Popular team sports in Kosovo include football, basketball, volleyball, handball, and rugby, whereas major individual sports include wrestling, judo, swimming, boxing, karate and skiing.
Kosovo has seen more success internationally in individual sports, in particular judo, with 66 medals won in total, including 36 European medals, three Olympic gold medals, as well as nine World Judo medals and nine medals at the Mediterranean Games.
Previously, boxing had a high-profile role in Kosovo when it was part of the former Yugoslavia, winning 22 medals overall. Boxers from Kosovo won nine medals at the Mediterranean Games (three were gold medals) followed by seven medals in European Boxing, four medals in World Boxing and one Olympic bronze medal in 1984 by Aziz Salihu. Donjeta Sadiku would win the first ever gold medal for Kosovo at the Female Boxing World Cup in Warsaw (the first gold medal for the country in boxing since their Independence).
Football in Kosovo
The Kosovo national football team has had some success in its short history. Their first success came at the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League when they finished in first place in Group D, in League D. Kosovo secured a promotion after beating Azerbaijan. Kosovo finished the league unbeaten (four wins and two draws) and secured for themselves a play-off spot in the UEFA Euro 2020. After the Nations League, Kosovo entered the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying in Group A. Kosovo was able to upset the opponents after managing their first win against Bulgaria, followed by a win against the Czech Republic. Though the game against England saw Kosovo take an early lead they would go on to lose the match ending their unbeaten streak of 15 Matches in the process. In the following match, Kosovo defeated Montenegro. Kosovo finished their qualifying campaign in third place with eleven points. In the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs Kosovo faced North Macedonia. The match itself was very close but North Macedonia would win, ending Kosovo's hopes for a debut participation at the UEFA Euro 2020.
Early Years In 1922 the two first football clubs were formed: FC Gjakova and FC Prishtina. Until 1926 the clubs competed within the several levels of the Belgrade Football Subassociation, and after 1926, clubs from Kosovo were integrated into the newly formed Skopje Football Subassociation. The subassociations organised different levels of leagues which served as qualification leagues for the Yugoslav championship.Milorad Sijić: "Football in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia" , pags. 135-140 From 1945 until 1991, football in the former Yugoslavia advanced so fast that in 1946 the Football Federation of Kosovo was formed as a subsidiary of the Football Federation of Yugoslavia. The most successful team from Kosovo in the first league of Yugoslavia was FC Prishtina. In 1991 the Football Federation of Kosovo was refounded after all football players from Kosovo were banned from the First League in Yugoslavia. The first game was held in KF Flamurtari's stadium on 13 September 1991 in Pristina, which also marked the start of the first independent championship in Kosovo. The governing body in Kosovo is responsible for the national team and for most of the main cup competitions.
Currently, Kosovo has a football league system which incorporates a number of clubs. The top division, the Raiffeisen Super League, has 12 teams. The league was founded in 1945 and is organized by the Football Federation of Kosovo. The other three professional divisions are the first league which includes 16 teams, and the second and third league. The main cup competition in Kosovo is the Republic of Kosovo Cup, which is open to every men's football team that is part of the Football Federation of Kosovo. The most successful clubs are FC Prishtina (twenty championship titles), KF Vëllaznimi (eight championship titles), KF Trepça (seven championship titles), KF Liria (five championship titles), and KF Besa (three championship titles).
On 29 November 1942, Kosovo for first time in its history played a friendly match as part of the celebrations for the 30th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania against Tirana.
The two main clubs in football are FC Prishtina and KF Trepça. Prishtina FC was founded in 1922, while KF Trepça was founded ten years later in 1932. KF Trepça was part of the 1977–78 championship in the former Yugoslavia League in football. They became the only Kosovan Football club ever to reach the finals in the Yugoslav Cup. FC Prishtina became the first member of the league in 1983, and it achieved an impressive victory after beating Red Star in Belgrade with 3–1.
1967–1975 On 8 November 1967, Kosovo, for the first time as an autonomous province of SFR Yugoslavia, played a friendly match against Yugoslavia and the match ended with a 3–3 home draw. For Yugoslavia this match was a pre-preparation before the UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying match against Albania.
Brotherhood and Unity Tournament Eight years after the match against Yugoslavia, Kosovo in 1975 participated for the first and last time in the Brotherhood and Unity Tournament, which was held in Pristina and Prizren, where they won in all four matches of this tournament against Montenegro (2–0), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2–1), Slovenia (2–0) and Macedonia (1–0) and took first place. YearRound Brotherhood and Unity TournamentWinner1st440071TotalBest: Winner1/1440071
Efforts for internationalization of Kosovo in FIFA and UEFA In September 2012, Albania international Lorik Cana, along with Swiss internationals Granit Xhaka, Valon Behrami and Xherdan Shaqiri, all of them with Kosovo Albanian origin, wrote a declaration to FIFA President Sepp Blatter, asking him to allow Kosovo to play friendly matches. The declaration was also signed by eight other footballers from Kosovo: Ahmed Januzi, Alban Meha, Armend Dallku, Burim Kukeli, Etrit Berisha, Fatmire Bajramaj, Lorik Cana, Mërgim Mavraj and Samir Ujkani.Shaqiri, Xhaka, Cana&Co., deklaratë për Kosovën në FIFA gazeta-shqip.com 20 September 2012
On 6 February 2013, FIFA decided to allow Kosovan club teams to play friendly games against clubs from countries whose national teams were members of FIFA.Friendly games with teams of the Football Federation of Kosovo FIFA However, it was stipulated that Kosovan clubs and teams could not display national symbols such as the Kosovan flag, emblem, etc., or play the Kosovan anthem. On 5 March 2014, the Kosovan football team was allowed by FIFA to play its first international friendly match, against Haiti. This match ended in a 0–0 draw.Kosova e dha provimin, barazoi pa gola me Haitin ffk-kosova.com 5 March 2014
After the match against Haiti, six more matches followed in 2014, against Turkey, Senegal, Albania, Equatorial Guinea and Oman respectively. Kosovo would secure their first win ever in an international football match after beating Oman 1–0 with a goal from Albert Bunjaku.
Membership in UEFA and FIFA
In September 2015, at an UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Malta, the request from Kosovo for admission in UEFA was scheduled for deliberation in the next Ordinary Congress, to be held in Budapest. On 3 May 2016, at the Ordinary Congress, Kosovo was accepted into UEFA after members voted 28–24 in favour of Kosovo. Ten days later, Kosovo was accepted in FIFA during their 66th Congress in Mexico, with 141 votes in favour and 23 against.
FC Ballkani became the first to qualify for an UEFA Competition. In Group G Ballkani faced Prishtina in the debut CFR Cluj from Romania. The match ended in a draw, securing Kosovo's first ever points in a UEFA club competition. After a close loss to Slavia Prague, Ballkani would go on to secure Kosovo its first win in a UEFA competition Turkey. Ballkani could not progress further and secured only four points in the process, finishing in last place. It is still Kosovo's highest European club football success. They went on to quality for the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League.
Kosovo women's national football team Kosovo made their debut in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, where Kosovo was drawn with Albania, Greece and Malta. Kosovo 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. Kosovo defeated Turkey in a 2–0 home win, their first-ever competitive win.
Achievements in football UEFA European Championship: Playoffs (1): UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs. Promotion (2): 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D, 2024–25 UEFA Nations League League C Kosovo national football team: being 15 Matches unbeaten between 2017-2019 winning 11 Matches out of it. Unofficial Football World Championships: Kosovo became the Champion in this Championship after beating Sweden in their last game 0-1 recently.
Kosovo Youth Football Teams in UEFA and regional competitions
Valais Youth Cup 4th place (1): at the 2013 Valais Youth Cup in Switzerland for the Kosovo national under-21 football team
Kosovan football clubs in UEFA Club and Continental Competitions
UEFA Conference League: Groupstage (3): FC Ballkani in 2022-23 and 2023–24, as well as FC Drita in 2025-26 Mitropa Cup: Runners Up (1): FC Prishtina in the 1983–84 Mitropa Cup. Yugoslav Cup: Runners Up (1): by KF Trepça in 1977-78. Semifinalist (1): FC Prishtina in 1987-88.
Kosovan Futal clubs in UEFA Club Competitions UEFA Futsal Champions League: Round of 16 (2): Feniks Drenica in 2016-17 and by Prishtina 01 in 2023-24 Round of 32 (1): FC Prishtina in 2020-21
Kosovan Female Football in UEFA and FIFA Competitions UEFA Women's Nations League: Promotion (1): 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League C Turkish Women's Cup: Winners (2): the Kosovo women's national football team in 2023 and 2024 BFU International Women's Cup: Winners (1) by the Kosovo women's national football team in 2023 UEFA Women's Champions League: Round of 32 (1): KFF Mitrovica in 2019-20
Gjilan derby
Gjilan derby is the largest football derby in Kosovo which is contested between fierce rivals Drita FC and SC Gjilani. The derby was started in 1995 after the crisis and split of Drita FC. For the past 20 years, the match has attracted tens of thousands of fans.
Performances by Kosovan Football clubs in UEFA competitions Active UEFA Champions League +Performances by clubsClubDritaBallkaniPrishtinaFeronikeliTrepça '89Total SeasonTeamRoundOpponentHomeAway2017–18Trepça '891Q Víkingur Gøta1–41–22–62018–19DritaPR FC Santa Coloma2–0 Lincoln Red Imps4–1 1Q Malmö0–30–20–52019–20FeronikeliPR Lincoln Red Imps1–0 FC Santa Coloma2–11Q The New Saints0–12–22–32020–21DritaPR Inter d'Escaldes2–1 Linfield0–3 (awarded)2021–22PrishtinaPR Folgore2–0 Inter d'Escaldes2–01Q Ferencváros1–30–31–62022–23Ballkani1Q Žalgiris1–10–1 1–22023–241Q Ludogorets Razgrad2–00–42–42024–251Q UE Santa Coloma1–2 2–13–3 2025–26Drita1Q Differdange 031–03–24–22Q Copenhagen0–10–20–3
UEFA Europa League +Performances by clubsClubPrishtinaDritaGjilaniFeronikeliLlapiTotal SeasonTeamRoundOpponentHomeAway2017–18Prishtina1Q Norrköping0–10–50–62018–19PR Europa5–01–16–11Q Fola Esch0–0 0–00–0 Drita2Q F91 Dudelange1–11–22–32019–20PrishtinaPR St Joseph's1–10–21–3Feronikeli2Q Slovan Bratislava0−21−21−42020–21PrishtinaPR Lincoln Red Imps0–3 (awarded)Gjilani Tre Penne3–11Q APOEL0–2 Drita2Q Sileks2–03Q Legia Warsaw0–22021–222022–232023–24colspan="6" 2024–25Llapi1Q Wisła Kraków1–20–21−42025–26Prishtina1Q Sheriff Tiraspol2–10–42–5Drita3Q FCSB1–32–33–6
UEFA Conference League +Performances by clubsClubBallkaniDritaPrishtinaDukagjiniGjilaniLlapiMalishevaTotal