Kosovo take on Finland in first competitive match

Coach Albert Bunjaki and his players spent most of Monday at the team's hotel in the Finnish city of Turku waiting to find out who would be eligible to play in the World Cup qualifier against Finland in the evening.

Less than five hours before kick off, FIFA announced that it had approved the applications of the final six players, who were already with the team in Turku.

FIFA's players' status committee met all day to consider the applications, approving the first nine early in the day.

Seven of the 15 players who had their applications approved on Monday; Samir Ujkani, Alban Meha, Milot Rashica, Amir Rrahmani, Imran Bunjaku, Herolind Shala and Vedat Muric, had previously played for Albania.

The eight others are Albert Bunjaku, who previously played for Switzerland, Fanol Perdedaj and Enis Alushi (Germany), Bersant Celina, Elbasan Rashani and Berisha (Norway), Hekuran Kryeziu (Switzerland), Sinan Bytyci (Austria) and Erton Fejzullahu (Sweden).

The only way that a player who has already played for one national team can switch allegiance is by obtaining special permission from FIFA. Kosovo has tested this rule, as it was only admitted as a member of FIFA and UEFA this past May.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and it has been recognized by around 100 countries. It has not been recognized by Belgrade, which lost control over its Albanian-majority southern province during a 1999 NATO bombing campaign, which ended an inter-ethnic conflict. The territory was under United Nations administration for the years preceding its declaration of independence.

pfd/rc (AFP, AP)