TheFootball Federation of Kosovo (Albanian:Federata e Futbollit e Kosovës;Serbian:Фудбалски савез Републике Косово / Fudbalski savez Republike Kosovo;FFK) is the governing body offootball inKosovo,[1] with headquarters inPristina. The Football Federation of Kosovo was established in 1946 as a branch of theFootball Association of Yugoslavia,[2] it has since become independent and was headed byFadil Vokrri until his sudden death in 2018. It organizes eight competitions of football in Kosovo.[3]
On 6 May 2008, Kosovo applied for FIFA membership. "It's an historical moment for our country. We hope to be accepted", saidFadil Vokrri, president of the FFK.[citation needed] Kosovo's application was discussed at the FIFA Congress inZurich in October 2008. FIFA rejected the membership application and denied Kosovo the right to play any friendly matches, as it was deemed not to comply with Article 10 of the FIFA Statutes, which states that only "an independent state recognized by the international community" may be admitted into FIFA.[5][6] FIFA reverted that decision in 22 May 2012, stating that Kosovo may play other nations in international friendlies according to Article 79 of the FIFA Statutes.[7] The Football Association of Serbia protested and felt the decision by FIFA's executive committee "blatantly contravenes the FIFA statutes".[8] Three days later, permission was withdrawn by FIFA and a decision was delayed following pressure from the Football Association of Serbia andMichel Platini.
Evolution of the FFK logo over the years
Prior to 2008
2008–2018
2018–2021
In September 2012, Albanian internationalLorik Cana, along with Swiss internationalsXherdan Shaqiri,Granit Xhaka andValon Behrami (all of whom are of Kosovar Albanian origin) wrote a declaration to the president of FIFA,Sepp Blatter, asking him to allow the Kosovo national team to be allowed to play friendly matches. The declaration was also signed by 5 other Albanian footballers. This came about as a consequence of the decision by FIFA not to allow the Kosovo team to play friendly matches against other national teams. In a meeting held in May 2012, FIFA decided to allow friendly matches to be played, a decision it later revoked following a strong protest issued byFootball Association of Serbia. A new meeting was planned to be held at FIFA on 27 and 28 September same year in which the Kosovo issue was again planned to be discussed, which was then postponed until December.[9][10]
In February 2013, FIFA announced that they would allow Kosovo to play against other nations in non-official competitions at youth and amateur level, female international level, and at club level providing that they did not display national symbols on the kit such as a national flag or play a Kosovar national anthem. If the FFK wished for Kosovo to play a game within the Kosovo region, they would require permission to play from the Football Association of Serbia.[11] The first competition that a Kosovar national team entered was theValais Youth Cup in which the Kosovo Under 21 national team participated, losing on penalties after a 2–2 with Ghana and losing 8-0 to Egypt in the third place playoff.
The Football Associations of Serbia and Kosovo met with FIFA on 10 January 2014 to discuss whether Kosovo should be allowed to play friendlies against other FIFA member associations at full international level. On 13 January 2014, FIFA issued a public statement stating that Kosovo would be allowed to play international friendlies against full FIFA members. FIFA maintained that the Kosovar playing kit should not contain national symbols nor should a Kosovar national anthem be played. FIFA also required that they acted as the intermediary between Serbia and Kosovo, and Kosovo would need to give 21 days' notice should they wish to a host a game.[12]
In September 2015,UEFA announced that FFK's application for membership would be decided in May 2016.[13] In May 2016, FFK was approved to become a member ofUEFA following asecret ballot at the 40th Ordinary Congress inBudapest. Following this, on 13 May 2016, Kosovo was voted into FIFA during their 66th congress inMexico, with 141 votes in favour and 23 against; its existing UEFA membership was cited as a factor in the decision.[14]
TheFFK National Educational Camp (Albanian:Kampi Edukativ Nacional i FFK-së), previously known asHajvalia Stadium (Albanian:Stadiumi i Hajvalisë), is a stadium located in the village ofHajvalia, nearPristina, Kosovo. It serves as the training location for theKosovo national football team, as well as the former home ground forKF Hajvalia, a dissolved club that has competed in various Kosovar football leagues. It currently has a capacity of 4,000 people.
Franco Foda
Afrim Tovërlani
Albert Bunjaku
