Kosovo national football team

Kosovo do not yet have national colours, but they’ve long been hoping to join the international football community, an important symbol of independence. And they might actually be pretty good on the field.

Kosovo already has a team unrecognised by FIFA who have been playing friendlies since 1993, following the break-up of Yugoslavia. Perhaps not surprisingly given Kosovo’s predominant ethnic Albanian population, their first game was against Albania, a 3-1 defeat in Tirana. They would wait nine years — following the war — before playing another game, once more against Albania, this time a 1-0 defeat.

The past three years has seen Kosovo gain considerable momentum on the football field, recording its first win against Monaco, 7-1, and in a considerable breakthrough, beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 last June. Kristian Nushi scored the surprising winner in the 84th minute from the penalty spot.

Their coach Edmond Rugova, who once played for the New York Cosmos in the NASL and had starred for KF Prishtina in the 1980s, had expected his team to be “whacked” by the Saudis.

A number of high-quality players could be available to the team, including Lorik Cana of Marseille (a current Albanian international), who Rugova thinks “will be captain of Kosovo”. There’s also Lazio’s Valon Behrami who represents Switzerland and Fulham’s Finnish striker Shefki Kuqi and his brother Njazi Kuqi, once of Birmingham, all of Kosovan origin. It’s unclear to me whether given the exceptional state of Kosovan football’s emergence players who have represented other countries in FIFA competition would be able to turn out for Kosovo or not: it’s more likely the Albanians would than anyone else.

They would be able to play for Kosovo in the kind of non-FIFA sanctioned matches the country is currently restricted to anyway.

The bigger question is whether Kosovo will be able to play in FIFA competition at all anytime soon. There was an approach by the Kosovan football association to FIFA in 2006 exploring membership that went nowhere. Now the country is independent, there is more chance of that happening of course, but as Gramsci’s Kingdom explains in a superb post on small countries and FIFA membership, it might not be straightforward at all.

Kosovo would, presumably, first seek membership of UEFA. But he notes that UEFA’s membership rules require a nation to be recognised as such by the United Nations — not really likely given Russia’s veto on the Security Council.

He speculates that Kosovo could still gain membership of FIFA, which does not have such a stringent article on recognition by the UN itself, by joining another confederation instead of UEFA, which would be geographically awkward but technically possible.

It might be a while before we see Kosovo in the World Cup.

Tom Dunmore is the editor of Pitch Invasion, where this article originally appeared.

Comments (10)

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Brianna said:

	I think a football team should be just be thought as a sports team. If anything it should be a peace effort between serbs and albanians. Football is the common ground of the world why ruin it my bringing politics into it.
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July 09, 2008
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The master Race said:

No way!! Serbians don’t want albanians in ANY of their sports teams! Why?? Because albanians are an embracement! albanians are all backward uneducated inbreeds who are un-coordinated and lousy at all sports! Serbs are always on the world stage, Basketball WORLD champions, Water polo WORLD champions, Tennis champions all over the world recently in Melbourne Australia and now in France. For a country the size of Serbia, we have achived amazing things, and will only continue to grow and become even better! What have albanians EVER won in sport? What are albanians good at?? Terrorism

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June 03, 2008
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Ron said:

	Good to be back. Yes sports is about sports. Everyone in Kosovo should play football if the want. But as Kosovo is not a country (but a province of Serbia) it cannot have its own national team.... So simply join the team of your country: Serbia! Good luck to all!
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May 12, 2008
Votes: -1

valoni said:

	Kosova will have its team very soon, and we are going to be strong , stronger than any one in the Balkans.
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April 11, 2008
Votes: +2

Gent Prokshi said:

	@ Ron, Have you forgotten the purpose of Football? It's a sport. Not politics. You're comment is another proof why Kosovo is an independent and sovereign country. Thank you.
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April 08, 2008
Votes: +2

EcoSK said:

	Will you take any Serb who was born in Kosovo to you new national team? Or eject him like the other who were born in this former province?
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March 19, 2008
Votes: +1

Edi said:

	Ron, I don't know where your from but I think it is evident that your very ignorant and not aware of what is happening in the world, in particulare Kosova.
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March 07, 2008
Votes: -3

Luna said:

	Ron: Have you realized yet that kosovo is FREE of Serbian chains? Yes, independent after almost 100 years of suffering from barbarians serbs. Accept it once and forever that Kosova is its own country from now on with its own doing and not part of Serbia. As such has the rights to have its own team of soccer and anything else as wishes. God bless USA and Eu for their support!
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March 06, 2008
Votes: -1

bardhi said:

	Kosova WILL have its own football team as it is NOT part of Serbia anymore...sorry ron. this is 21st century, not the middle ages. I think you might want to read the news sometimes. It will tell you that Kosova has been independent for 17 days now. :)
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March 05, 2008
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Ron said:

	As Kosovo is a Serbian province it should not have its own football team.
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March 05, 2008
Votes: +1