Kosovo clubs

[Gerrit]

I was just wondering... With the problems that seem under control more or less thanks to NATO/UN presence and with social life having restarted well in Kosovo, I take there must also be some football activity ? Is there currently any Kosovar club that competes on a decent level (professional/semi-professional) ? Do they have their own league or do clubs compete in the Serbia/Montenegro or Albanian league ?

Pristine's a quite big city, would make much sense to see a professional team rise there.

[football_addict]

With the problems that seem under control more or less thanks to NATO/UN presence and with social life having restarted well in KosovoHaha, where did you hear that? Things have never been worse in Kosovo. Unemployment is 50%!!! Kosovo is heaven in the past few years for narco dealers!!! Seriously, where did you hear that social life is improving?

[Rabotnicki]

A NT is coming to the big time apparently! Haha!

[FK Partizani]

I was just wondering... With the problems that seem under control more or less thanks to NATO/UN presence and with social life having restarted well in Kosovo, I take there must also be some football activity ? Is there currently any Kosovar club that competes on a decent level (professional/semi-professional) ? Do they have their own league or do clubs compete in the Serbia/Montenegro or Albanian league ?

Pristine's a quite big city, would make much sense to see a professional team rise there.

Don't listen to the Serbs. They still haven't gotten over the fact that Kosova was never theirs to begin with.

Onto soccer now. Kosova's two main sports are Football and Basketball. Kosova has its own professional football league and its own FA (Federata e Futbollit te Kosoves) although it is not yet recognized by UEFA and its clubs do not participate in the UEFA competitions. Kosova's best players have joined Albania's national team.

Prishtina has always had a professional team there that played in the old Yugo league with minor success. The future seems bright as Kosova is a football mad country and it is only a matter of time before it officially joins UEFA.

There's a possibility that there might be a joint league with Albania once Kosova gains its independence which should be very soon.

[football_addict]

I'm sorry, I wrote something wrong in my last post....Unemployment is not 50%, it's 70%.

[Gerrit]

Let's try not to go into a political debate in a topic about simply football ;)


They have a professional league so ? No teams ever thought of joining the Serbia-Montenegro or Albania league (to have chances to qualify for Europe) ??
And how is the level of this Kosova league and how big is the public interest in the league ?


PS: there are also some Kosovar clubs in cities where many locals escaped to during the war. Brussels for example has FC Kosova Schaerbeek, which plays in the 7th division, playing its home games in the former stadium of Crossing Schaerbeek.

[FK Partizani]

They have a professional league so? No teams ever thought of joining the Serbia-Montenegro or Albania league (to have chances to qualify for Europe) ??

Joining S&MN is out of the question due to the current political situation.
As for joining Albania there are technical and logistical problems.
1) You'd need UEFA's blessing on the matter.
2) Travelling doesn't make it worthwhile for most of the clubs especially the ones in Southern Albania and Northern Kosova. Flying is not an option and most away games would involve 6-7 hours bus rides through e very mountainous region without including waiting time at the border. Albanian teams do not have to travel for more than 2-3 hours tops for their domestic games. Same goes for Kosovar clubs.
3) The respective FAs are reluctant to relinquish their powers.

And how is the level of this Kosova league and how big is the public interest in the league ?

Level of the Kosovar league is below that of the Albanian one, which in itself is poor to begin with. Albania has had an established league since 1920. Albanian clubs play in European competitions regularly which makes it easier to attract local quality players. The prospect of playing in Europe for Kosovars playing in their domestic league is nil so their best players ply their trade either in Albania or in Europe.

However Kosovar clubs have rabid support and are way more organized that their Albanian counterparts. Kosovar fans have a tradition of support dating back to the Yugo years and modelled after the great clubs of the old Yugoslavia. They even travel in thousands for Albanian NT games in Tirana (capital of Albania). Many Kosovars play for the Albanian NT as well.

PS: there are also some Kosovar clubs in cities where many locals escaped to during the war. Brussels for example has FC Kosova Schaerbeek, which plays in the 7th division, playing its home games in the former stadium of Crossing Schaerbeek.

Thta's true. There are numerous clubs where large numbers of Kosovars live, especially in Germany, Switzerland, USA and Sweden.

[Gerrit]

Germany as well ? Didn't know that.


How come Kosovars can play for NT Albania ? They have the nationality of Serbia & Montenegro I thought ? (as politically/administratively it's still a province of S&M)

Did a Kosovar club ever play in the top flight of the former Yugoslavia ?

[Russian Scouser]

Don't listen to the Serbs. They still haven't gotten over the fact that Kosova was never theirs to begin with.

Onto soccer now. Kosova's two main sports are Football and Basketball. Kosova has its own professional football league and its own FA (Federata e Futbollit te Kosoves) although it is not yet recognized by UEFA and its clubs do not participate in the UEFA competitions. Kosova's best players have joined Albania's national team.

Prishtina has always had a professional team there that played in the old Yugo league with minor success. The future seems bright as Kosova is a football mad country and it is only a matter of time before it officially joins UEFA.

There's a possibility that there might be a joint league with Albania once Kosova gains its independence which should be very soon.

Football mad? I thought there were more up for stealing, dealing drugs and murdering Serbs.

My mate worked out there for the UN for a couple of months 2 years ago. First of all, he never quite understood what on earth the UN was supposedly doing there. Secondly, he says he's never been to such a sh8thole in his life, with people freely murdering each other and no authorities in place with the UN/KFor contingent too small to control the territory which is now a total mess. All this has led KosovO to becoming a lovely staging point for people smuggling and gun and drug trafficking. I do not think anything else was to be expected with a bunch of Albanian criminals in charge.

[Russian Scouser]

Let's try not to go into a political debate in a topic about simply football ;)


They have a professional league so ? No teams ever thought of joining the Serbia-Montenegro or Albania league (to have chances to qualify for Europe) ??
And how is the level of this Kosova league and how big is the public interest in the league ?


PS: there are also some Kosovar clubs in cities where many locals escaped to during the war. Brussels for example has FC Kosova Schaerbeek, which plays in the 7th division, playing its home games in the former stadium of Crossing Schaerbeek.

We've got an Albanian team playing in our 5-a-side league - f8cking horrible bunch, I sincerely hope they get deported ASAP.

[Russian Scouser]

However Kosovar clubs have rabid support and are way more organized that their Albanian counterparts. Kosovar fans have a tradition of support dating back to the Yugo years and modelled after the great clubs of the old Yugoslavia. They even travel in thousands for Albanian NT games in Tirana (capital of Albania). Many Kosovars play for the Albanian NT as well.



Thta's true. There are numerous clubs where large numbers of Kosovars live, especially in Germany, Switzerland, USA and Sweden.

1. Which KosovO Albanians play for the Albanian National team?

2. Are there large numbers of KosovO Albanians in Milan, where the Albanians control half the mafia? :)

[MRAD12]

Don't listen to the Serbs. They still haven't gotten over the fact that Kosova was never theirs to begin with.

Onto soccer now. Kosova's two main sports are Football and Basketball. Kosova has its own professional football league and its own FA (Federata e Futbollit te Kosoves) although it is not yet recognized by UEFA and its clubs do not participate in the UEFA competitions. Kosova's best players have joined Albania's national team.

Prishtina has always had a professional team there that played in the old Yugo league with minor success. The future seems bright as Kosova is a football mad country and it is only a matter of time before it officially joins UEFA.

There's a possibility that there might be a joint league with Albania once Kosova gains its independence which should be very soon.
Is that why the Albanians burned many centuries old Serbian Christian churches in Kosovo to convince the world of that "fact" that Kososvo was never theirs to begin with, as you say?. Joining Albanian league, huh?. I guess the idea of a "Greater Albania" still lives with you guys. What about Serbs living in Kosovo, would their teams have to join the Albanian League, also?

[FK Partizani]

Germany as well ? Didn't know that?

Yes there is a very large Kosovar community in Germany (in the hundreds of thousands) who migrated there during the 60'-70' as part of the guestworkers program of the German gov.

How come Kosovars can play for NT Albania ? They have the nationality of Serbia & Montenegro I thought ? (as politically/administratively it's still a province of S&M)

Kosovars have Albanian nationality and had Serbian & Montenegrin citizenship until the war broke out. I'm not sure what the exact status of the province now is but I believe it is not part of S&M anymore but a UN protectorate.
All a Kosovar needs to play for the Albanian NT is to get Albanian citizenship which can be obtained within 30 days by them by virtue of their nationality.

Did a Kosovar club ever play in the top flight of the former Yugoslavia ?

Yes Prishtina did.

1. Which KosovO Albanians play for the Albanian National team?
2. Are there large numbers of KosovO Albanians in Milan, where the Albanians control half the mafia?


I see you intentionalyy capitalize the O at the end of Kosovo but the name is still KosovAr and not KosovOr. Moving on to answer your tendentious questions:

1. These Kosovar Albanians play for the Albanian NT:
Lorik Cana of PSG
Besnik Hasi of Anderlecht
Mehmet Dragusha of SC Paderborn (Bundesliga 2)
Arjan Beqaj of Ionikos (Greece)
Soon to join the Albanian NT is Valon Behrami of Lazio.

2. As a matter of fact there are a lot of Albanians in Milan. However they are not from Kosova but from Albania proper. And yes they do control some of the mafia unfortunately.

If you guys noticed this is a topic about football and if you have any thoughts/opinions about Kosovar football you're more than welcome to share. Leave politics out of this.

[Russian Scouser]

Yes there is a very large Kosovar community in Germany (in the hundreds of thousands) who migrated there during the 60'-70' as part of the guestworkers program of the German gov.



Kosovars have Albanian nationality and had Serbian & Montenegrin citizenship until the war broke out. I'm not sure what the exact status of the province now is but I believe it is not part of S&M anymore but a UN protectorate.
All a Kosovar needs to play for the Albanian NT is to get Albanian citizenship which can be obtained within 30 days by them by virtue of their nationality.



Yes Prishtina did.



I see you intentionalyy capitalize the O at the end of Kosovo but the name is still KosovAr and not KosovOr. Moving on to answer your tendentious questions:

1. These Kosovar Albanians play for the Albanian NT:
Lorik Cana of PSG
Besnik Hasi of Anderlecht
Mehmet Dragusha of SC Paderborn (Bundesliga 2)
Arjan Beqaj of Ionikos (Greece)
Soon to join the Albanian NT is Valon Behrami of Lazio.

2. As a matter of fact there are a lot of Albanians in Milan. However they are not from Kosova but from Albania proper. And yes they do control some of the mafia unfortunately.

If you guys noticed this is a topic about football and if you have any thoughts/opinions about Kosovar football you're more than welcome to share. Leave politics out of this.

"Kosovars have Albanian nationality" - you f8cking ethnically cleansed the province already, oh Albanian? Nice one. Kosovo Serbs are not "real" Kosovans, unlike the Albanians who are only good at reproducing?

Also, please hold off separating the province off - it is currently under the UN jurisdiction and guess what, the powers that be are not particularly impressed with the way the Albanians are conducting themselves, thereby further postponing any talk of independence, so it is still part of the Serbia & Montenegro.

Here are a couple of links:
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/ksvindx.htm
Especially:
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/kosovo1/2005/0526icgreport.pdf
where I like the wonderful quote of:
"It is a fair question how far KosovO's Albanians have advanced from the critique of a careful observer a century ago:
'The river of evolution had left them stranded: waifs of a day when men had not yet learnt to form a nation... They could not unite for the benefit of the tribe except when attacked from without, nor could they see that it was desirable. One's won blood came first.'"

Basically, they are primitives and I am watching without much surprise as they are now beginning to murder each other.

Kosovo Albanians are so different from the "real" Albanians - not in their primitive basic ways, they aren't.

Some mafia in Milan? BIG F8CK OFF CHUNKS OF IT.

Football in an ethnically cleansed province does not escape the political situation around it.

[FK Partizani]

Football in an ethnically cleansed province does not escape the political situation around it.

Well it may be so for you but it's not for me. I can go on and give you my side of the story and regurgitate everything that's been said about the Serbs by the Hague tribunal but it would serve no apparent purpose.

I come here to discuss football. There's a myriad of political fora where you can share your thoughts about this topic. If you have anything to say about football I'd be more than happy to converse with you but apparently you can't keep your emotions in check.

[FK Partizani]

I wonder if General Pavkovic was a football fan... :)

Congrats. You just made my ignore list.

[MRAD12]

Congrats. You just made my ignore list.
I have a question for you. You say that if Kosovo gets its independence Kosovo teams may play in the Albanian league, can the Serbs of Mitrovica form a team to play in Serbia leagues if they want to? Would that be fair?

[FK Partizani]

I have a question for you. You say that if Kosovo gets its independence Kosovo teams may play in the Albanian league, can the Serbs of Mitrovica form a team to play in Serbia leagues if they want to? Would that be fair?

If the Serb part of Mitrovica doesn't join an independent Kosova and remains a part of Serbia then yes it can. I have no problem with it. I'm sure the final say rests with UEFA and none of us can do anything for that matter. But if Mitrovica becomes wholly part of an independent Kosova then i'm not sure how things would work out. I don't know for sure but don't the Serbs in Bosnia have their own football league? Do they play in the Serbian league or the Bosnian league? Something similar might work out for Kosova as well.

In order for a club to compete in any league they have to officially be part of a sovereign nation. I know a few Welsh clubs that participate in the English first Division but other than that it's not a widespread practice.

That is why Kosovar clubs don't participate in the Albanian Championship. The Kosovar FA is not even recognised by UEFA and that's why they don't participate in the European competitions. It may happen in the future or it may never come to fruition. Nothing is for sure. Kosova may not even get independence so we'll have to wait and see.

[Russian Scouser]

To give Kosovo independence would be crazy - any vaguely sane UN official should be able to see that now - 6 years on the place is a mess and that is even with some UN and KFor troops present. Give them independence and it will take them a few months to wreck and steal whatever is still left standing in Kosovo before they start spreading trouble to the neighbouring regions - after all, they're good for nothing else.

[forcamadrid]

Congrats. You just made my ignore list.
And keep doing that. It is not worth answering provocative posts.
I hope Russian Scouser get banned or at least yellow carded for this.