The news came as a surprise, given the tense geopolitical context between the two countries. But Albania announced this Thursday that it was submitting a candidacy file to organize Euro Espoirs 2027 in collaboration with Serbia.
On its website, the Albanian Federation specifies that “the conditions regarding the number of stadiums required for our country to be able to host all the final matches of the U-21 European Championship are not met”. Therefore, she announces that she “will cooperate” with his neighbor to host the competition together.
Tensions in Kosovo
The alliance between these two nations is unexpected in a context of tension in Kosovo, a landlocked territory between them. Both claim sovereignty and have numerous nationals there, even if the Albanians remain in the majority and supported by the government. It even takes the opportunity to regularly intimidate its Serbian population, the symbol of a country which does not recognize its independence proclaimed in 2008. These repressions have been on the rise for a year, even if experts assure for the moment that the hypothesis of a open war remains distant.
Albania had already organized the final of the first edition of the Europa Conference League, in Tirana in 2022 (AS Rome – Feyenoord, 1-0). It will also host the Euro U17 final in 2025.
