By Andrew Warshaw
March 6 – Amidst the flurry of high-profile international friendlies played across the globe on Wednesday night, the most symbolic fixture took place in front of 17,000 fans in the divided Balkan city of Mitrovica.
Six years after declaring independence from Serbia, Kosovo’s footballers played their first match at international level, drawing 0-0 with Haiti in what was more than just a routine friendly.
Kosovo is not recognised by Serbia and is not a member of FIFA or the United Nations but is supported by about 100 countries and earlier this year FIFA finally cleared the national team and clubs to play non-competitive matches after a lengthy battle for recognition.
No flags were allowed under the agreed compromise and no anthems played. The team walked out with the name ‘Kosova*’ printed on their backs – with an asterisk deliberately added in accordance with a request by Serbia. But that didn’t deter a fierce sense of pride. Tickets for the game against Haiti, 79th in the FIFA rankings, were sold out within hours for Kosovo’s international debut.
Selecting the 22-man squad was not easy since all but one of them play their football overseas. Three of the country’s best players now represent Switzerland, while Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj, whose heritage makes him eligible for Kosovo as well as a string of other countries, declined an invitation to take part.
Mitrovica is divided between ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs and while the game produced little drama in driving rain, that was of little concern to coach Albert Bunjaki’s team after their long struggle.
Kosovo’s sporting infrastructure has largely fallen into disrepair as a result of isolation and war and $1 million was invested to renovate the stadium for Wednesday’s game, which began with a burst of fireworks.
“Bearing in mind our lack of preparation, the very difficult terrain … and knowing the importance of this game we all have to be happy as we are all winners,” Bunjaki told reporters. “This is our first step in a very long journey ahead … where our objective is (qualifying for the) World Cup. We have shown that we deserve to be part of world football.”
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