The Kosovo women's national football team (Albanian: Kombëtarja e futbollit të femrave të Kosovës; Serbian: Женска фудбалска репрезентација Косова, romanized: Ženska fudbalska reprezentacija Kosova) represents Kosovo in international women's football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Kosovo.
 | ||||
| Nickname(s) | Dardanet (Dardanets) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Federata e Futbollit e Kosovës (FFK) | |||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | |||
| Head coach | Karin Anneli Andersen | |||
| Captain | Ereleta Memeti | |||
| Most caps | Kaltrina Biqkaj (51)[a] | |||
| Top scorer | Erëleta Memeti (10)[a] | |||
| Home stadium | Fadil Vokrri Stadium | |||
| FIFA code | KOS | |||
| ||||
| FIFA ranking | ||||
| Current | 95  4 (14 June 2024)[1] | |||
| Highest | 91 (March 2024) | |||
| Lowest | 126 (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 | ||||
History
editPermitting by FIFA to play friendlies
editOn 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
editIn 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
editDebut in World Cup and Euro qualifications
editKosovo 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
editNicknames
editThe Kosovo women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Dardanet (Dardanets)".
Kits and crest
editThe 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
editKosovo'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 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 41.67 | North Macedonia | 8 April 2019 | North Macedonia | 31 October 2023 | |
| Zahir Pajaziti Stadium | 9,000 | Podujevo, Kosovo | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33.33 | Bulgaria | 1 December 2023 | Croatia | 31 May 2024 | |
| FFK National Educational Camp | — | Hajvalia, Kosovo | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | Liechtenstein | 13 July 2023 | Liechtenstein | 13 July 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| 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) |
| 5 April UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying | Ukraine | 2–0 | Kosovo | Antalya, Turkey |
| 17:00 | Report | Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex Referee: Karoline Wacker (Germany) |
| 9 April UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying | Kosovo | 0–6 | Wales | Podujevo, Kosovo |
| 14:00 | Report | Stadium: Zahir Pajaziti Stadium Referee: Galiya Echeva (Bulgaria) |
| 31 May UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying | Kosovo | 1–0 | Croatia | Podujevo, Kosovo |
| 17:00 | Report | Rudelić 58' | Stadium: Zahir Pajaziti Stadium Referee: Kristina Georgieva (Bulgaria) |
| 4 June UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying | Croatia | 2–0 | Kosovo | Karlovac, Croatia |
| Rudelić 15' Marković 74' |
Report | Stadium: Stadion Branko Čavlović-Čavlek Referee: Michaela Pachtová (Czech Republic) |
| 12 July UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying | Kosovo | v | Ukraine | Pristina, Kosovo |
| Report | Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium |
| 16 July UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying | Wales | v | Kosovo | Llanelli, Wales |
| Report | Stadium: Parc y Scarlets |
Coaching staff
editCurrent coaching staff
edit| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Karin Anneli Andersen |
| Assistant coach(es) | |
| Katarina Dunder Olsson | |
| Sanije Krasniqi | |
| Xhemile Berisha | |
| Fitness coach | Fitim Shabani |
| Goalkeeping coach | Diellza Musa |
| Physiotherapist(s) | |
| Florentina Lahu | |
| Qendresa Ajvazi | |
| Doctor | Vlora Podvorica |
| Kit manager | Liburn Rama |
| Team manager | Valbona Gashi Uka |
Players
editCurrent squad
edit- The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2025 qualifying matches against Ukraine and Wales, on 12 and 16 June 2024.
- All caps and goals as of 4 June 2024 after match against Croatia, only matches as FIFA member are included.[b]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Besarta Leci | 14 October 1993 | 17 | 0 | |
| 12 | GK | Alma Demiri | 27 June 2005 | 10 | 0 | |
| 16 | GK | Djellza Mehmeti | 27 October 2006 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | DF | Edona Kryeziu | 3 October 1995 | 49 | 0 | |
| 18 | DF | Feride Kastrati | 23 May 1993 | 25 | 1 | |
| 5 | DF | Blerta Smaili | 8 May 2002 | 22 | 0 | |
| 20 | DF | Viola Avduli | 22 November 1999 | 21 | 0 | |
| 3 | DF | Fatlinda Ramaj | 1 October 2000 | 21 | 0 | |
| 2 | DF | Rrezona Ramadani | 5 September 2002 | 14 | 1 | |
| 21 | DF | Agnesa Gashi | 21 May 1998 | 14 | 0 | |
| 19 | DF | Albulena Fejza | 24 September 2002 | 2 | 0 | |
| 4 | MF | Donjeta Halilaj | 12 March 2000 | 37 | 7 | |
| 15 | MF | Lumbardha Misini | 3 May 2003 | 24 | 0 | |
| 6 | MF | Besarta Hisenaj | 21 October 1998 | 18 | 0 | |
| 8 | MF | Marigonë Tahiri | 25 February 1999 | 15 | 0 | |
| 14 | MF | Valentina Metaj | 3 October 2004 | 16 | 6 | |
| 13 | MF | Elizabeta Ejupi | 21 April 1994 | 11 | 3 | |
| 22 | MF | Vanesa Hoti | 3 August 1998 | 4 | 0 | |
| 9 | FW | Kaltrina Biqkaj | 5 August 2000 | 52 | 8 | |
| 10 | FW | Valentina Limani | 2 February 1997 | 41 | 4 | |
| 7 | FW | Erëleta Memeti (captain) | 30 June 1999 | 32 | 10 | |
| 23 | FW | Modesta Uka | 23 May 1999 | 24 | 7 | |
| 17 | FW | Egzonë Zeka | 25 April 1997 | 7 | 0 | |
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 | Latest call-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Florentina Kolgeci | 30 October 2000 | 18 | 0 | v. Croatia, 4 June 2024 | |
| GK | Rajmonda Spahiu | 25 March 2006 | 0 | 0 | 2024 Turkish Women's Cup | |
| GK | Lavdije Behramaj | 1 May 1999 | 3 | 0 | v. North Macedonia, 31 October 2023 | |
| DF | Gresa Berisha | 26 April 1998 | 2 | 0 | v. Wales, 9 April 2024 | |
| DF | Laureta Temaj | 13 June 2002 | 1 | 0 | 2024 Turkish Women's Cup | |
| DF | Iliriana Vllasalija | 16 June 1999 | 3 | 0 | v. Bulgaria, 1 December 2023 | |
| MF | Blerta Shala | 3 December 1998 | 45 | 1 | v. Ukraine, 12 June 2024PRE | |
| MF | Loreta Lulaj | 24 June 2003 | 15 | 0 | v. Croatia, 4 June 2024 | |
| MF | Venera Rexhi | 19 February 1996 | 3 | 0 | v. Wales, 9 April 2024 | |
| MF | Verona Berisha | 5 April 2000 | 9 | 0 | v. Bulgaria, 1 December 2023 | |
| MF | Bardha Gjonbalaj | 8 May 2005 | 0 | 0 | v. North Macedonia, 31 October 2023 | |
| FW | Aurona Racaj | 14 June 2005 | 0 | 0 | v. Ukraine, 12 June 2024PRE | |
| FW | Alba Shabani | 24 July 2006 | 0 | 0 | v. Ukraine, 12 June 2024PRE | |
| FW | Albulena Guri | 16 December 2004 | 6 | 1 | v. Bulgaria, 1 December 2023 | |
| ||||||
Competitive record
editFIFA World Cup
editOn 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.[12]
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 1995 | Part of FR Yugoslavia | |||||||||||||||
| 1999 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Team did not exist | |||||||||||||||
| 2007 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Not a FIFA member | |||||||||||||||
| 2015 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | did not qualify | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | |||||||||
| 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
editOn 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 | |
| 1993 | Part of FR Yugoslavia | |||||||||||||||
| 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Team did not exist | |||||||||||||||
| 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Not a UEFA member | |||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Could not enter | |||||||||||||||
| 2022 | did not qualify | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 29 | |||||||||
| 2025 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | ||||||||||
| Total | — | 0/13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 40 | |
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.[13]
| 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 | 36 | 2024 | did not enter | |||||||||
| Total | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | — | Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||||||
Other tournaments
editKosovo has so far participated in four 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).
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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 | 0.00 |
| Armenia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 100.00 |
| Belgium | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | −12 | 0.00 |
| Bulgaria | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 83.33 |
| Croatia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0.00 |
| Estonia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 100.00 |
| France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0.00 |
| Greece | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0.00 |
| 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 | 0.00 |
| 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 | 0.00 |
| Montenegro | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | −12 | 0.00 |
| Norway | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0.00 |
| North Macedonia | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 83.33 |
| Northern Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 100.00 |
| Poland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | −11 | 0.00 |
| Russia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0.00 |
| Romania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0.00 |
| Slovenia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0.00 |
| Turkey | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | +0 | 33.33 |
| Ukraine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0.00 |
| Wales | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0.00 |
| 18 Countries | 54 | 25 | 5 | 24 | 77 | 118 | −41 | 46.30 |
See also
edit- Men's
- Women's
Notes and references
editNotes
edit- ^ a b There may be more matches or goals because some match data is missing.
- ^ 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.
References
edit- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ "FIFA Circular no.1342" (PDF). FIFA. 6 February 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Football Federation of Kosovo joins UEFA". UEFA. 3 May 2016.
- ^ "Kosovo accepted as member of Uefa after Congress vote". The Guardian. 3 May 2016.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "Kosova në grup me Shqipërinë" [Kosovo in a group with Albania] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 19 January 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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- Official website (in Albanian and English)
- Kosovo (women) News about the team
- Kosovo (women) on Instagram
