The Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK) has confirmed its application for admission to FIFA on 15 March 2016. At the same time, the FFK acknowledged that it could only be admitted as a FIFA member if it is granted UEFA membership first.

In order for FIFA to process and assess the FFK’s application, a bureau of the FIFA Associations Committee was set up in accordance with the relevant FIFA regulations. The FFK’s application is being processed by FIFA together with UEFA as the geographically responsible confederation. As part of the relevant procedures, the two organisations decided to conduct an inspection visit to Kosovo, which was carried out on 13 and 14 April 2016 by representatives of the FIFA and UEFA administrations.

The procedure for admission to FIFA is stipulated in art. 9 et seq. of the FIFA Statutes as well as in the Regulations Governing the Admission of Associations to FIFA. In accordance with the relevant provisions, if the FFK is admitted as a UEFA member, UEFA will then have to submit a final report to the FIFA Associations Committee for discussion and recommendation. Subsequently, the FIFA Associations Committee will present its findings to the FIFA Executive Committee. Finally, the FIFA Executive Committee will submit the FFK’s application for admission, together with a recommendation that it be accepted or rejected, to the next FIFA Congress.

The issue of admission of the FFK to UEFA has been put on the agenda of the upcoming UEFA Congress taking place in Budapest on 3 May 2016. If the FFK is admitted to UEFA on that occasion and provided that the FFK’s application for admission to FIFA is considered complete and valid according to the relevant regulations, the FFK’s application for admission to FIFA may be voted on at the FIFA Congress in Mexico City on 13 May 2016.