Kosovo fans have been queuing up in droves to go to Albania where the nation's first home match as a member of FIFA will take place against Croatia on Thursday

After their opening draw away in Finland, Kosovo are hoping for another good result in their first home World Cup qualifier against Croatia on Thursday.

With the Pristina City Stadium having major renovations, Kosovo's first home game will be in Shkoder in Albania, 150 kilometres away from Pristina.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Driton Latifi, sports journalist:
"We are at the stadium of Pristina that has been built in 1953 and since then haven't been any proper investment regarding the infrastructure to get the standards for international competitions and games. This is also the reason why Kosovo national team is forced to play the first international game in Albania in Shkodra (Shkoder) in stadium of Shkodra with Croatia because the actual stadium is not fulfilling the requirments for international games. Now the stadium is being revitalised and there have been a lot of investments and rebuilding in different spaces so that it could get at least the basic standards for international games."

Years of neglect means the venue is not up to staging international football and Kosovo will play in Shkoder until it is ready.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Gent Shala, fan of Kosovo national team:

"It's an historic event for our country and we all want to go and watch it, even though it's played in Albania which is kilometres away from Kosovo, but we are really interested in this game because Kosovo is playing its first national team game in our country so we all want to go and see it."
Despite that, demand for Kosovo's first home international has been immense with fans keen to witness an historic match for the nation.

Source:pVNR/p

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