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Football Federation of Kosovo

UEFA
Short name	FFK
Founded	1946; 78 years ago (1946) 20 August 1991; 33 years ago (1991-08-20) (current form)
Headquarters	Pristina
FIFA affiliation	13 May 2016; 8 years ago (2016-05-13)
UEFA affiliation	3 May 2016; 8 years ago (2016-05-03)
President	Agim Ademi
Website	ffk-kosova.com

The Football Federation of Kosovo (Albanian: Federata e Futbollit e Kosovës; FFK) is the governing body of football in Kosovo, with headquarters in Pristina. The Football Federation of Kosovo was established in 1946 as a branch of the Football Association of Yugoslavia, it has since become independent and was headed by Fadil Vokrri until his sudden death in 2018. It organizes eight competitions of football in Kosovo.

History

On 17 February 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. A number of countries such as France, the United States and the United Kingdom immediately recognised the new country. Others, such as Serbia, Russia and China are opposed to Kosovo's independence.

On 6 May 2008, Kosovo applied for FIFA membership. "It's an historical moment for our country. We hope to be accepted", said Fadil Vokrri, president of the FFK. Kosovo's application was discussed at the FIFA Congress in Zurich 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. 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. The Football Association of Serbia protested and felt the decision by FIFA's executive committee "blatantly contravenes the FIFA statutes". Three days later, permission was withdrawn by FIFA and a decision was delayed following pressure from the Football Association of Serbia and Michel Platini.

In September 2012, Albanian international Lorik Cana, along with Swiss internationals Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka and Valon 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 by Football 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.

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. The first competition that a Kosovar national team entered was the Valais 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.

In September 2015, UEFA announced that FFK's application for membership would be decided in May 2016. In May 2016, FFK was approved to become a member of UEFA following a secret ballot at the 40th Ordinary Congress in Budapest. Following this, on 13 May 2016, Kosovo was voted into FIFA during their 66th congress in Mexico, with 141 votes in favour and 23 against; its existing UEFA membership was cited as a factor in the decision.

Some football clubs, especially from North Kosovo, refuse to enter the Republic of Kosovo's institutions and continue to be part of Football Association of Serbia. The Serbian Zone League, the fourth tier of Serbian football, contains two leagues with clubs from Kosovo: Morava Zone League and League of North Kosovo.

Past office bearers

Presidents President Period Agim Bytyqi 1991–1994 Rexhep Abdullahu 1994–2000 Sabri Hashani 2000–2008 Fadil Vokrri 2008–2018 Agim Ademi 2018–present

Vice-Presidents Vice-Presidents Period Hamdi Tovërlani 1991–2000 Gafurr Kabashi Adem Çollakaj 2000–2004 Afërdita Fazlija Haki Demolli 2004–2008 Agim Ademi 2004–2018 Bekim Haxhiu 2008–2016 Predrag Jović 2008–present Bakir Burri 2018–present Agim Dibrani

General Secretary General Secretary Period Sejdi Mërkoja 1991–1994 Ali Shkreli 1994–2000 Blerim Vula 2000–2006 Eroll Salihu 2006–2022 Taulant Hodaj (acting) 2022–2023 Markus Weidner (acting) 2023–present

Structure

Competitions Men's Football Superleague with 10 clubs First League with 20 clubs (separated in 2 groups) Second League with 16 clubs Third League with 34 clubs (separated in 2 groups) Cup with 106 clubs Supercup with 2 clubs Youth U21 Superleague with 10 clubs U19 Superleague with 16 clubs U19 First League with 11 clubs U17 Superleague with 16 clubs Futsal Superleague with 9 clubs First League with 8 clubs Women's Superleague with 8 clubs First League with 6 clubs Cup with 14 clubs

Executive committee Position Name President Agim Ademi Vice-Presidents Bakir Burri Agim Dibrani Predrag Jović General Secretary Technical Director Markus Weidner (acting) Members Agim Nura Ilaz Mjaku Ismail Ajeti Mirsad Çollaku Naser Ajeti Vjollca Krasniqi Xhelal Broja

National teams

The Football Federation of Kosovo also organises national football teams representing Kosovo at all age levels:

National team	Head coach	Captain
Men's
Senior	Franco Foda	Amir Rrahmani
Under-23 Under-21	Afrim Tovërlani	Rotation
Under-20	Bekim Isufi
Under-19	Adil Maliqi
Under-18	Sami Sermaxhaj
Under-17	Arbnor Morina
Under-16	Mehmet Kurda
Under-15	Ilir Nallbani
Futsal	Agon Ramadani
Women's
Senior	Sami Sermaxhaj	Erëleta Memeti
Under-19	Albina Rrahmani	Rotation
Under-17	Sanije Krasniqi
Under-16 Under-15	Albina Rrahmani

National educational camp

Details

FFK National Educational Camp Kampi Edukativ Nacional i FFK-së UEFA Full name Kampi Edukativ Nacional i Federatës së Futbollit të Kosovës Former names Hajvalia Stadium (until 2017) Location Hajvalia, Kosovo Coordinates 42°37′36″N 21°11′12″E / 42.62677°N 21.18656°E / 42.62677; 21.18656 Owner Football Federation of Kosovo Operator Football Federation of Kosovo Capacity 4,000 Field size 105 by 68 metres (114.8 yd × 74.4 yd) Surface Grass Scoreboard LED Construction Built 2017 Opened 2017; 7 years ago (2017) Renovated 2023–ongoing Construction cost €1,00 Million (2017) Architect ALB-Architect Tenants FC Hajvalia (formerly) Kosovo national football teams (training sessions)

The FFK National Educational Camp (Albanian: Kampi Edukativ Nacional i FFK-së), previously known as Hajvalia Stadium (Albanian: Stadiumi i Hajvalisë), is a stadium located in the village of Hajvalia, near Pristina, Kosovo. It serves as the training location for the Kosovo national football team, as well as the former home ground for KF Hajvalia, a dissolved club that has competed in various Kosovar football leagues. It currently has a capacity of 4,000 people.

References

1. "FIFA Will Meet KFF Delegation". Albanian Daily News. January 5, 2006. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
2. Menary, Steve (2007). Outcasts! : the lands that FIFA forgot. Studley: Know the Score!. ISBN 978-1-905449-31-6.
3. New competition system approved by FFK (FFK) (May 18, 2009)
4. "Kosovo recognition irritates Russia and China". 19 February 2008. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
5. "FIFA's finances solid". FIFA. 24 October 2008. Archived from the original on October 26, 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
6. "Kapital Insights - Bulgaria explained".
7. "FIFA ExCo makes reform progress and Audit and Compliance Committee appointment". Media Release. FIFA.com. 22 May 2012. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
8. "UEFA Chief Reacts to FIFA's Kosovo Decision". BalkanInsight.com. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
9. "Cana, Šaćiri, Džaka i Behrami pisali Blateru zbog Kosova" (in Serbian). Sportski žurnal. 21 September 2012. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
10. "Vokri: FIFA i UEFA imaju dvostruke standarde" (in Serbian). Sportski žurnal. 2 October 2012. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
11. "FIFA Circular no.1342" (PDF). FIFA.com. 6 February 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2013.
12. "FIFA Emergency Committee confirms friendly matches involving clubs and representative teams of Kosovo". FIFA.com. 13 January 2014. Archived from the original on January 14, 2014.
13. "Executive Committee's Malta decisions". UEFA.com. 18 September 2015.
14. "Zyrtare: Kosova pranohet në FIFA, jemi të barabartë me të gjitha vendet e botës - Telegrafi". Telegrafi (in Albanian). 14 May 2016. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.

External links

• Official website (in Albanian and English)

v t e Football in Kosovo
Football Federation of Kosovo
National teams	Men National team results U-21 results U-19 U-17 U-15 Futsal results Women National team results U-19 U-17
Football league system	Men Superleague First League Second League Third League Women Superleague First League
Futsal league system	Men Superleague First League
Cup competitions	Men Cup Supercup finals
List of clubs List of clubs in European competitions List of venues

v t e Sports governing bodies in Kosovo (KOS)
Summer Olympic Sports	Archery Athletics Badminton Basketball Beach Volleyball Boxing Canoeing Cycling Diving Equestrian Fencing Field Hockey Football Golf Gymnastics Handball Judo Modern Pentathlon Rugby 7's Rowing Sailing Shooting Swimming Synchronized Swimming Table Tennis Taekwondo Tennis Triathlon Volleyball Water Polo Weightlifting Wrestling
Winter Olympic Sports	Biathlon Bobsleigh Curling Skating Ice Hockey Luge Skeleton Skiing Snowboarding
Other IOC Recognised Sports	Air sports Auto racing Bandy Baseball Billiard Sports Boules Bowling Bridge Chess Cricket Dance sport Floorball Karate Korfball Lifesaving Motorcycle racing Mountaineering and Climbing Netball Orienteering Pelota Vasca Polo Powerboating Racquetball Roller sports Rugby Softball Sport climbing Squash Sumo Surfing Tug of war Underwater sports Water Ski Wushu
Paralympics and Disabled Sports	Special Olympics
Others Sports	Rugby Union Rugby League University sports
Olympic Committee of Kosovo Paralympic Committee of Kosovo

• 1946 establishments in Kosovo
• Sports organizations established in 1946
• Sports governing bodies in Kosovo
• Football in Kosovo
• National members of UEFA
• Association football governing bodies in Europe