Brussels based correspondent of this daily, Augustin Palokaj, writes that FIFA’s permission for Kosovo to be able to play friendly internationals soccer games appears to be the same as European Union’s offer for Stabilization Association Agreement. It is a positive step, but it does not make Kosovo equal, he says. Kosovo cannot play official games, such as qualifications for European or World championships, but it can play friendly matches. With EU, Kosovo can have an SAA, but it cannot be treated as an independent state. Even though it has been six years since the declaration of independence, in the international scene, Kosovo is only being shifted from one status quo to the other. This is obvious in every attempt for participation of Kosovo at international or regional initiatives, be them sportive or political. Kosovo can participate at regional initiatives, but only if it does not appear as a state, if it does not use any state symbols, in order to assure that it is not equal to the others. In relation to the European Union, Kosovo carries the footnote and it is made certain that it is not treated as an independent state in any of the documents, says Palokaj.
SAA represents a formal step of the start of formal process for Kosovo’s integration in the EU, however this does not automatically open way to integration, since it has to be recognized as an independent and sovereign state by all member states. With Serbia’s request, Russia is blocking Kosovo’s membership at FIFA and UEFA, setting political conditions that Kosovo has to be a UN member state in order to be accepted. Palokaj says that this condition has become valid only after Kosovo’s request to be become a member. He mentions Scotland, Wells, Northern Ireland, Gibraltar and up to a certain time, Switzerland, that were not conditioned with UN membership to become FIFA members. He further quotes one of his Serb colleagues, who allegedly said that “it does not matter how many countries recognize Kosovo, or how many international organization accept Kosovo as a member, because Serbs will understand the new reality only when they see Kosovo playing football against someone.”
He considers that it would have been a good idea to have a competition between the football players and politicians on who would qualify for the membership first. “Based on the quality of exercising their professionalism, and on the respect that they have in Kosovo and abroad, football players with Kosovo origin are way ahead from politicians’ concludes Palokaj.
