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Kosovars ready for international scene
by Driton Latifi
Kosovo negotiations and final status. These are the news that probably everyone of you have herd over the past months and years. Inside this problem a great community of sports athletes are waiting and hoping to have their one identity on international scene like the all population of Kosovo.
Since 1991, kosovar athletes are not competing in international level, that is because they are victims of political problem that the country is heading with the final status waiting to be solved by the end of this year.
But, they can wait, they have been waiting for 16 years, and they can wait still. Well even for the waiting there must be an end, there must be a solution. The words 'everybody has the right to play and take part in sport activities, has been limited for the kosovar athletes.
This year it looks like the waiting has come to an end, when on the 13 of July for the first ever time the kosovar athletes took the streets of capital of Kosovo, Prishtina not for any everyday social problems that simply for "sports without discrimination" they called it.
Mr. Joachim Ruecker, the head-administrator on UN mission in Kosovo (UMNIK) has initiated the "working group for kosovar athletes to compete in international level". The Group already made some contacts with FIFA and IOC, they also got a list of potential athletes to compete in Beijing 2008, but the answer looks to be hidden in final status negotiations.
East Timor athletes where aloud to compete in Sydney 2000 even they country was not yet international recognized and working group is trying to use that case as parallel for Kosovo, because East Timor have been also ruled by the UN at that time. The Group is asking the international community to allow the kosovars to play under the UN or Olympic flag there is still not an answer about this as well.
Talents escaping
Kosovo have had it's true sport heroes like, European, world and Olympic champions but only before 1991. There are a lot of athletes that you have been writing and that they are kosovars, but competing with other national identity, like professional boxer Luan Krasniqi, or football player Valon Behrami of Lazio and Switzerland national team, and a lot of others.
In 1991, kosovar athletes were kicked out of all the sporting facilities by the serbs, finally they returned to the halls and stadium after the war in 1999. Between these years they have organized a sporting system that is still unique in the world, by organizing every sport in secret locations that Serbian police could not chase them.
If FIFA and UEFA grant us as soon as possible full membership, our national football coach, Edmond Rugova who came back all the way from US to help kosovar football, only with phone calls can have not one but three national teams of football, of all the kosovar football players playing in some of the most well known European football leagues, like in England, Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland etc.
Majlinda Kelmendi, is only 15 years old, I am sure that a lot of you didn't heard anything yet about her, but she didn't lost any of her international judo fights in senior level winning clearly in world tournaments like in Croatia, Bosnia, Italy, Macedonia, Turkey and Switzerland. She will be leaving Kosovo soon, she is not expected to compete in full international scene nor in Beijing 2008 with kosovar identity. She don't want to have the same fate like her coach famous, Driton Kuka had. Kuka 5 times judo champion of Ex-Yugoslavia that could not compete in Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992 nor in any other international competitions, because he choose not to emigrate, but to stay in Kosovo, today he is national team judo coach of Kosovo and he is very hard working man. I hope his work will be payoff one day.
Sport clubs are closing
After the war in 1999, people were so engaged with sports. Basketball become the main sport with lot of investments with houndreds of thousands on euros. The kosovar billionaire, Behgjet Pacolli he could by any club in Europe, but he invested in Kosovo basketball. Almost all the Super league clubs in basketball had American players, but their presence in euro cups was far a way and the interest about basketball has run down as well.
From 1999 until now 117 clubs from all the 23 sports federations that are in Kosovo has been closed or are not competing because of a lack of sponsors that finally after 16 years of support are getting away.The Ministry of sports has only 470 000 euros budget for all the sport of Kosovo, which of course are ironic numbers for this issue.
Already members in table tennis and handball Although there is a small light at the end of the tunnel, people say. That's way Kosovo at least is internationally recognized in two sports, in table tennis and in handball. The ETTU and ITTF have granted a full membership to kosovar table tennis Federation and the EHF has given a part membership to kosovar handball Federation (which means that kosovar clubs can compete in european cups, but not the national team as well in mayor competitions like European or world championship), a case that all the other international sports Federations didn't follow.
Our national champions are not aloud to compete in international level, they are not aloud because they are victims because in the world of sports they are considered as a political problem and looks like nobody can find a simply solution for them and they have to wait. Kosovar athletes don´t want to represent any other country, it is very simple they want to represent only their one country, Kosovo who you have already heard of in different ways, but not in sport activities.
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