By David Owen
February 20 – Manchester United’s teenage prodigy, Adnan Januzaj, has been made an honorary ambassador of the republic of Kosovo. Januzaj was the first of four footballers awarded the title this week by Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga for contributions to “affirmation of the interests of the Republic of Kosovo”.
The other three were: Granit Xhaka of Borussia Mőnchengladbach; Valon Behrami of Napoli; and Xherdan Shaqiri of Bayern Munich. The trio have won nearly 100 Swiss caps between them, in spite of their Kosovan heritage.
The awards formed part of a list of honours published by President Jahjaga on Monday to mark the sixth anniversary of Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia.
At the same time, Fadil Vokrri, President of the Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK) was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit.
Disclosure of Januzaj’s ambassadorship comes as Kosovan football is poised to take a big step towards international acceptance by taking on Haiti on March 5 in Mitrovica, the breakaway republic’s first match since FIFA cleared it to play friendlies under certain conditions.
The FFK would like Januzaj to make at least a symbolic appearance at this historic occasion.
In the longer term, the teenager, who was born in Belgium of Kosovan-Albanian parents, will have to decide which country he wants to pledge his competitive international future to.
Kosovo is one of up to half a dozen international teams he may eventually qualify to play for. The others are Albania, Belgium, England, Serbia and Turkey.
The teenager’s performances have been one of the few bright spots in what has turned into a difficult, transitional season for Manchester United, as new manager David Moyes has attempted to step into Sir Alex Ferguson’s shoes.
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