Besfort Zeneli has revealed that the reason he rejected Kosovo was that his heart beat faster for the Swedish National Team.
Before joining Sweden, Zeneli played six games for Kosovo U21.
The 22-year-old was first called up to Sweden in March for two friendlies against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland.
The Elfsborg midfielder has three caps for Sweden. However, he was recently left out of this month's matches against Slovenia and Kosovo. He has yet to play an official match for Sweden.
Zeneli, in an interview with "Sportbladet", said that the choice was difficult, but in the end he wholeheartedly decided to represent Sweden.
"It was a difficult choice. I could have played for both Sweden and Kosovo. In the end, my heart beat faster for Sweden and then I chose what seemed right in my soul. Family, relatives and friends, everyone supported my decision. Football fans who support Kosovo were not so happy. There was a small storm of hatred, but I knew that and I was prepared for it. It didn't affect me that much," Zeneli said.
Meanwhile, Besfort's older brother, Arbër Zeneli, has also given an interview to the Swedish media.
Arbëri has 33 caps and nine goals for Kosovo. He has previously played for all of Sweden's youth teams. The 30-year-old has not played for the "Dardans" since 2023.
Arbëri tells the first moments when he decided to play for Kosovo.
"I moved from Sweden to Kosovo. I was in the U21 team that won the gold medal at Euro 2015, but when I was ready to take the next step towards the senior national team, I was transferred to Heerenveen. I felt that other players had an advantage in Sweden. Albert Bunjaki, then the coach of the Kosovo national team, had a vision for me with the first representative team of Kosovo and that was my choice," Arbëri said.
Just like Besfort, Arbëri plays for Elfsborg.