"Laureates" are constantly associated with reactions, dissatisfaction and division

Trepça won all the Kosovo basketball trophies in the last edition, 2024/2025. It won the Super Cup, the Cup and the championship title. It is currently in first place in the Super League.

Consequently, Trepça was declared the most successful men's basketball club in Kosovo in 2025. But the best basketball player of the year was not declared any of the players from the Mitrovica team.

And supporters of this team asked the question: who won the title for Trepça?

Reactions were numerous after the Kosovo Basketball Federation announced the best of the year on Friday night. There was a lot of criticism, especially on social networks, for the FBK, namely for the selection made by it. There was also no shortage of insults.

Dardan Berisha from Peja was declared the best basketball player of 2025 in Kosovo. Peja did not win any trophies, but the FBK Commission for declaring the best has rated him the best.

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Usually, not only in basketball, the best are declared by the most successful teams, namely those that win trophies. This time it was decided differently.

The Kosovo Basketball Federation did not want to comment on the selection made. They said that the "Laureates" is a closed topic.

Trepça did not comment either. The leaders of this club were at the ceremony, as were the basketball players of the Mitrovica team. Trepça chose not to publish anything from the ceremony on its official website on social networks, as a sign of reaction to the selection of the best player. It did not even publish the news that it was declared the best club of the year. Not everyone has understood the silence of the champion club.

But Drilon Hajrizi reacted. He was nominated by Trepça for the basketball player of the year award. He assessed that the ignoring he was given by the FBK is more than an insult. He also explained why he decided to react.

"What prompted me to write is the model we are leaving behind. Without modesty, last year I was a good model, the best! From the operating room, with a bandage on my head, I went straight to 'Minatori'. I knew that I could not immediately get into the game, but I conveyed my fighting spirit there. I donated my soul, sweat and heart to the champion Trepca! What the Kosovo Basketball Federation did insulted my blood, sweat and results. In any case, they insult themselves! I will never stop! I will fight until I am exhausted for Kosovo, for Mitrovica, for Trepca!", wrote Hajrizi, one of the most important players of the Mitrovica club.

Hajrizi also mentioned Dardan Berisha. He praised him. Berisha and Hajrizi are the two main players in Kosovo.

"Dardan Berisha is an emblematic player of Kosovo. He is an icon of Kosovo and the most successful Albanian player in the international arena. Last year I was the best in the Kosovo Super League," Hajrizi continued.

He received great support on social media.

The FBK has regulations for announcing the Laureates of the Year. The regulations specify that nominations are made by the clubs, while the best are announced by the committee. In the end, the FBK Board makes the final decision.

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By regulation, the FBK excludes foreign players and coaches from the possibility of winning awards. This contradicts the real situation - foreign coaches are the main ones in Kosovo, just like foreign players. The highest paid ones are the ones who are.

This regulation, for example, excludes the possibility of Adis Beqiragić being declared the best coach in Kosovo. And the Bosnian Beqiragić has won numerous trophies for years in a row.  The regulation is not very specific. And it leaves room for interpretation.

In the "elements of evaluation and scoring" the first point is "sports results". Sports results, of course, mean the championship title, cup, Super Cup...

"Individual performance in national and international competitions; results achieved with the Kosovo national team, which have special weight in the evaluation due to the national importance of the representation; results achieved with the respective clubs in domestic and foreign leagues", are the three points of this article of the regulation.

In the scoring table for basketball players and basketball players of the year, the criteria are: Results in international competitions, results in domestic competitions, participation and performance with the national team, professional behavior and leadership, contribution to the community.

Even these criteria leave room for interpretation. For example, Trepça played in the Champions League qualifiers and the group stage of the FIBA ​​Europe Cup. Peja plays in the ENBL, an international league, but not a European cup.

The revolt among Trepça supporters has grown even more due to the fact that Hajrizi was not even included in the top five of the year. Part of it were Dardan Berisha, Mikaile Tmushiq, Valon Bunjaku, Don Polloshka and Dardan Kapiti. Tmushiq and Kapiti are part of Trepça.

But the dissatisfaction was not limited to basketball players. Among women's basketball players, a player from a team that did not win a trophy was also declared the best. Bashkimi was declared the best club, but this team did not produce the best player.

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The selection of the best in Kosovar sports often brings controversy, criticism, insults, but also division. Of course, not only in basketball. But in basketball and football the reactions are more visible and sensational, due to the popularity they have as sports in the country. In other sports, although there are constant complaints, sometimes justified and sometimes not, the dissatisfactions are passed over in silence.

Some federations choose the best by evaluating coaches, some by committees, and some by citing criteria. But few ceremonies, which are supposed to be festive, pass without reactions and dissatisfaction.