The Diplomat
Kosovo will use its flag and its national anthem will be heard in the 2022 World Cup qualifier match between its national football team and Spain on 31 March in Seville, diplomatic sources confirmed to The Diplomat.
Although Spain does not recognise Kosovo as an independent state, the government will apply the laws of FIFA and UEFA, bodies where the Kosovar football team is recognised. In fact, the problem has already arisen with other sports teams and was resolved in a similar way.
Alarm bells went off a week ago in the Kosovo Football Federation, after the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced Spain’s upcoming matches against “Greece, Georgia and the territory of Kosovo”. The expression “Kosovo territory” or “Kosovar territory” is used by the Spanish government in international bodies when referring to the province of Serbia that declared independence unilaterally in 2008 and which Spain does not recognise as a state, as do four other EU countries (Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia and Romania).
After the protests and the threat of not attending the match, the Spanish Football Federation responded by reassuring the Kosovo Football Federation that UEFA criteria would be applied, so they could use their anthem and flag.
However, days later, on its Twitter account, the Royal Spanish Football Federation announced that the coach, Luis Enrique, would announce the list of the national team players on Monday, the 15th, and added: “Spain starts the road to #Catar2022 against Greece, Georgia and the territory of Kosovo”.
The new reference to the “territory of Kosovo” provoked another response from the Kosovar Federation in which it described the reference as “unfair” and asked for a rectification, assuring that “Kosovo is an independent state, recognised by the majority of the most developed and democratic countries in the world and an equal member with all other countries of UEFA and FIFA since May 2016”.
The RFEF has once again let the Kosovars know that there will be no problems with the playing of their anthem or the use of their flag, as UEFA rules will be applied, something with which the Spanish government agrees. The sources consulted indicated that “the Spanish position of not recognising Kosovo as an independent state does not change because of the fact that a match is played between the two teams; the only thing that is done is to apply UEFA rules”.
More than 110 UN countries have already recognised Kosovo as Spain, including 22 from the European Union. Spain has always assured that it will recognise when Serbia and Kosovo reach an agreement, but not before, not least because of the repercussions that accepting a unilateral declaration of independence could have on the Catalan dispute.
