Agim Ademi reacts after Kosovo’s historic success: Unfortunately, attention shifted to things unrelated to football and to falsehoods

The president of the Kosovo Football Federation, Agim Ademi, has reacted following Kosovo’s historic success, having secured a place in the Play-Off of the World Cup qualifiers.

Ademi said it is regrettable that certain television stations and portals, as well as analysts who have little to do with football, overshadowed Kosovo’s success and historic achievement. Unfortunately, attention shifted to things unrelated to football and to falsehoods, leaving aside the good performance of our national team.

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Dear football enthusiasts, fans and citizens of Kosovo,

Last night, we witnessed another heroic performance, full of heart, from our Dardanian footballers. A brilliant game that brought another positive result in our journey towards our big dream.

Although we did not manage to win against Switzerland (1:1), we have qualified for the ‘Play-Off’ for the first time, and this is undoubtedly a historic achievement for the Kosovo national team in just 9 years since its admission to UEFA and FIFA, which we all celebrated.

It is regrettable that certain television stations and portals, as well as analysts who have little to do with football, overshadowed Kosovo’s success and historic achievement. Unfortunately, attention shifted to things unrelated to football and to falsehoods, leaving aside the good performance of our national team.

Propaganda and hatred prevailed among those who do not want Kosovo to succeed or are pained by its success, dwelling on pessimism and negativity while ignoring the essence: football and our outstanding achievements!

False narratives were created that the match would not take place and that the condition of the pitch was poor, but last night’s match proved precisely that the pitch had been built to the highest standard, successfully withstanding two days of uninterrupted rain.

Do not think that criticism from people who have no connection to football and do not wish our sport well carries any weight.

On the contrary, such cases only reveal the low level and ill will of those who try to obscure our successes.

Therefore, we call on everyone: Come back to reality once and for all! Do not spread slander, defeatism and hatred among our people and between our friendly countries. These boys, the gladiators of Dardania, are Kosovo’s pride and future!

KOSOVO, friends and foes, is in the ‘Play-Off’! It is happening, and we are among the teams seeking a ticket to the World Cup, whether you like it or not.

Some may consider us a small state, but in fact we are a great nation! Together with our compatriots wherever they live and work, we continue to make our country proud.

We have always emphasized that individuals such as Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri are national assets and the best ambassadors of our people, as are Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Ramë Lahaj and many others.

Granit has been and will always be welcome in his homeland. Wherever he may be, he is the son of Ragip Xhaka, from a patriotic family that lives and works in Prishtina, and that is why we have always celebrated his successes and impressive career.

Some are forgetting a great truth: Many of our Renaissance figures lived and worked in different places, but contributed to the nation in various ways. From Jeronim De Rada, Pashko Vasa, Isa Boletini, Sami and Naim Frashëri, and many others who gave their hearts and minds to the national cause, to other patriots who lived abroad but worked for the future of the Albanians. Just as they contributed from the diaspora, our athletes do the same today through hard work, sacrifice and dignity.

We condemn the whistling that took place, even though it did not come from the entire crowd or from the ‘Dardanët’ fan group; negative incidents are sometimes unavoidable in stadiums. They were unnecessary and unjustified, and we condemn them, just as we condemn the statements of those who spew venom even when Kosovo achieves outstanding results.

Finally, I want to express special thanks to the wonderful crowd who, despite the extensive propaganda claiming the match would not take place and despite the torrential rain, came to the stadium and never stopped supporting our boys.

You are the heart of our success!

We move forward with pride and responsibility towards our dream,

Go Kosovo!