The national team from Kosovo will face Turkey in the final of the World Cup play-offs. To motivate them, the government in the southern Balkans has now decided that there will be a very generous cash bonus if they win.
Kosovo is the youngest country in Europe – it was formed during the break-up of Yugoslavia and gained its independence in 2008. Its soccer history is even younger than the country itself: the republic has only been a member of the international soccer associations FIFA and UEFA since 2016. And in its young history, the country has not yet taken part in a single European or World Cup. That is set to change in 2026.
The national team from Kosovo has made history: After head coach Franco Foda’s team defeated Slovakia with a brilliant 4:3 in Bratislava last Thursday, they are now in the final of the World Cup play-offs. The Kosovars will face Turkey, who beat Romania 1:0, in the capital Pristina on Tuesday.
The Turkish team led by coach Vincenzo Montella, however, would like to take part in the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada just like Kosovo. For the Turkish team, this would be their first participation in a World Cup since 2002 – so they have been waiting longer than Kosovo has been around …
Money bonus for motivation
In order to keep motivation high in the Kosovo team, the country’s government around Prime Minister Albin Kurti has now come up with something special: If he qualifies, he can look forward to a bonus of one million euros. And that’s not all: Finance Minister Hekuran Murati announced on his Facebook page that the team from the southern Balkans would receive a generous bonus of 500,000 euros for the semi-final. The transfer should already be made on Monday.
Exact details on the distribution of the bonus are not known. However, if the Kosovars win the final, it will amount to a total of 1.5 million euros. If the money is divided fairly between the entire squad and the coaching and support staff, that would be an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 euros for each individual.
