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UEFA admits Kosovo as newest member
Kosovo football federation to seek FIFA recognition
The FFK thus becomes the 55th member of the sporting body. "25 years of isolation are finally over," the FFK said in a statement. So far, Kosovo only had permission from UEFA to play friendly matches.
Up till now, Gibraltar was UEFA's newest member, which had been admitted in 2013.
UEFA admitted Kosovo without having previously changed its statutes, according to which the body can only admit countries having been recognized by the United Nations. This is not the case for Kosovo.
UEFA federations voted a proposal to amend the body's statutes so that countries having been "recognized by most of the international community in Europe" could be admitted. But the amendment failed to reach a two-thirds vote, as required.
In any case, Kosovo will be from now onwards one of seven UEFA members which are not UN member states. The other ones are England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar.
"Pandora's box"
The president of the Serbian Football Federation (FSS), Tomislav Karadzic, said the decision "will open a Pandora's box in Europe," and insisted that Kosovo membership is not in accordance with the principle of admitting UN-recognized states only.
FFK leaders now expect that world football's governing body FIFA will also admit FFK as a member. If so, the Kosovo team will be allowed to play the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
In 2015, the International Basketball Federation had admitted Kosovo as a member. A year earlier, the Olympic Committee of Kosovo joined the International Olympic Committee (IOC).