The 2011–12 Umaglesi Liga was the 23rd season of top-tier football in Georgia. It began on 6 August 2011^[1] and ended on 21 May 2012.^[2] The league added two teams for this season, increasing its size from ten to twelve teams.

The league was won by Zestafoni, who successfully defended their title. Metalurgi Rustavi, Torpedo Kutaisi and Dila Gori qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, while Spartaki Tskhinvali and Gagra were relegated.

The league expanded from ten to twelve teams for this season. In order to accommodate the additional teams, the competition mode was changed from a single-phase, quadruple round-robin schedule to a double-phase championship.

All twelve teams first played a regular double round-robin schedule for a total of 22 matches, once at home and once away against each opponent. The best eight teams were then admitted to a championship round, while the remaining four teams were to compete with the best two teams of each of the two 2011–12 Pirveli Liga divisions for a total of four free spots in the 2012–13 season.

Due to the expansion from ten to twelve teams, no teams were directly relegated at the end of the 2010–11 season. However, the ninth- and tenth-placed teams, Spartaki Tskhinvali and FC Samtredia, had to participate in single-match relegation/promotion play-off matches against third- and fourth-placed 2010–11 Pirveli Liga sides Dila Gori and Chikhura Sachkhere. In these matches, Spartaki Tskhinvali retained their Umaglesi Liga berth by beating Chikhura 2–1, while Samtredia were relegated after a 2–0 loss against Dila Gori. Samtredia hence completed a two-year tenure in the league; Dila Gori returned after a three-season absence.

The directly promoted teams from the 2010–11 Pirveli Liga were champions Gagra and runners-up Merani Martvili. Gagra returned to the top Georgian football league after only one season at the second tier, while Merani Martvili made their debut at the highest level of the league pyramid.

In other changes, Olimpi Rustavi were renamed Metalurgi Rustavi prior to this season.^{[citation needed]}

Stadiums and locations

Spartaki Tskhinvali and Gagra play their home matches in Tbilisi due to various inner-Georgian conflicts.

FC WIT Georgia moved from Tbilisi to the newly constructed Mtskheta Park in Mtskheta.^{[citation needed]}

Tbilisi

Baia

Dila

Kolkheti

Merani

Metalurgi

Sioni

Torpedo

Zestafoni

Tbilisi teams:
Dinamo
Gagra
Sp. Tskhinvali
WIT Georgia

Locations of teams in the 2011–12 Umaglesi Liga

More information Team, Location ...

Team	Location	Venue	Capacity
Baia Zugdidi	Zugdidi	Gulia Tutberidze Stadium	5,000
Dila Gori	Gori	Tengiz Burjanadze Stadium	5,000
Dinamo Tbilisi	Tbilisi	Boris Paichadze Stadium	54,549
Gagra	Tbilisi	Merani Stadium	2,000
Kolkheti Poti	Poti	Fazisi Stadium	4,000
Merani Martvili	Martvili	Municipal Stadium	2,000
Metalurgi Rustavi	Rustavi	Poladi Stadium	6,000
Sioni Bolnisi	Bolnisi	Tamaz Stephania Stadium	3,000
Spartaki Tskhinvali	Tbilisi	Mikheil Meskhi Stadium	27,223
Torpedo Kutaisi	Kutaisi	Givi Kiladze Stadium	14,700
WIT Georgia	Mtskheta	Mtskheta Park	2,000
Zestafoni	Zestaponi	David Abashidze Stadium	4,558

Close

The league began with a regular double-round robin schedule on 6 August 2011 and concluded this phase on 8 March 2012. The best eight teams qualified for the championship round, which will determine the Georgian champions and the participants for the 2012–13 European competitions. The remaining four teams qualified for the promotion/relegation round, where they will have to compete with the best two teams of each of the two 2011–12 Pirveli Liga divisions for four free places in the 2012–13 competition.

This phase began on 12 March 2012 and will end on 21 May 2012.

• 2011–12 Pirveli Liga
• 2011–12 Georgian Cup