Visiting KF Liria Prizren: “The quality of the Kosovo competition is increasing”

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Prizren, an hour’s drive from the capital Pristina and the second largest city in Kosovo, has a lot of charm. The old town is paved and wooded and there are many coffees on the water. Not far from the center is the Përparim Thaçi Stadium, where the first team of KF Liria Prizren trains late on Thursday afternoon.

Although the Kosovo national team is an emerging player in European football, the league suffers from infrastructure problems and a poor reputation. In any case, the good results of FK Ballkani, which qualified for the group stage of the Conference League for the second time in a row, shed some light on this competition. The same goes for the performance of Drita, the country’s other big club, who took on Feyenoord last year and Viktoria Plzen this season.

“A lot has changed for the better”

KF Liria Prizren cannot compare with the two top teams, as they have just been promoted to the Super League. A ten-team competition in which each team plays their rivals four times – the same format as the Super League until recently. “Ballkani and Drita are above all others,” Redon Arifi told Blick. The central defender of KF Liria is 19 years old and one of the club’s biggest promises.

‘I am glad that you are only reporting on football in Kosovo this year and not three years ago. The infrastructure is still poor, but a lot has changed for the better,” he says, pointing to the artificial turf field that serves as the main pitch and of which only one stand is covered while you wait for the second. «Our stadium is good. There is room for about 8,000 spectators. Our problem is not the stadium, but that it is overcrowded. We are not the only ones playing here.”

Scouts now also have Kosovo on their radar

Half of the clubs play on artificial grass, the others on natural grass, says Arifi, “like in Switzerland.” He knows Switzerland, having spent three months on trial with FC Luzern’s U21 team. It didn’t work with a contract. Not yet. The national U19 player hopes for further opportunities. He dreams bigger. ‘Liverpool is my dream. I’m not there yet, but I’m fighting every day to improve. I’m big, strong, good in the air and have a good long ball.”

Arifi and other young talents in the country are counting on the growing visibility of the competition. “Many scouts are looking around Kosovo. If I perform well, I will get offers.”

In recent weeks he has often spoken with former ranking player Mergim Bajrami about Switzerland and their championship. Arifi: “I know that footballers in Switzerland only have to work outside football from the third highest division, the Promotion League.” In Kosovo the reality is different. “Here you can earn 500 euros per month, up to 1000 euros. Ballkani and Drita pay more because they benefit from the European bonuses.”

Has Kosovo already overtaken its neighbors?

Other clubs can’t keep up. But they try to make up for this by paying for housing and food for the players. “No one can complain and everyone is free to work part-time,” says Arifi. Money is not important to him at the moment, he says: “I am young and want to improve. My parents help me a lot and that allows me to concentrate 100 percent on football without thinking about money.” He is sure that the money will come later if he performs well.

Bajram Shala, team manager of the Kosovo national team and expert on local football, confirms the increasing quality of the competition. Considering the conditions, the poor stadiums and the poor pitches, the quality of football in Kosovo is actually very good, he says. «We are making progress on the UEFA coefficient. I am not afraid to say that our league is already more competitive than that of neighboring countries such as Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania. And we are not far from Slovenia. Even though our competition has only been around for seven years.”

Source : Blick