the legendary Kakhaber Kaladze. The greatest player in the country's history played for the legendary AC Milan for nine seasons (2001-2010). The only Georgian to win the Champions League (2003 and 2007), as well as the Italian championship (2004) and captain of the Georgian national team on 50 occasions (out of 83 caps), Kaladze is the only Georgian to have won the Champions League (2003 and 2007), and has even issued postage stamps bearing his image. Now retired from the field, he has now embarked on a political career. He was Minister of Energy and Natural Resources from 2012 to 2017, before being elected mayor of Tbilisi. Once again, the former defender shines.
On the local club side, the best team in the country is FC Dinamo Tbilisi, which was one of the best Soviet teams in the 1980s. Since independence, they have won almost every domestic competition but have never recovered their European Cup form. Their main rival is FC Lokomotivi Tbilisi.A passion for wrestling and traditional martial arts
Georgia has a long tradition and a great diversity of martial arts (khridoli
) with original techniques. This tradition is not indifferent to the turbulent history of the country. The training of accomplished warriors was for long periods a question of survival... This type of martial arts has moreover a tradition throughout the Caucasus.The different forms of khridoli include fights with bare hands or edged weapons. Since the 1980s, khridoli
has been experiencing a great revival in Georgia, both in the form of a club and through its adaptation to theatre or folk dances. Wrestling itself, tjidaoba, is often considered the national sport. By extension, Georgians excel in all hand-to-hand combat sports, judo or Greco-Roman wrestling. The Kakhetian or Kartli jigs are legendary..A good rugby nation
Already in Soviet times, Rugby XV was very popular in Georgia and the Georgians had some of the best players in the Soviet Union. In 1964 the Georgian Rugby Federation was founded and since then the sport has been steadily gaining in popularity. Players of the national team, called Lélos in reference to a traditional sport related to rugby, qualified for the first time for a World Cup in 2003 (without winning a match, however). But their level has continued to improve and, despite the lack of resources, they have participated in all World Cup finals since then. In March 2020, the Georgians were ranked twelfth in the World Rugby Ranking.
French clubs therefore host many Georgian rugby players. One of the best players of the French XV between 2002 and 2012 was Dimitri Yashvili, of Georgian origin (his brother played in the Georgian national team). The legendary scrum half of the Biarritz Olympic scrum has won the French championship twice (2005, 2006), the English championship with Gloucester (2002) and four editions of the Six Nations Tournament (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010).In terms of activities, let's take on nature
Hiking.
For a trip to Georgia, you must have a pair of hiking boots in your luggage. Hiking is the number one activity in the country. Between forests and picturesque villages, whether for a day or several days, there is plenty to do, especially on the trails of the Caucasus dominated by high peaks.With its dose of adventure, the Great Caucasus is a place to explore, discover, and survey. Touchetie, on the borders of Dagestan, is particularly recommended. In the country of shepherds and summer villages, in a setting as wild as it is pastoral, what a joy to walk from Omalo to the valley of Touchetie Pirikiti, for example! But you can also enjoy the whole network of the Transcaucasian Trail, which "crosses" Georgia and passes through Armenia and Azerbaijan. From the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, there are more than 3,000 km to cover. Cycling enthusiasts will also be able to enjoy themselves.
Rafting and canyoning.
Thrill-seekers will not miss the 5 km long Rioni rapids with a breathtaking view of the city of Kutaisi in Amerecia, Western Georgia.Skiing.
Georgia, where the high peaks guarantee snow for at least two months from Christmas onwards, also attracts skiing enthusiasts, with heli-skiing (for the more fortunate), ski touring and downhill skiing. Goudaouri in the Greater Caucasus is the most popular ski resort. It is the resort in Georgia that offers the most beautiful slopes in the heart of a spectacular landscape. Located at an altitude of 2,196 m and 120 km from Tbilisi, 4 km before the Cross Pass, the resort, sponsored by Austria since 1985, is the most fashionable. It has developed in recent years with the construction of numerous infrastructures, hotels, etc., attracting not only the wealthy society of Tbilisi but also an international public. Except for skiing, Goudaouri will not catch the visitor's attention; the landscape is grandiose, but unlike Bakouriani, the village is devoid of charm and there is little to do in the surrounding area. Bakuriani is situated above Bordjomi, 1,700 m above sea level in the Trialeti mountain range in the heart of the Lesser Caucasus. Although Bakuriani has been overtaken in capacity and ski area by Goudaouri, it remains undeniably the more charming of the two. It is superbly situated in a natural cirque (the Bakuriani "depression"), formed by a lava flow from the Mukheri volcano. The cirque is very green, at the foot of large bumpy volcanic peaks, including Mount Kokhta (2,255 m) on which the ski area develops.
