FC Prishtina

Prishtina

Full name	Football Club Prishtina
Nickname(s)	Plisat (The Clods)
Short name	PRI, FCP
Founded	1922 (1922), as Kosova
Ground	Fadil Vokrri Stadium
Capacity	13,980
Owner	Rrahman Haradini (92%) Other owners (8%)
President	Rrahman Haradini
Manager	Jean-Michel Cavalli
League	Kosovo Superleague
2023–24	Kosovo Superleague, 5th of 10
Website	http://prishtinafc.com
Home colours Away colours

Football Club Prishtina (Albanian: Klubi Futbollistik Prishtina, IPA: [ˈklubi futboɫisˈtik ˈpɾiʃtina]), commonly known as Prishtina, is a professional football club based in Pristina, Kosovo. The club plays in the Football Superleague of Kosovo. It is the most successful domestic club.

History

The club was founded in 1922 under the name Kosova. Later on their name changed to Proleter, Jedinstvo, Kosova and finally Prishtina.

1922–1926: Beginnings of FC Prishtina (Futboll Klub Kosova)

Football in Kosovo has been played and developed since 1919, shortly after the end of the First World War. Many demobilized soldiers and officers, as well as students studying at universities in France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, England, Bucharest, Budapest, and elsewhere, began to return to their home countries. Thus, a student of Samerslen College Grenoble (France) brought the first soccer ball to Prishtina in 1919. This gift he had from a doctor where he came from.

After the arrival of the first ball in Prishtina, Kosovo mainly young people started running after it, but there was no organized way of playing.

Only friendly matches took place at that time. The city of Prishtina was just a town with 16,000 inhabitants when in 1922 the first blue club was formed, called "Kosova". This was a club that at that time consisted of soldiers of the Prishtina Garrison and did not hold official matches because it was not registered, but in its formation constantly played quality footballers of the Prishtina Garrison army.

Kosovo's oldest club did not compete at official levels, but played friendly matches with other teams, meanwhile formed by the country and Macedonia. In 1926 in Prishtina was formed the football club "Bashkimi", which gathered mainly craft youth. This club was materially much more consolidated than "Kosova". This team took advantage of the opportunity and registered with the Banovina Skopje Football Sub-League. There is no data on the level of competition.

1939–1945: War years

See also: Italian invasion of Albania

In the beginning the club competed in Yugoslav lower leagues all the way until the beginning of World War II when the region was annexed to Albania. In 1942 Prishtina competed in the North group of the 1942 Albanian Championship finishing in fourth and bottom place of their group.

1945–1981: First success in Yugoslavian Football

After the end of the war the club returned to the Yugoslav league system and played for mostly in the Yugoslav Second League. FC Prishtina won in 1945 and 1946 they won the Kosovo Province Title and are the first Kosovar to do so but the success did not end there. In the Season 1947 FC Prishtina wrote History for being one of the Founder Clubs in the new SFR Yugoslavia Cup in this Season. In their first ever Cup match they played against Goce Delcev from Prilep. FC Prishtina won this match with 1–0 and qualify for the next Round. In the second Round FC Prishtina had a harder tie against Rabotnicki Skopje from the second League, but FC Prishtina did not give up and won this Match away in Skopje with 1–2 and became the first Albanian Club to ever reach the Round of 16 in a Regional competition in their first ever Cup Season. In the Round of 16 FC Prishtina had to play away against Partizan Belgrad despite a good performance they lost this match 2–0.

Fc Prishtina also were close to qualify for their first time in the Yugoslav First League in the season 1972–73 but they lost the playoffs games against NK Osijek from Croatia and could not Progress in the Main division. After losing in the home in Prishtina the leg with 1–2 and away with 0–1 in Osijek.

1981–1989: The Golden Generation

S.Šujica

S.Shengyli

P.Gruevski

F.Rama

F. Domi

F.Domi

R.Mehinović

F.Muriqi

A.Cana

F.Vokrri

Z.Batrović

1983–84 Yugoslav First League starting lineup vs. Red Star Belgrade (4–4–2)

FC Prishtina was now stabilized and a scary team had been created and only its explosion was expected. The 1980–81 season was difficult both for Pristina and for the entire population of Kosovo due to the political situation that had been created. From March (1981), Dimoski will be replaced by another coach, the Hungarian from Vojvodina, Béla Pálfi (March 1981 – July 1983), who has great merit for qualifying the team in the elite and creating a great team. The team this season was forced to spend almost the entire spring season outside the city (in Kragujevac, Serbia) due to the ban on sports activity in Kosovo and had managed without any problems to rank in the middle of the table. Prishtina with Pálfi, in the 1981/82 season finishes in 8th place. In the 1982/83 season, the white and blue team had finally started to make history and after 60 years of its creation, and after 20 years of struggling in the Second League, a generation, called Golden, was finally created that violated all in front of him, who had extraordinary leaders and an army of fans with an average of 30,000 per match.

There was no stopping the team from the Kosovar capital and not only that, this team had become so big that now a 22 Million Yugoslavia was afraid of him and aroused respect for him. FC Prishtina after entering the first Federal League has competed for five consecutive seasons in it. In her first year in the elite, she also played in the Central European Cup where she took second place among the four teams. In the same year, two players from Prishtina, in the same match, make their debut for the then Yugoslav national team, the strikers: Fadil Vokrri and Zoran Batrovic. For Batrovic, this was the only appearance left, while Vokrri had continued to defend the colors of the state that no longer exists. This did honor to Pristina and elevated it among the biggest teams in the country. Meanwhile, in five years of competitions in the First League, Prishtina was led by well-known Yugoslav football names. Fuad Muzurovic had been the first Pristina coach to lead the team to the highest level of the country, which had the league among the four or five strongest in Europe. Muzurovic, later the coach of Bosnia and Herzegovina, had led the team from July 1983 until the same time in 1984. Then he returned in July 1985 and led the capital from Prishtina to in August 1986.

After Muzurovic, the bench was taken over by the other great strategist of the former Yugoslavia, Vukashin Vishnjevac, who, however, had not been so dear to some key players of the team, as he had withstood the pressure and his adventure in Prishtina had ended. in November 1984. Then, quite successfully for three months, the team was led by the Albanian coach, Ajet Shosholli. Shosholli until that time had been only the second Albanian coach, after Mensur Bajrami (January–April '77), who had led the team. Meanwhile, the position in the table had been aggravated and the leaders of the club had been forced to find a famous coach and the solution was with Miroslav Blazevic. The lease that later with the Croatian Representative reaches the third place in "France '98", contributes to the merits of the club remaining in the First League. The lease had only lasted for two months, long enough for him to remain one of the most memorable of that time. Prishtina continues for another three seasons in the collection of the best and in its ranks gravitate two other well-known strategists of the time, Milovan orioriq (October 1986 – September 1987) and Josip Duvançi (September 1987 – June 1988) with whom eventually Prishtina falls out of the league. The team had left some of its stars, some had now retired, while the tense political situation and the decline of interest of Kosovo's political and social structures had made Pristina no longer able to stay in the first federal League. With the relegation from the League, Prishtina brings together the next generation of talented people from Kosovo who are first led by another well-known name in former Yugoslav football, Miladin ivivadinovi (July 1988 – March 1989). In the first season since the fall (1988/89) Prishtina played with minus 6 points and again fought and achieved culminating results, but did not manage to climb back into the elite.

Season	League	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Notes
1979–80	Yugoslav Second League	6	30	11	11	8	27	25	33	2nd Round
1980–81	Yugoslav Second League	8	30	9	12	9	27	22	30	1st Round
1981–82	Yugoslav Second League	9	30	10	8	12	36	32	28	1st Round
1982–83	Yugoslav Second League	1	34	20	9	5	65	30	49	1st Round (promoted)
1983–84	Yugoslav First League	8	34	15	3	16	36	55	33	1st Round
1984–85	Yugoslav First League	10	34	13	6	15	44	49	32	1st Round
1985–86	Yugoslav First League	11	34	13	6	15	37	47	32	1st Round
1986–87	Yugoslav First League	14	34	13	4	17	47	52	30	1st Round
1987–88	Yugoslav First League	18	34	10	7	17	43	59	27	Semi-finals (relegated)
1988–89	Yugoslav Second League	10	38	18	5 (2)	15	42	40	32 1	1st Round 2
1989–90	Yugoslav Second League	4	38	21	4 (1)	13	61	39	43	?2
1990–91	Yugoslav Second League	8	36	16	3 (1)	17	48	44	33	?2

Notes

¹ Prishtina were docked six points due to match fixing in the last round of the previous season.
² Two points for winners. If the game finished as a draw, penalty kicks were taken and only the winner gained one point. In brackets are those penalty-kick points.
³ Championship abandoned officially on 14 May 1999 due to the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Due to UNMIK, FC Prishtina were able to play in the Kosovan league system only.

After 1991

After Kosovo proclaimed independence from Serbia, FC Prishtina left the Yugoslav football league system and became part of the Independent League of Kosovo, which became the highest football division of Kosovo and would be renamed to the Football Superleague of Kosovo after the Kosovo War in 1999. As the Kosovar club with most successful results in the past and the best infrastructure, FC Prishtina won the first edition of the competition in the 1991–92 season. Afterwards, it won the competition again in the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons.

Since 1991, FC Prishtina has been Kosovo champion 11 times, making it the most successful Kosovar club since Kosovo left the Yugoslav football league system. Between 1945 and 1991 the Kosovar league was a regional league of the Yugoslav league system, and FC Prishtina did not gather many titles in that league because it usually competed in higher national levels.

Supporters

Prishtina is an Albanian supported club with fans around Albanian communities in the Balkans and in Diaspora. The fans sing the Albanian National Anthem before every game and only affiliate with the Albanian nation and identity.

Plisat
Founded	1987 (1987)
Type	Supporters' group
Motto	Rrugës sypatrembur (One Club, One Love)
Location	Pristina, Kosovo
Arena	Fadil Vokrri Stadium
Stand	East (until 2019) South (since 2019)
Affiliations	Tifozat Kuq e Zi

Plisat are the ultras group of Prishtina. They stand in the South part of the stadium. In the late eighties, there were quite a few small groups with different group names. It was in those years that most of the fans of Prishtina chose to identify as "Plisat". "Plisat" have never been separated from the club even during Yugoslavia's anti-Albanian policies. In addition to football, they started to follow and support the basketball club with the same fervour. As the organisation grew, it began to resemble some of the other large fan groups in the region and the rest of Europe. They also support the Albania National Team.

Honours

FC Prishtina honours

Type	Competition	Titles	Seasons/Years
Domestic	Football Superleague of Kosovo	11	1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2020–21
	Kosovar Supercup	11	1994–95, 1995–96, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2015–16, 2019–20, 2022–23
	Kosovo Province League	9	1945, 1946, 1947–48, 1953–54, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1976–77, 1978–79
	Kosovar Cup	8	1993–94, 1994–95, 2005–06, 2012–13, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2022–23
	Yugoslav Second League	1	1982–83
International	Albania Independence Cup	1	2013
	Mitropa Cup	Runners Up	1983-84

Prishtina in Europe

KF Prishtina competed for the Mitropa Cup finals in the 1983–84 season. Being Runner Up in this competition by a single point to Eisenstadt from Austria. Also being the first Kosovan Football side to compete in a UEFA Football competition and also the only Kosovan Football club that would reach an final in a UEFA Competition so far.

Prishtina competed in the UEFA Europa League for the first time in the 2017–18 season, entering at the first qualifying round. On 19 June 2017, in Nyon, the draw was held and Prishtina were drawn against Swedish side Norrköping. On 5 July 2018, Prishtina beat the Gibraltarian side Europa at Adem Jashari Olympic Stadium in Mitrovica and became the first Kosovan side to win a UEFA Europa League match.

Competition	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
UEFA Champions League	4	2	0	2	5	6
UEFA Europa League	9	1	4	4	7	13
UEFA Europa Conference League	4	2	0	2	8	8
Mitropa Cup	6	2	3	1	13	11
TOTAL	23	7	7	9	33	38

Matches

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg.
1983–84	Mitropa Cup	RR	Eisenstadt	3–3	2–4	Runners-up
			Vasas	4–2	1–1
			Teplice	2–0	1–1
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Norrköping	0–1	0–5	0–6
2018–19		PR	Europa	5–0	1–1	6–1
		1Q	Fola Esch	0–0	0–0	0–0 (4–5 p)
2019–20		PR	St Joseph's	1–1	0–2	1–3
2020–21		PR	Lincoln Red Imps	0–3 (awarded)
2021–22	UEFA Champions League	PR	Folgore	2–0
			Inter d'Escaldes	2–0
		1Q	Ferencváros	1–3	0–3	1–6
2021–22	UEFA Europa Conference League	2Q	Connah's Quay Nomads	4–1	2–4	6–5
		3Q	Bodø/Glimt	2–1	0–2	2–3

UEFA club coefficient ranking

As of 29 September 2021

Rank	Team	Points	Country Part
278	Bnei Yehuda	4.350	0.000
279	Hapoel Haifa	4.350	0.000
280	Prishtina	4.250	2.000
281	Partizani	4.250	1.500
282	Stjarnan	4.250	1.000
283	Pyunik	4.250	0.000

Cups and Finals

Mitropa Cup

Team	Winners	Runners-up	Years won	Years runner-up
Prishtina	–	1	–	1983-84

Players

Current squad

As of 4 October 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	KOS	Altin Gjokaj
2	DF	KOS	Andi Salihu
3	DF	KOS	Leonat Vitija
4	DF	KOS	Ardian Limani
5	MF	KOS	Drilon Islami (captain)
6	MF	KOS	Gentrit Salihu
7	FW	CIV	Yoan Marc-Olivier
8	MF	KOS	Rigon Llugiqi
9	FW	KOS	Leotrim Kryeziu
10	FW	KOS	Albin Krasniqi
11	DF	KOS	Ardian Muja
12	GK	KOS	Ardit Nika
13	DF	KOS	Dion Gallapeni
15	DF	KOS	Diar Halili
17	MF	KOS	Rilind Nimani

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	DF	KOS	Ardi Ajdini
20	DF	KOS	Ramiz Bytyqi
21	DF	KOS	Ron Raçi
22	DF	NIG	Philippe Boueye
23	FW	KOS	Sinan Kadiri
25	FW	CIV	Paul Junior Ngatta
27	MF	KOS	Olt Pllana
29	FW	KOS	Igball Jashari
30	DF	KOS	Amar Demolli
50	GK	KOS	Agron Kolaj
55	DF	NIG	Najeeb Yakubu
88	FW	NGA	Sunday Akinbule
90	FW	ENG	Ronald Sobowale
97	FW	MKD	Dashmir Elezi

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
14	FW	KOS	Naxhi Berisha (at Flamurtari until 30 June 2025)
19	FW	ENG	Tope Fadahunsi (at Rahoveci until 30 June 2025)
—	DF	KOS	Andi Veliqi (at Drenica until 30 June 2025)
—	DF	KOS	Leutrim Islami (at Drenica until 30 June 2025)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	KOS	Donart Llabjani (at Ferizaj until 30 June 2025)
—	MF	KOS	Korab Luma (at Vjosa until 30 June 2025)
—	MF	KOS	Ylber Murturi (at Fushë Kosova until 30 June 2025)
—	FW	KOS	Eridon Maloku (at Flamurtari until 30 June 2025)

Notable former players

This is a list of FC Prishtina players with senior national team appearances:

Kosovo and Albania

• Youth

1. Agim Zeka
2. Ardin Dallku
3. Bledar Hajdini
4. Edon Zhegrova
5. Eros Grezda

• Senior

1. Ahmed Januzi
2. Anel Rashkaj
3. Ardian Ismajli
4. Armend Dallku
5. Armend Thaqi
6. Besnik Hasi
7. Debatik Curri
8. Enis Gavazaj
9. Kushtrim Mushica
10. Liridon Latifi
11. Mehmet Dragusha
12. Mentor Zhdrella
13. Visar Bekaj
14. Ylber Ramadani
15. Yll Hoxha

Other countries

1. Ardian Kozniku
2. Kujtim Shala
3. Draško Božović
4. Goran Đorović
5. Fadil Vokrri
6. Ismet Hadžić
7. Vladan Radača
8. Vladislav Đukić
9. Zoran Batrović

Personnel

Current technical staff
Position	Name
Head coach	Jean-Michel Cavalli
Assistant coach(es)
	Besart Berisha
	Agim Maliqi
Goalkeeping coach	Ahmet Beselica
Physiotherapist
	Alban Llumnica
	Atdhe Halimi
Doctor	Halil Zymberaj
Secretary	Agim Salihu
Board members
Office	Name
President	Rrahman Haradini
Vice-president	Hashim Deshishku
Treasurer	Esmet Grainca
Board members
	Ragip Mustafa
	Beqir Cerkezi
	Fatos Hoxha
Information and media officer	Avni Durmishi

List of the managers

This is the list of coaches of FC Prishtina:

1. Petar Purić (1950s)
2. Slavko Stanić (1961)
3. Ilija Dimoski (1979–81)
4. Béla Pálfi (1981–83)
5. Fuad Muzurović (1983–84)
6. Vukašin Višnjevac (1984)
7. Ajet Shosholli (1984–85)
8. Fuad Muzurović (1985–86)
9. Miroslav Blažević (1986)
10. Milovan Đorić (1986–87)
11. Josip Duvančić (1987–88)
12. Milan Živadinović (1988–89)
13. Hysni Maxhunaj (1989–90)
14. Ajet Shosholli (1990–91)
15. Burim Hatipi (1994–95)
16. Jusuf Tortoshi (1995–98)
17. Ajet Shosholli (1999–00)
18. Jusuf Tortoshi (2000–01)
19. Medin Zhega (2001–02)
20. Arbnor Morina (2002)
21. Ramiz Krasniqi (2002)
22. Ajet Shosholli (2002–05)
23. Fadil Muriqi (2005–06)
24. Ramiz Krasniqi (2006)
25. Kujtim Shala (2006–07)
26. Ramadan Cimili (2007)
27. Afrim Tovërlani (2007–09)
28. Besnik Kollari (2009)
29. Skënder Shengyli (2009)
30. Ramiz Krasniqi (2010 – Nov 2011)
31. Wolfgang Jerat (2011)
32. Jusuf Tortoshi (2011)
33. Ejup Mehmeti ( – 18 Oct 2012)
34. Afrim Tovërlani (2012–14)
35. Suad Keçi (2 Apr 2014 – Jun 2014)
36. Bylbyl Sokoli (7 Jul 2014 – 20 Apr 15)
37. Ramiz Krasniqi (20 Apr 2015 – 19 Oct 2015)
38. Sami Sermaxhaj (21 Oct 2015 – Mar 2016)
39. Fadil Berisha (22 Mar 2016 – 27 Jun 2016)
40. Kushtrim Munishi (2 Jul 2016 – Sep 2016)
41. Lutz Lindemann (21 Sep 2016 – 29 Mar 2017)
42. Arsim Thaqi (29 Mar 2017 – Sep 2017)
43. Mirel Josa (19 Sep 2017 – 2 Sep 2019)
44. Bylbyl Sokoli (4 Sep 2019 – 21 Sep 2019)
45. Armend Dallku (21 Sep 2019 – 4 Sep 2020)
46. Zekirija Ramadani (4 Sep 2020 – 14 Nov 2021)
47. Abdulah Ibraković (14 Nov 2021 – 14 May 2022)
48. Ismet Munishi (3 June 2022 – 13 Mar 2023)
49. Debatik Curri (13 June 2023 – 25 October 2023)
50. Ndubuisi Egbo (26 October 2023 – 2 June 2024)
51. Jean-Michel Cavalli (9 June 2024  - present)

List of the presidents

1. Borislav Božović (1971)
2. Gani Pula (1971–73)
3. Ramadan Vraniqi (1973–76)
4. Gani Pula (1976–77)
5. Blagoje Kostić (1977–81)
6. Nazmi Mustafa (1981–82)
7. Sadik Vllasaliu (1982–83)
8. Mehmet Maliqi (1983–84)
9. Muharrem Ismajli (1984–86)
10. Bajram Tmava (1986–88)
11. Živorad Ivić (1988–89)
12. Shefqet Keqekolla (1989)
13. Mile Savić (1989–90)
14. Beqir Aliu (1991–99)
15. Remzi Ejupi (2004–2023)
16. Rahman Haradini (2023–present)

Kit suppliers

Kit provider	Period	Shirt sponsor
Nike	2007–08	Eurokoha
LIG	2008–13	zëri
joma	2013–15	germanwings
Hummel	2015–18	Eurokoha
Jako	2019–2022	Eurokoha
		RIO mare
Phoenix Sport	2022-present	RIO mare
IPKO

Statistics in Superleague of Kosovo

The all-time list of football clubs that have participated in the Football Superleague of Kosovo, prior to the 2019–2020 season. The ranking is based on the total accumulated points by Prishtina.

  Club was disbanded

No.	Club	Apps.	Matches	Wins	Ties	Losses	Goals +/-	Points	Titles
										1	Prishtina	20	657	375	149	133	1033:491	1274	10

Season	League	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Notes
1999–00 1. 34 23 7 4 69-24 76 2000–01 1. 30 18 9 3 53-19 63 2001–02 6. 26 11 5 10 34-23 38 2002–03 2. 26 14 8 4 53-14 50 2003–04 1. 24 16 4 4 41-16 52 2004–05 4. 32 14 7 11 35-33 49 2005–06 2. 32 22 6 4 53-19 72 2006–07 2. 30 18 7 5 60-26 61 2007–08 1. 30 20 5 5 61-19 65 2008–09 1. 30 16 9 5 46-25 57 2009–10 2. 33 16 7 10 38-32 55 2010–11 2. 33 21 6 6 56-23 69 2011–12 1. 33 19 8 6 63-31 65 2012–13 1. 33 22 7 4 66-26 73 2013–14 2. 33 17 6 10 39-26 57 2014–15 2. 33 15 11 7 43-28 56 2015–16 8. 33 12 7 14 29-34 43 2016–17 2. 33 22 6 5 46-18 72 2017–18 2. 33 18 10 5 39-18 64 2018–19 2. 33 23 6 4 49-12 75 2019–20 4. 33 18 8 7 59-25 62

Statistics after 1999

Most active players:

1. Azem Ahmeti 254
2. Florim Humolli 235
3. Lorik Boshnjaku 233
4. Besnik Krasniqi 220
5. Gauthier Mankenda 212
6. Kushtrim Mushica 188
7. Liridon Kukaj 185
8. Arben Zhjeqi 183
9. Driton Krasniqi 175
10. Visar Bekaj 164
11. Sheremet Isufi 163
12. Mergim Pefqeli 162
13. Artan Krasniqi 159
14. Leotrim Kryeziu 152
15. Armend Dallku 151

Most appearances 1999–2024:

1. Azem Ahmeti 254
2. Florim Humolli 235
3. Lorik Boshnjaku 233
4. Besnik Krasniqi 220
5. Gauthier Mankenda 212
6. Kushtrim Mushica 188
7. Liridon Kukaj 185
8. Arben Zhjeqi 183
9. Driton Krasniqi 175
10. Visar Bekaj 164
11. Sheremet Isufi 163
12. Mergim Pefqeli 162 (active)
13. Artan Krasniqi 159
14. Leotrim Kryeziu 152 (active)
15. Armend Dallku 151

External links

• Official website (in Albanian and English)