To understand the role of sports in Albanian culture one must first have knowledge of the history of the country itself. Albania first gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912 and was first recognized as an independent state in July 1913 by the Conference of London. The original principality remained in effect from 1914-25 and was succeeded by the first Albanian Republic, which lasted until 1928. The republic was replaced in 1928 by a monarchy, a government that was propped up by the fascists in Italy until Italy surprisingly invaded Albania in 1939 at the start of World War II. The country was occupied by the Italians, and eventually Nazi Germany, throughout the war. Towards the end of the war, as the Nazi government was weakened, communist partisans in Albania fought back and eventually liberated the country from German occupation on November 29, 1944. After the Nazis left Albania, the country became a Communist state, a system under which the nation prospered initially. Literacy rate among its citizens reached 100%, the country experienced rapid economic growth, and there was unmatched progress in the education and healthcare sectors. Albania's national income was also 29% higher than the world's average and 56% higher than the European average and the government imposed no taxes on individuals but assessed high taxes on co-ops and businesses. Eventually, in 1991-92, the People's Republic of Albania, the communist government, dissolved in similar fashion to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the Republic of Albania was established. The result was disastrous and much of the wealth that had accumulated between the 1950s and 1980s was lost when the government invested the money in Ponzi banking schemes. The country was also impacted by the Kosovo War in the late 1990s when Albanians who had been living in Kosovo sought refuge in their native Albania.
General History of Sports in Albania
- In 1996, tennis was recognized by the government as the national sport of Albania, although football (soccer) is the most popular sport today.
- Traditionally, Albanian sports were mostly pastoral and included archery, horse racing, and wrestling.
- Modern Albania participates in the sports of basketball, volleyball, swimming, gymnastics, and weightlifting in addition to football and tennis.
- Albania first participated in the Olympics in 1972 at the Summer Games in Munich, Germany.
- They didn't attend any of the next four Summer Games, twice due to boycotts, and returned for the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona.
- They first attended the Winter Games in 2006 in Turin, Italy.
- The nation has yet to win an Olympic medal.
Football (Soccer)
- Most popular sport in Albania, both in terms of participation numbers and in viewership/attendance
- Sport was first played in Albania at the beginning of the 20th century
- First match was between Christian mission students in the city of Shkoder
- First Albanian football club was founded in 1919, KS Vilaznia Shkoder
- Second club came in 1920, SK Tirana
- The Football Association of Albania was established in 1930
- Became a member of FIFA in 1932 and joined UEFA in 1954 as a founding member
International Competitions
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| Albanian Men's National Team |
- The Albanian Men's National Football Team played its first international match in 1946 against Yugoslavia
- In 1954, the team competed in a Euro Cup competition for the first time
- In 1966, they participated in a World Cup qualifier for the first time, in England
- They have yet to qualify for a World Cup
- Currently ranked 47th in the world by FIFA
- Women's Team
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| Albanian Women's National Team |
- National Women's Team was formed in 2011 and made their debut in a friendly against the Macedonian Women's National Team on May 5th
- Albania won the match by a score of 1-0 for the team's first win
- They participated in the qualifier for the 2015 Women's World Cup in 2013, finishing last their group having won just a single match
- They also competed in the qualifier for Euro 2017, again finishing last in their group, this time not winning a single match
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| Albanian Superliga |
Domestic Competitions
- The professional football league in Albania is split into four divisions
- Albanian Superliga was formed in 1930 and is the highest level of football - 10 clubs
- First Division - 20 clubs
- Second Division - Divided geographically into two parts, A & B, 11 clubs each
- Most successful club: KF Tirana - 24 championships
- Winners are able to compete in the UEFA Champions League by getting a bid into the qualifying stage
- Albanian Football Cup
- Serves as the main knockout competition for Albanian football
- Started in 1939
- Most successful club: KF Partizani Tirana - 15 times
- Albanian Supercup
- Started in 1989
- Ends in a single match between the winners of the Superliga and the Albanian Cup
- Most successful Club: KF Tirana - 9 times
- Stadiums
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| Loro Borici Stadium |
Albania has many football stadiums, several with capacities greater than 10,000- The Albanian national teams currently play either at Loro Borici Stadium in Shkoder or Elbasan Arena in Elbasan
- The country also has six indoor arenas that can be converted to hold football matches, including Asllan Rusi Sports Arena in Tirana which also holds basketball games and volleyball matches
Tennis
- Tennis was originally played in Albania after students brought the sport back from France and Italy in the 1930s
- The first tennis courts were built in Tirana and several other major Albanian cities
- In 1955, the Communist government implemented a ban on tennis, labeling it as a bourgeois sport and it was only allowed to be played by state employees
- Because of this, the courts were maintained in playing shape during this era
- The Albanian Tennis Federation was established in 1985
- Following the collapse of the Communist government in 1991, it became difficult maintaining the courts, although the Federation has done everything possible to repair them and keep them in playing shape
- In 1996, the Federation became a member of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the European Tennis Federation (ETF)
- During the 1990s, Albania played host to several Italian tennis coaches who visited the country and helped educate the Albanian coaches
- In 1999, an Under-12 national championship was held in Albania for the first time
International Competitions
- Albania has competed in the Davis Cup since 2010 and has only won a single match from 2010-2012, the last year I could find information on
Junior Tennis
- In the 1990s, with help from the ITF and ETF, junior tennis began growing
- All good Albanian junior players began receiving a racquet, strings, and tennis balls for free as donations from world organizations
Tennis Clubs
- The biggest tennis club is in Tirana, the Tirana Tennis Club
- It has a concrete surface that is painted red and blue
- All main Albanian Tennis Federation events take place at this club
- In Northern Albania, in the city of Shkodra, there is a sports club called Zmijani Sport, which has three concrete courts
Current ITF World Rankings
- Senior Rankings
- Men: Elvis Eilali - 806th
- Junior Rankings
- Boys: Alexandros Dido - 1991st
Volleyball
- The Albanian Volleyball Federation was founded in 1945
- In 1949, the Federation became a member of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and of the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV)
- Between 1946 and 2014, 69 national championships took place, for both men and women
International Competitions
- Men
- European Championships
- 1955 - 10th place
- 1958 - 11th place
- 1967 - 13th place
- 2008 - eliminated during qualifiers
- Currently ranked 118th by FIVB
- Women
- European Championships
- Currently ranked 79th by FIVB
Domestic Competitions
- Albanian Volleyball League
- Men's league
- Top-tier competition
- Currently there are 9 clubs
- Founded in 1946
- One of the oldest and longest-running volleyball leagues in the Balkans
- Reached its peak during the Communist era in the 1970s and 1980s but has struggled with funding since the collapse of the Communist government
- Private investment of some of the clubs has helped keep them running
- Most successful club: Dinamo Tirana - 25 titles
- Most recent champion: Studenti - has won 15 titles
- Albanian Volleyball League (Women's)
- Established at the same time as the men's league
- 12 professional clubs with many amateur clubs trying to advance into the professional league
- 2 divisions
- Albanian Volleyball League (AVL) - 6 clubs - top division
- B2 League - 6 clubs - second division
- Each club plays a total of 20 matches each season
- After the regular season, the top four clubs from the top division qualify for the playoffs
- The finals are a best of five series
- The bottom AVL club automatically gets relegated to the B2 League while the winner of the B2 Leagues advances to the AVL
- The 5th placed AVL club plays the 2nd placed B2 League club and the winner of this advances to the AVL and the loser goes to the B2
- Most successful clubs: KV Tirana and KS Dinamo - both with 20 championships
- Most recent champion: UMB Volej
Swimming
- Swimming competitively in Albania dates back centuries to the city of Durres which is on the Adriatic coast
- The Albanian Swimming Federation was founded in the late 1950s
- The first person to represent Albania in swimming at the Summer Olympics was Frank Leskaj
- Leskaj is an American-born Albanian (all four grandparents were born in Albania)
- He participated in the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona
- Competed in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle races and the 100 m breaststroke
- He finished last in all of his heats
- Swimming didn't take off until the 2000s when it began to flourish
- The country wasn't represented at the Olympics again until 2004 in Athents when Kreshnik Gjata qualified
- Competed in the 50 m men's freestyle race
- Failed to advance to the semifinals
- Sidni Hoxha
- He qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 50 m freestyle at the age of 16. He finished second in his heat but did not advance to the semifinals
- Also swam at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics but has yet to medal
- He competes collegiately for Old Dominion University where he holds the school record in the 200 yd freestyle
- Holds more than of the national records for Albania
- 2016 Olympics
- Sidni Hoxha: competed in the men's 50 m freestyle race - finished 41st
- Nikol Merizaj: competed in the women's 100 m freestyle race - finished 43rd
- There are more than a dozen member swimming clubs
- Swimming continues to gain attention and grow in terms of participation with the presence of Albanian swimmers at the international level
Struggles Facing Sports in Albania
- The struggles in Albania are relatively minor compared to those in Afghanistan
- Instead of there being a terrorism element, the most devastating issue in Albania is the lack of funding. Since the establishment of the Communist government in Albania, there has been a serious struggle for financial backing to keep sports leagues and teams operational. Many sports weren't even allowed be played under the Communist regime so any chances for those sports to grow were wiped out.
- Even though the Communist government collapsed over two decades ago, there are still issues with creating awareness for various sports.
- Sports seem to have a bright future in Albania, however, as the men's national football team has gained a large following and has been relatively successful, and individual sports including swimming and weightlifting have found success at the international levels.
References
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