Kosovo women's national football team

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Kosovo
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Dardanet (Dardanians)
AssociationFederata e Futbollit e Kosovës (FFK)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachKarin Anneli Andersen
CaptainEreleta Memeti
Most capsKaltrina Biqkaj (47)
Top scorerErëleta Memeti (11)
Home stadiumFadil Vokrri Stadium
FIFA codeKOS
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 91 Increase 9 (15 March 2024)[1]
Highest91 (March 2024)
Lowest126 (July – September 2019)
First international
 Kosovo 0–5 Poland 
(Alanya, Turkey; 1 March 2017)
Biggest win
 Kosovo 7–0 Hong Kong 
(Alanya, Turkey; 18 February 2023)
Biggest defeat

The Kosovo women's national football team (Albanian: Kombëtarja e futbollit të femrave të Kosovës; Serbian: Женска фудбалска репрезентација Косова, romanizedŽenska fudbalska reprezentacija Kosova) represents Kosovo in international women's football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Kosovo.

History[edit]

Permitting by FIFA to play friendlies[edit]

On 6 February 2013, FIFA gave Kosovo the permission to play international friendly games against other member associations.[2] On 13 January 2014, there was a change of this permit that forbade Kosovo to play against the national teams of the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Club teams were also allowed to play friendlies and this happened after a FIFA Emergency Committee meeting. However, it was stipulated that clubs and representative teams of the Football Federation of Kosovo may not display national symbols as flags, emblems, etc. or play national anthems. The go-ahead was given after meetings between the Football Association of Serbia and Sepp Blatter.

Membership in UEFA and FIFA[edit]

In September 2015 at an UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Malta was approved the request from the federation to the admission in UEFA to the next Ordinary Congress to be held in Budapest.[3] On 3 May 2016, at the Ordinary Congress. Kosovo were accepted into UEFA after members voted 28–24 in favor of Kosovo.[4][5] Ten days later, Kosovo was accepted in FIFA during their 66th congress in Mexico with 141 votes in favour and 23 against.[6]

First tournament[edit]

Debut in World Cup and Euro qualifications[edit]

Kosovo began to make their debut in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, where Kosovo was drawn with Albania, Greece and Malta.[7] The Kosovars despite the efforts failed to qualify and finished last in the group with three losses.

After failing to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, Kosovo participated in the UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying, together with Estonia, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey and 2019 World Cup runners-up finisher Netherlands,[8] the Kosovars created their first big surprise, defeating Turkey in a 2–0 home win, which was also the team's first-ever competitive win,[9] victory which increased the enthusiasm which unfortunately did not last long and after the positive results began to experience a decline which resulted in disqualification.

Team image[edit]

Nicknames[edit]

The Kosovo women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Dardanet (Dardanians)".

Kits and crest[edit]

The Kosovan women's national football team wears blue jersey at home matches, white jersey at away matches, black jersey at neutral matches, but mostly this jersey is used as an alternative jersey, following the tradition of the Kosovo men's team. On 5 October 2016, Kosovo signed with Spanish sportswear company Kelme to a four-year contract and was the first official kit suppliers of Kosovo after membership in UEFA and FIFA.[10] On 23 February 2022, Kosovo signed with Italian sportswear company Erreà to a three-year contract for it to the kit suppliers of Kosovo.[11]

Kit supplier Period Contract
Announcement Duration
Kelme 2016–2018 5 October 2016 2016–2020 (4 years)
Fourteen 2018–2023 16 June 2018 2018–2022 (4 years)
Erreà 2023–present 23 February 2023 2023–2026 (3 years)

Home stadium[edit]

Kosovo's home stadium is the Fadil Vokrri Stadium. The stadium capacity is 13,500, which makes it the second largest national stadium in Kosovo. Kosovo's previous national stadium was the Adem Jashari Olympic Stadium which is currently under renovation.

Kosovo national football team home stadiums
Stadium Capacity Location Pld W D L Win % First match Last match UEFA
category
Opponent Date Opponent Date
Fadil Vokrri Stadium 13,500 Pristina, Kosovo 10 4 1 5 040.00  North Macedonia 8 April 2019  North Macedonia 31 October 2023
Zahir Pajaziti Stadium 9,000 Podujevo, Kosovo 1 1 0 0 100.00  Bulgaria, 1 December 2023
Gjakova City Stadium 6,000 Gjakova, Kosovo 1 1 0 0 100.00  North Macedonia, 5 April 2019
Adem Jashari Olympic Stadium 18,500 Mitrovica, Kosovo 1 1 0 0 100.00  Montenegro, 26 November 2017

Results and fixtures[edit]

  • The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Void or postponed   Fixture

2023[edit]

6 April 2023 BFU International Cup Kosovo  1–0  Latvia Sofia, Bulgaria
11:00 UTC+2 Halilaj 27' Report Stadium: Boyana Sports Complex
10 April 2023 BFU International Cup Bulgaria  0–1  Kosovo Sofia, Bulgaria
16:30 UTC+2 Report Memeti 16' Stadium: Boyana Sports Complex
13 July Friendly Kosovo  4–0  Liechtenstein Hajvalia, Kosovo
16:30
Report Stadium: FFK National Educational Camp
Attendance: 150
Referee: Emanuela Rusta (Albania)
16 July Friendly Kosovo  2–0  Liechtenstein Hajvalia, Kosovo
11:30
Report Stadium: FFK National Educational Camp
Attendance: 40
Referee: Emanuela Rusta (Albania)
26 September 2023–24 Nations League Bulgaria  0–0  Kosovo Plovdiv, Bulgaria
17:00 Report Stadium: Stadion Lokomotiv
Attendance: 223
Referee: Lovisa Johansson (Sweden)
27 October 2023–24 Nations League North Macedonia  0–2  Kosovo Skopje, North Macedonia
13:00 Report
Stadium: Petar Miloševski Training Centre
Attendance: 170
Referee: Michaela Pachtova (Czech Republic)
31 October 2023–24 Nations League Kosovo  3–1  North Macedonia Pristina, Kosovo
17:00
Report Cokleska 90' Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium
Attendance: 300
Referee: Silvia Domingos (Portugal)
1 December 2023–24 Nations League Kosovo  5–1  Bulgaria Podujevo, Kosovo
13:00
Report Ivanova 26' Stadium: Zahir Pajaziti Stadium
Attendance: 120
Referee: Meliz Özçiğdem (Turkey)

2024[edit]

21 February 2024 Turkish Women's Cup Hong Kong  0–1  Kosovo Alanya, Turkey
16:30 Report Ejupi 78' Stadium: Gold City Sport Complex
Referee: Gamze Durmuş (Turkey)
24 February 2024 Turkish Women's Cup Kosovo  3–0  Estonia Alanya, Turkey
11:00
Report Stadium: Gold City Sport Complex
Referee: Cansu Tiryaki (Turkey)
27 February 2024 Turkish Women's Cup Kosovo  1–0  India Alanya, Turkey
11:00 Memeti 90+1' Report Stadium: Gold City Sport Complex
Referee: Gamze Durmuş (Turkey)

Coaching staff[edit]

Current coaching staff[edit]

Position Name
Head coach Sweden Karin Anneli Andersen
Assistant coach(es)
Sweden Katarina Dunder Olsson
Kosovo Sanije Krasniqi
Albania Xhemile Berisha
Fitness coach Kosovo Fitim Shabani
Goalkeeping coach Kosovo Diellza Musa
Physiotherapist(s)
Kosovo Florentina Lahu
Kosovo Qendresa Ajvazi
Doctor Kosovo Vlora Podvorica
Kit manager Kosovo Liburn Rama
Team manager Kosovo Valbona Gashi Uka

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

  • The following players were called up for the 2024 Turkish Women's Cup.[12]
  • All caps and goals as of 24 February 2023 after match against Estonia, only matches as FIFA member are included.[a]
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club[b]
1 1GK Florentina Kolgeci (2000-10-30) 30 October 2000 (age 23) 18 0 Albania Tirana
12 1GK Rajmonda Spahiu (2006-03-25) 25 March 2006 (age 18) 2 0 Kosovo Mitrovica
16 1GK Djellza Mehmeti (2006-10-27) 27 October 2006 (age 17) 0 0 Kosovo EP-COM Hajvalia

11 2DF Edona Kryeziu (1995-10-03) 3 October 1995 (age 28) 46 0 Kosovo Mitrovica
18 2DF Feride Kastrati (1993-05-23) 23 May 1993 (age 30) 23 1 Kosovo EP-COM Hajvalia
5 2DF Blerta Smaili (2002-05-08) 8 May 2002 (age 21) 19 0 Switzerland Basel
15 2DF Fatlinda Ramaj (2000-10-01) 1 October 2000 (age 23) 17 0 Kosovo EP-COM Hajvalia
21 2DF Agnesa Gashi (1998-05-21) 21 May 1998 (age 25) 12 0 Kosovo Mitrovica
2 2DF Rrezona Ramadani (2002-09-05) 5 September 2002 (age 21) 11 1 Albania Vllaznia Shkodër
3 2DF Gresa Berisha (1998-04-26) 26 April 1998 (age 25) 2 0 Albania Tirana
24 2DF Laureta Temaj (2002-06-13) 13 June 2002 (age 21) 1 0 Germany VfB Stuttgart

8 3MF Blerta Shala (1998-12-03) 3 December 1998 (age 25) 43 1 Kosovo Mitrovica
4 3MF Donjeta Halilaj (vice-captain) (2000-03-12) 12 March 2000 (age 24) 35 7 Turkey Beşiktaş
6 3MF Lumbardha Misini (2003-05-03) 3 May 2003 (age 20) 21 0 Kosovo Mitrovica
20 3MF Viola Avduli (1999-11-22) 22 November 1999 (age 24) 18 0 Switzerland Zürich
19 3MF Loreta Lulaj (2003-06-24) 24 June 2003 (age 20) 14 0 Germany Wacker München
14 3MF Valentina Metaj (2004-10-03) 3 October 2004 (age 19) 12 6 Sweden IFK Kalmar
13 3MF Elizabeta Ejupi (1994-04-21) 21 April 1994 (age 29) 8 3 England Sunderland
22 3MF Vanesa Hoti (1998-08-03) 3 August 1998 (age 25) 1 0 Switzerland Basel

9 4FW Kaltrina Biqkaj (2000-08-05) 5 August 2000 (age 23) 48 8 Kosovo Mitrovica
10 4FW Valentina Limani (1997-02-02) 2 February 1997 (age 27) 37 4 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
7 4FW Erëleta Memeti (captain) (1999-06-30) 30 June 1999 (age 24) 28 10 Germany Hoffenheim
23 4FW Modesta Uka (1999-05-23) 23 May 1999 (age 24) 21 7 Austria Sturm Graz
17 4FW Egzona Zeka (1997-04-25) 25 April 1997 (age 26) 7 0 Kosovo Mitrovica

Recent call-ups[edit]

  • The following players have been called up for a squad within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.
Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club[b] Latest call-up
GK Besarta Leci (1993-10-14) 14 October 1993 (age 30) 17 0 Germany VfB Stuttgart v.  Bulgaria, 1 December 2023
GK Alma Demiri (2005-06-27) 27 June 2005 (age 18) 6 0 Germany 1. FC Köln v.  Bulgaria, 1 December 2023
GK Raimonda Spahiu (2006-03-25) 25 March 2006 (age 18) 0 0 Kosovo Mitrovica v.  Bulgaria, 1 December 2023
GK Lavdije Behramaj (1999-05-01) 1 May 1999 (age 24) 3 0 Kosovo Mitrovica v.  North Macedonia, 31 October 2023

DF Iliriana Vllasalija (1999-06-16) 16 June 1999 (age 24) 3 0 Sweden Ifö Bromölla v.  Bulgaria, 1 December 2023
DF Albulena Fejza (2002-09-24) 24 September 2002 (age 21) 1 0 Kosovo Mitrovica v.  Liechtenstein, 16 July 2023
DF Merita Bajrami (2003-08-12) 12 August 2003 (age 20) 1 0 Kosovo Bazeli v.  Liechtenstein, 16 July 2023
DF Besarta Hisenaj (1998-10-21) 21 October 1998 (age 25) 18 0 Germany SG 99 Andernach 2023 Turkish Women's Cup

MF Verona Berisha (2000-04-05) 5 April 2000 (age 23) 9 0 Kosovo EP-COM Hajvalia v.  Bulgaria, 1 December 2023
MF Venera Rexhi (1996-02-19) 19 February 1996 (age 28) 2 0 Sweden Mallbackens v.  Bulgaria, 1 December 2023
MF Bardha Gjonbalaj (2005-05-08) 8 May 2005 (age 18) 0 0 Kosovo Kosova VR Prishtinë v.  North Macedonia, 31 October 2023
MF Erona Bajrami (2003-09-10) 10 September 2003 (age 20) 4 0 Kosovo EP-COM Hajvalia 2023 BFU International Women's Cup

FW Albulena Guri (2004-12-16) 16 December 2004 (age 19) 6 1 Kosovo EP-COM Hajvalia v.  Bulgaria, 1 December 2023
FW Leonora Ejupi (2000-02-07) 7 February 2000 (age 24) 21 3 Germany Arminia Bielefeld v.  Liechtenstein, 16 July 2023
FW Jehona Shala (2001-05-28) 28 May 2001 (age 22) 4 3 Albania Vllaznia Shkodër v.  Liechtenstein, 16 July 2023
FW Alketa Rama (2003-12-30) 30 December 2003 (age 20) 4 0 Switzerland Zürich U19 2023 BFU International Women's Cup

Competitive record[edit]

FIFA World Cup[edit]

On 19 January 2017, in Nyon, it was decided that Kosovo should be part in Group 2 of the 2019 FIFA World Cup qualification, together with Albania, Greece and Malta.[7] On 6 April 2017, Kosovo made their debut on 2019 FIFA World Cup qualifications with a 3–2 away defeat against Albania.[13]

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
Sweden 1995 Part of  FR Yugoslavia
United States 1999
United States 2003 Team did not exist
China 2007
Germany 2011 Not a FIFA member
Canada 2015
France 2019 did not qualify 3 0 0 3 3 12
AustraliaNew Zealand 2023 10 2 1 7 8 35
2027 to be determined to be determined
Total 0/9 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 2 1 10 11 47

UEFA European Championship[edit]

On 21 February 2019, in Nyon, it was decided that Kosovo should be part in Group A of the UEFA Euro 2021 qualifying, together with Estonia, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey and 2019 World Cup runners-up finisher Netherlands.[8] On 30 August 2019, Kosovo made their debut on UEFA European Championship qualifying with a 2–0 home win against Turkey, which was also the team's first-ever competitive win.[9]

UEFA European Championship record Qualifying record
Year Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
Italy 1993 Part of  FR Yugoslavia
NorwaySweden 1997
Germany 2001 Team did not exist
England 2005
Finland 2009
Sweden 2013 Not a UEFA member
Netherlands 2017 Could not enter
England 2022 did not qualify 10 3 1 6 6 29
Switzerland 2025 to be determined to be determined
Total 0/13 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 3 1 6 6 29

UEFA Nations League[edit]

Kosovo's Nations League record
First match  Bulgaria 0–0 Kosovo 
(Plovdiv, Bulgaria; 26 September 2023)
Biggest win  Kosovo 5–1 Bulgaria 
(Podujevo, Kosovo; 1 December 2023)
Best result 1st in 2023–24

On 2 May 2023, in Nyon, it was decided that Kosovo should be part of League C in Group 5 of the 2023–14 UEFA Nations League, together with Bulgaria and North Macedonia.[14]

UEFA Nations League record
League phase Finals
Season LG GP Pos Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK Year Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad
2023–24 C 5 1st 4 3 1 0 10 2 Rise 36 FranceNetherlandsSpain 2024 did not enter
Total 4 3 1 0 10 2 Total 0 0 0 0 0 0

Other tournaments[edit]

Kosovo has so far participated in two editions of the Turkish Women's Cup, the first time was in the 2017 edition, when Kosovo lost in all three matches of this tournament against Poland (0–5), which was also her first international match as a FIFA member, against Romania (0–3) and against the host Turkey (2–4). A year later, Kosovo again participated in the 2018 edition, when they lost against France (0–6), Ukraine (0–2), draw against Kazakhstan (1–1) and win against Northern Ireland (1–0).

Head-to-head record[edit]

As of 27 February 2023

Head-to-head records are included only matches as FIFA member.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
 Albania 3 0 1 2 4 7 −3 000.00
 Armenia 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 100.00
 Belgium 2 0 0 2 1 13 −12 000.00
 Bulgaria 6 5 1 0 14 4 +10 083.33
 Estonia 4 4 0 0 9 2 +7 100.00
 France 1 0 0 1 0 6 −6 000.00
 Greece 1 0 0 1 0 6 −6 000.00
 Hong Kong 2 2 0 0 8 0 +8 100.00
 India 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 Kazakhstan 1 0 1 0 1 1 +0 000.00
 Latvia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 Liechtenstein 2 2 0 0 2 0 +2 100.00
 Luxembourg 1 1 0 0 5 0 +5 100.00
 Malta 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 000.00
 Montenegro 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 100.00
 Netherlands 2 0 0 2 0 12 −12 000.00
 Norway 2 0 0 2 1 8 −7 000.00
 North Macedonia 6 5 1 0 12 3 +9 083.33
 Northern Ireland 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 Poland 3 0 0 3 1 12 −11 000.00
 Russia 2 0 0 2 0 8 −8 000.00
 Romania 1 0 0 1 0 3 −3 000.00
 Slovenia 2 0 0 2 0 8 −8 000.00
 Turkey 3 1 1 1 4 4 +0 033.33
 Ukraine 2 0 0 2 1 6 −5 000.00
18 Countries 51 25 5 21 77 109 −32 049.02

See also[edit]

Men's
Women's

Notes and references[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Caps and goals of the friendly matches against Bulgaria (25 and 28 February 2019, 10 April 2023), North Macedonia (8 April 2019, 24 and 27 June 2022), Luxembourg (9 November 2019) and India (27 February 2024) are missing.
  2. ^ a b The club listed is the club for which the player last played a competitive match prior to the call-up.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  2. ^ "FIFA Circular no.1342" (PDF). FIFA. 6 February 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2019.
  3. ^ "UEFA shqyrton në mars të vitit të ardhshëm anëtarësimin e Kosovës" [UEFA reviews in March next year Kosovo's membership] (in Albanian). Voice of America. 19 September 2015.
  4. ^ "Football Federation of Kosovo joins UEFA". UEFA. 3 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Kosovo accepted as member of Uefa after Congress vote". The Guardian. 3 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Zyrtare: Kosova pranohet në FIFA, jemi të barabartë me të gjitha vendet e botës" [Official: Kosovo is admitted to FIFA, we are equal to all countries in the world] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 13 May 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Kosova në grup me Shqipërinë" [Kosovo in a group with Albania] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 19 January 2017.
  8. ^ a b "U hodh shorti për Evropianin e femrave" [The lot was drawn for the European women] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 21 February 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Kosova e mrekullueshme kundër Turqisë, i nis kualifikimet me fitore" [Wonderful Kosovo against Turkey, starts the qualifications with a victory] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 30 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Nënshkruhet marrëveshja mes FFK-së dhe 'Kelme' për fanellat e Përfaqësueses së Kosovës (Foto/Video)" [Signed the agreement between FFK and 'Kelme' for the kits of Kosovo national football team (Photo/Video)] (in Albanian). Telegrafi. 5 October 2016.
  11. ^ "FFK lidh marrëveshje me kompaninë e veshjeve sportive 'ERREA'" [FFK signs an agreement with the sportswear company 'ERREA'] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 23 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Kosova merr pjesë në turneun "Turkish Women's Cup" në Alanya" [Kosovo participates in the "Turkish Women's Cup" tournament in Alanya] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 19 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Kosova pëson humbje kundër Shqipërisë me autogol në minutat shtesë" [Kosovo suffers losses against Albania with an own goal in extra minutes] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 6 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Kosova mëson kundërshtarët në Ligën e Kombeve" [Kosovo learns the opponents in the Nations League] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 2 May 2023.

External links[edit]