Football Club Ballkani ( sq, Klubi Futbollistik Ballkani), commonly known as Ballkani, is a professional

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

based in

Suhareka Suhareka (also known as Suharekë and Therandë in Albanian) оr Suva Reka ( sr-Cyrl, Сува Река) is a town and municipality located in the Prizren district of central-southern Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town has 10,422 inh ...

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Eur ...

. The club plays in the

Football Superleague of Kosovo The Football Superleague of Kosovo ( sq, Superliga e Futbollit të Kosovës), also known as the ALBI MALL Superleague of Kosovo ( sq, ALBI MALL Superliga e Kosovës) for sponsorship reasons with Albi Mall, is the top level of the Kosovar football ...

, which is the top tier of football in the country. On 25 August 2022, after a victory over

Shkupi Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; ...

of North Macedonia, Ballkani made history by qualifying for the group stages of the

Europa Conference League The UEFA Europa Conference League (abbreviated as UECL) is an annual football club competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. Clubs qualify for the competition based on thei ...

; becoming the first ever side from Kosovo to reach the group stages of a UEFA club competition.

History

The club was established in 1947 under the name Rinia by some athletes whose purpose was to participate in various competitions and tournaments that were organized at that time. In 1952, the club was registered and started competing in official championships. In 1965, it changed the name from KF Rinia to KF Ballkani after Suva Reka Chemical and Rubber Industry took the ownership of the club. The club progressively climbed the Yugoslav league system reaching the Kosovo Provincial League in the season 1973–74. They were relegated, but returned in 1977 and remained in the league until the 1990s. Ballkani was one of the first clubs in Kosovo to leave the league system managed by the

Football Association of Yugoslavia The Football Association of Yugoslavia (FSJ) ( sr, Фудбалски савез Југославије, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije, hr, Nogometni savez Jugoslavije; bs, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije; sl, Nogometna zveza Jugoslavije; mk, Фуд ...

, and played instead in the not officially recognized parallel First League of Kosovo until 2000. In the league organized by the

Football Federation of Kosovo The Football Federation of Kosovo ( sq, Federata e Futbollit e Kosovës; FFK) is the governing body of football in Kosovo, with headquarters in Pristina. The Football Federation of Kosovo was established in 1946 as a branch of the Football Associ ...

, Ballkani played its first match against Liria at

Studençan Studençan (, ) is a village in the municipality of Suva Reka, Kosovo. The new name was given after the Kosovo War. Studenčane is close to Suva Reka Suhareka (also known as Suharekë and Therandë in Albanian) оr Suva Reka ( sr-Cyrl, Сува ...

. In the youth levels of Ballkani, many prominent players from Suva Reka started their careers, such as Ali Elshani, Arsim Llapatinca, Avni Bytyçi, Bekim Suka, Dervish Shala, Esheref Berisha, Fillim Guraziu, Gafurr Kabashi, Hajrush Berisha, Hevzi Shalaj, Isuf Asllanaj, Isuf Kolgeci, Lulzim Kolgeci, Musli Bylykbashi, Naser Berisha, Nexhat Elshani, Osman Ramadani, Rexhep Kuçi, Salih Hoxha, Urim Bylykbashi,

Visar Berisha Visar Berisha (born 7 December 1986) is a Kosovan professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Kosovo First League club Liria Prizren Klubi Futbollistik Liria Prizren (), commonly known as Liria, is a professional football club based ...

and many others who made a valuable contribution to the affirmation of football as well as other human values and some still give their contribution to football pitches as managers and in various sports posts.

Stadium

The club plays its home games at the Suva Reka City Stadium ( sq, Stadiumi i Qytetit të Suharekës) is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

in Suva Reka, Kosovo. The stadium has a capacity of 1,500 people all-seater. However, for their inaugural European campaign, home matches were played in Prishtina, at the National Stadium, as Suva Reka City Stadium did not meet UEFA requirements.

Honours

Domestic

* Superliga e Kosovës ** Winners (1): 2021–22

Players

Current squad

Other players under contract

Personnel

Historical list of coaches

* Bekim Shotani (Feb 2018–2 Sep 2018) *

Sami Sermaxhaj Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...

(6 Sep 2018–14 Apr 2019) *

Gani Sejdiu Gani is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Gani Bobi (1943–1995), Albanian philosopher and sociologist * Gani Fawehinmi (1938–2009), Nigerian writer * Gani Lawal (born 1988), Nigerian-American ba ...

(16 Apr 2019–Jun 2019) *

Ismet Munishi Ismet Munishi (born 3 October 1974) is a Kosovo Albanian professional football coach and former player who is the current manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit org ...

(8 Jun 2019–December 2020)Ismet Munishi bëhet trajner i Ballkanit
- Telegrafi

Ballkani in Europe

Matches

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballkani, KF

KF Ballkani Football Club Ballkani ( sq, Klubi Futbollistik Ballkani), commonly known as Ballkani, is a professional football club based in Suhareka, Kosovo. The club plays in the Football Superleague of Kosovo, which is the top tier of football in the coun ...

Association football clubs established in 1947 Football clubs in Yugoslavia Football clubs in Kosovo