FC Ballkani – The First Kosovan Club Fighting on the European Stage
It’s very easy for the typical English football fan, especially those of us who support one of the big six, to take European competitions for granted.
So when UEFA announced the start of the UEFA European Conference League, a third-tier European competition, it was generally dismissed in this part of the continent.
However for many others it presented an opportunity, and for clubs like FC Ballkani, it was an opportunity for them to make a little history.
On the 25th of August 2022, they became the first-ever club side from Kosovo to qualify for any European competition. After progressing through three qualifying rounds and achieving a 3-1 aggregate victory over North Macedonian Champions KF Shkupi in the fourth, the Kosovan Champions secured their place in the group stages.
To put the size of the club into context, Ballkani’s home ground, Suhareka City Stadium can only host 1500 spectators.
As a result of this, UEFA deemed it unfit for European competition, and the club are having to play their home games in the Europa Conference League 35 miles away at the Fadil Vokrri in Pristina, which holds 13,500.
The competition hasn’t just been about gaining experience for Ballkani either.
They were drawn in Group G which consists of Romanian Champions CFR Cluj; Turkish club Sivasspor; and Czech side SK Slavia Praha; who were competing in the Champions League as recently as two seasons ago.
Xhebrailat (The Gabriels) have acquired four points from their first four games and currently sit level with Slavia Praha, and only 3 points behind both Sivasspor and Cluj.
Ballkani almost had the perfect start to their group-stage campaign at home to Cluj. Having taken the lead in the 65th minute through right-back Armend Thaqi, Kosovan hearts were broken when Cluj grabbed an equaliser in the 91st minute, through centre-back Yuri Matias.
Their next two games in the competition were nothing short of pure entertainment. On matchday two away at Slavia Praha, Xhebrailat were on the wrong side of a 3-2 result.
In a game where all five goals came within an 18-minute period of the first half, Ballkani were unlucky not to come away with at least a point.
Matchday three was similar in terms of the number of goals but different when it came to the result for Ballkani, as they came away from Turkish side Sivasspor with all three points following a 4-3 victory.
Xhebrailat looked to have thrown it away after giving up a 3-1 lead. However, in the 94th minute, Ermal Krasniqi cemented himself into Kosovan football history as he found the winner to give Ballkani their first win of the campaign.
The result meant that Group G was finely poised going into matchday four yesterday evening, with all four teams in the group on four points. Thanks to their slightly better goal difference, Ballkani found themselves top of the group as they welcomed Sivasspor to Kosovo for the return fixture.
Unfortunately for Xhebrailat, they fell to a 2-1 defeat. Having taken the lead in the first half, the club looked to be staying top of the group. It wasn’t to be as Sivasspor turned the game on its head and claimed the victory to go top of the group.
Stories like Ballkani’s show the importance of competitions like the UEFA Europa Conference League. It’s an opportunity for clubs from countries that may be smaller in terms of footballing prowess, but equal in size when it comes to their love for the game.
With two games to go in the group stages, I for one will be watching with great intrigue to see how far these Kosovan history makers can go.
https://sportsgazette.co.uk/1-fc-union-berlin-the-small-club-leaving-a-big-mark-on-german-football/
https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaconferenceleague/clubs/2609552–ballkani/
