On April 6, 2017, the soccer players of the Kosovo representative played their first match in official international competitions.
The appearance in the preliminary round was special for Kosovo footballers. At the opening of the first qualifying campaign, Kosovo played against Albania.
Kosovo lost 3:2 to Albania in the first preliminary match for the World Cup 2019. Part of Kosovo in that historic match was Kaltrina Biqkaj, 16 years old.
Today, Biqkaj, the captain of the Mitrovica team, counts a total of 45 matches with representatives. The 23-year-old from Kamenica has more matches than any player in Kosovo, not only in football but also in other team sports.
"Performances for the national team are special and it is the pinnacle to represent my country", said Biqkaj in a conversation with KOĖN.
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During the week, Kaltrina Biqkaj trained with the Mitrovica team, while next Friday I will play a very important match with Kosovo in the UEFA Nations League. The decisive match for the transition from League C to League B of the League of Nations, Kosovo has against Bulgaria at "Zahir Pajaziti" in Podujevo from 13:00.
"We are in a group with North Macedonia and Bulgaria. It's the last final on December 1st, it's the last game for Nations League qualifications, and if we win, we'll move on. I believe we will succeed", Biqkaj emphasized.
She has scored seven goals for Kosovo. She is also the best scorer, together with the captain Erëleta Memeti.
Kaltrina is confident that she will succeed along with the other players, just as she managed to convince everyone that she should continue playing football.
While women's football has a long and stable history in many countries, this sport in its beginnings in Kosovo was considered only for men. Gender discrimination was clear. For a long time there was a lack of financial support and many other things.
But Kaltrina Biqkaj says that she has won everything from football.
"There were discussions and prejudices telling me that I can't achieve anything with football, football doesn't take you anywhere and many different things. But I think it was a mistake, because even if we didn't gain anything financially, or we didn't achieve anything much, we physically gained a lot, since we were healthy and also mentally by removing you from negative phenomena. We got to know different cultures, we visited different places, we created different societies by socializing and we got many other positive aspects from football", says Biqkaj.
He started his career as a football player at Drita. Then she played in Hajvali and recently for many years she is part of Mitrovica, the most successful women's football team in the country.
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Kaltrina says that she is privileged for the trust given to her by the Mitrovica club. He believes that being the captain of the most successful women's football team is also a great responsibility.
Biqkaj and Mitrovica achieved historic success in 2019, taking a place among the 32 best teams in Europe. This was achieved after three victories in Group 2 of the Champions League qualifiers.
The team's last victory in that campaign came against Breznica of Montenegro, which the Mitrovica team defeated 1:0 in Nikšić with Biqkaj's goal in the 90th minute.
"The best moment was when we passed the group, where we entered the 32 best teams. I scored the qualifying goal and that year I was declared the best player and I think this was my biggest achievement so far. But I believe that there will be something bigger and I don't believe that I should stop only with that".
Now Kaltrina aims for even more.
"If we have reached among the best 32, we aim to get into the 1/8 of the final, which would be the greatest achievement in the history of women's football," she says.
Biqkaj is proud of the career he has made in Kosovo. But there is still gap in her career.
"I am satisfied because I worked for this career, but it is still not fulfilled. If I were to play in Europe in any team, I would fulfill my career as a footballer", said Biqkaj.
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VIDEO:
Biqkaj is expected to take this first step in his career soon. Before leaving Kosovo for a better career, Biqkaj expects to realize the goals he has with Kosovo and Mitrovica.
