Kosovo is waiting to become independent, so a dilemma, like a ball, is circulating: Will the Kosovar football players continue to play with the Albanian national team? The officials of the two countries often make patriotic or confused declarations, while the players just want to play.

That day, he was surrounded by a crowd of fans and journalists. He was the star of the local media and the most requested man on the Albanian national soccer team in Belarus. The Kosovar Lorik Cana, who plays for French football club Olympique de Marseille, was giving autographs and responding to questions. ‘What will you do if Kosovo becomes independent? Will you still play for the Albanian national team?’ an Albanian journalist asked him. A moment of silence followed. Finally: ‘I have found my team,’ replied the best-paid footballer of the red and blacks. The truth was out: Even if Kosovo’s final status remains unresolved, the age and the talent of its players cannot wait indefinitely.

FIFA and its rules

‘If a player has played on a national team or has simply signed a contract with such a team, it is impossible for him to change his team for another. This is a FIFA rule,’ said Armando Duka, the president of the Albanian Football Federation. He didn’t exclude the other option: If a football player of one national team wants to change to another, then his request will be examined separately but this will take a long time. How long? No one knows. Perhaps by the time he gets the OK he will have given up

At present a number of Kosovars play on the Albanian national team, such as Besnik Hasi (who plays in Begium), Lorik Cana (France), Arjan Beqaj (Greece) and Armend Dallku (Ukraine). They are key players and it is hard to imagine the Albanian national team without them. Moreover, Albanian specialists keep making references to other quality players from Kosovo. Those who are enrolled in the national team are provided with an Albanian passport, with quick procedures. So all parties are happy: the Albanians because they have talented football players and the Kosovars because they get the chance to play and to become known all over Europe. For example, Armend Dallku became a famous striker playing for Elbasan, an Albanian football club. The same happened with Arjan Beqaj, who is now making a brilliant career in Greece. He was totally unknown before playing for the Albanian national team. And, lastly, Lorik Cana, who was ‘discovered’ by Albanian soccer scouts when he was playing with an amateur football club in France.

The Kosovars’ case is nothing new. The break-up of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia drove a lot of players who used to play for the USSR or Yugoslavia to don the national colors of the newly formed states. What makes the Kosovo case unique is probably the fact that it never had the status of a republic but only of an autonomous district. And now, under the surveillance of the UN, it is waiting to be granted the status of statehood.

A short history

If we look at the history of football in Kosovo we find that the Kosovo Football Federation was created in 1946, as a branch of the Yugoslav Football Federation. Only FC Pristina played normally in the First Yugoslav League. Just three or four Kosovar football clubs participated in the Second Yugoslav League. Kosovo itself had its first football league, and its top team usually went directly to the Second Yugoslav League. The Kosovo Football Federation was banished in 1991 and reactivated after 1999. Conditions are still bad, but good news has come in the form of local businessmen seeking to become key investors in football clubs. In any case, Kosovo has a long way to go. ‘I’m sorry to say that Kosovo’s football is still far from Europe,’ declared Lorik Cana to the Kosovar media. ‘There are a lot of talented players but they need to work a lot. I hope that Kosovo gains its independence as soon as possible and then we can deal seriously with football in our country. Maybe we can have some good results in the next 10 years.’ But, by then, he will have retired.

Nevertheless, if Kosovo does become independent, it will be eligible for financing from both UEFA and FIFA. But at present Albania is serving as an opportunity for them to play and as a stepping stone for them to make a career in Albania and internationally. And while officials in both countries continue to make patriotic or confused declarations, the players need to play, to make a career, not to mention a living.

The game of the poor people

A lot of Kosovars and Albanians working and living as immigrants in Europe used to think that one of the most effective ways of social integration for their children was sport, especially football. ‘It’s not by chance,’ said Dritan Shakohoxha, an Albanian journalist, ‘that Western football teams in Germany, Switzerland, Finland or Sweden each have two or three players of Kosovar or Albanian origin. It’s their weapon against social isolation and one of the most effective ways of social ascent.’

In fact, the example of Zinedine Zidane is a source of inspiration for a lot of second-generation immigrants. Kosovars and Albanians all across the European continent are trying to imitate his success. As for those Kosovars and Albanians who didn’t emigrate, wearing the colors of the Albanian football national team is still their big dream.

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