Viewers in Kosovo are not attracted to international matches

Only about 2000 spectators were at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina on Thursday night for Drita's match with Omonia of Cyprus. The match was part of the second round of the Conference League football league. Officially, there were 2250 spectators in the stadium.

European matches, like the one on Thursday night, have been long awaited in Kosovo. During the long-term isolation, most of those involved in football were convinced that the stadiums would be filled with spectators even for the qualifying matches. For the group stage, which has now been replaced by the league stage, few could have imagined that the stadiums would be almost empty.

All the prerequisites existed for there to be four to five times more spectators in “Fadil Vokrri” than there actually were. Omonia was a not inferior opponent and with some pretty well-known players. Moreover, from a country that does not recognize the state of Kosovo, which is often a prerequisite for a larger number of spectators. Drita was having a good moment and was playing its first ever home match in the league stage of European competitions. In the first match, it had drawn 1:1 in Finland with KuPS and it was hoped that it would take a step further, with a victory at home. The match was played at the appropriate time, at the beginning of a cool evening, but again there were few spectators. The match ended 1:1.

Of course, it has to do with the fact that Drita does not play in Gjilan but in Pristina.

But Thursday's match only confirmed what has been happening for some time - international club and national team competitions are not attracting large numbers of viewers in Kosovo. The exception is the A-team football team.

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Only the Lincoln match in Gibraltar, Breidablik in Iceland and Shkëndija in Skopje had fewer spectators than the Drita match, as far as the Conference League is concerned. In one match there were over 30 thousand spectators, and in some others over 20 thousand. And in Kosovo, which has waited a long time for matches of this type, there were ten times fewer.

That viewers are hardly attracted to international challenges was also proven on Friday. Most of the stands were empty at "Fadil Vokrri" in the match that Kosovo's football players played against Turkey.

But it's not just football that is suffering from the lack of spectators for international matches.

Trepça played basketball on Wednesday at the “Minatori” with the German Bundesliga team, Braunschweig. It seems surprising, but there were 1000 spectators in the gym on the banks of the Ibar River, according to the official report. The match belonged to the FIBA ​​Europe Cup competition, and Trepça suffered a loss.

Kosovar teams have long dreamed of matches like that, with teams from top European leagues, within the framework of continental cups. “Minatori” is filled with spectators for matches with teams like Prishtina, Peja, Bashkimi. But for matches with European teams, even in previous years, there have been constant empty seats. At Trepça they are aware that the interest in matches with rival teams in the country is significantly greater than for matches with European teams. They say that with success and decent performances they aim to bring back spectators for European matches as well.

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Peja and Sigal Prishtina are playing in the ENBL International League, with solid European teams, but without many spectators in the gyms either.

In handball, Kosovo's players played a good match against a quality Croatia last Sunday. At the Youth Palace in Pristina, half of the gym was empty. Meanwhile, many of the spectators were children from a state program. So, there was a lack of ordinary spectators, even though Kosovo was playing and Croatia was facing them.

"Hundreds of children made the atmosphere at the Kosovo - Croatia match even more magnificent. The children came organized, as part of the state program 'Sport in Schools', and learned a lot about the true values ​​of sport and the importance of presenting our country," the Kosovo Handball Federation wrote in a post.

There have also been international matches in volleyball, which have mostly taken place in silence and without many spectators.

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Spectators are also absent in sports events where Kosovo has peaked success. For example, in judo. A week ago, the Balkan Championship for adults was held in Peja. There were very high-quality fights, and among others, Distria Krasniqi, the Olympic champion, also appeared. But apart from the judokas, there were few spectators. In boxing, even in international tournaments, there are almost no spectators at all.

Federations,  but also clubs, usually organize campaigns to gather as many spectators as possible. In many of the events, entry is free. But spectators are missing.