Irakli Kvekveskiri

Irakli Kvekveskiri (ირაკლი კვეკვესკირი, Ираклий Квеквескири; born 12 March 1990) is a Russian-Georgian football player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Russian club Fakel Voronezh.

Club career
Kvekveskiri was born in Abkhazia. Ethnically, he is Mingrelian.

Kvekveskiri is a FC Dynamo Moscow academy graduate. In 2009, he played for FC Kuban Krasnodar's reserve team, appearing in 26 matches and scoring 1 goal in the youth championship.

Kvekveskiri made his professional football debut in the 2009–10 season for Hungarian club Pécsi MFC. He was a part of the squad that finished 1st in the Western Group of the 2010–11 Nemzeti Bajnokság II, which promoted the club to the highest tier of Hungarian football league system. Kvekveskiri spent the first half of the 2011–12 season on loan with second-tier club Szigetszentmiklósi TK, but later returned to Pécsi MFC, making 6 appearances in the top division.

In autumn 2012, Kvekveskiri moved to Georgian top-tier club FC Dinamo Batumi. He made his debut for the team on 22 September 2012 in a 1–5 away loss against FC Torpedo Kutaisi.

On 1 January 2013, Kvekveskiri returned to Szigetszentmiklósi TK, signing a permanent deal. During two and a half years at the club, Irakli made 67 appearances and scored 3 goals in all competitions.

In summer 2015, Kvekveskiri moved to Armenian Premier League side FC Mika. He made his debut for the club on 1 August 2015 as a centre-back in a 1–1 away draw against FC Banants Yerevan. Irakli played a total of 16 matches in all competitions for the club, scoring 1 goal.

On 31 January 2016, Kvekveskiri signed for Georgian club FC Guria Lanchkhuti.

On 1 July 2016, Kvekveskiri returned to the Armenian Premier League by joining the defending champions FC Alashkert. He made his debut for the club in the second leg of 2016–17 UEFA Champions League second qualifying round against Georgian club FC Dinamo Tbilisi. Alashkert, eventually, won the 2016–17 Armenian Premier League with Kvekveskiri making a total of 28 appearances and scoring 1 goal for the club in all competitions during the season.

In June 2017, Kvekveskiri joined Russian club FC Ararat, which based in Moscow and represented the Armenian diaspora in Russia. Irakli was part of the squad that secured first place in the Centre Zone of the 2017–18 Russian Professional Football League and the right to promote to the second-tier Russian Football National League, but Ararat failed to receive a license.

However, Kvekveskiri got the opportunity to play in the Russian Football National League by joining the then-relegated from the Russian Premier League club FC SKA-Khabarovsk in June 2018. During his consecutive four-season spell in Khabarovsk, Irakli made a total of 126 appearances for the club, which he also captained, and scored 7 goals.

On 10 June 2022, Kvekveskiri signed with the just-promoted to the Russian Premier League club FC Fakel Voronezh. During his first season with Fakel, he made 32 appearances in all competitions, scoring 3 goals, including a brace in a 3–3 home draw against FC Krasnodar on 5 November 2022. Kvekveskiri was also the club's first-choice captain during the second half of the season and played a crucial ball-winning role on the field, helping Fakel to keep their Premier League spot for another season. On 28 May 2024, his contract with Fakel was extended.