By Andrew Warshaw
June 1 – FIFA appear to have backtracked slightly over the precise conditions of allowing the Balkan province of Kosovo to play friendly matches.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter met with officials from Serbia and UEFA following Serbia’s fierce objections to the landmark ruling permitting Kosovo’s partial entry into world football.
Following the meeting at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, a FIFA statement said that the “next steps” for Kosovo football “will be further discussed with all relevant parties”.
Last week, the FIFA Executive Committee, meeting in Budapest, agreed to lift the blanket ban on Kosovo’s national and club teams though, crucially, European Executive Committee members either voted against or abstained.
The region has been excluded since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008 because its sovereignty has not been recognised by the United Nations (UN).
Blatter said last week he hoped that FIFA’s decision would “accelerate” Kosovo’s campaign for full membership, but the policy change has placed Blatter and his UEFA counterpart Michel Platini in directly opposite camps since UEFA’s statutes require member countries to have UN recognition.
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