Sport Between a Century-Old Hostility

Football, as the most popular sport, has a great impact on politics and vice versa. This paper regards football relations between Serbia and Albania through the politics that have been behind every match. Ever since the first football contact football has played a significant role in relations between the two countries. The first matches were held within the idea of proletarian internationalism as Enver Hoxha and Josip Broz Tito made initial steps. When relations within the socialist world deteriorated, all football contacts stopped. However, matches were obligatory within the European Championship qualifications. In the area of Kosovo, within the Yugoslav football league, there were many riots in the 1980s that reflected the tension between the two nations. The final act of politics overshadowing football happened in 2014 when, in a match that was played in Belgrade, a drone flew onto the pitch with the flag of ‘Greater Albania’. Chaos followed and the game was stopped. Altogether, football relations between Albania and Serbia were burdened by politics that in many cases overshadowed the actual sport

Football · League · Balkans: History, Politics, Society · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts