The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has congratulated the players of his country’s national football team for qualifying for the playoff final of the European qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
In a phone conversation with the Minister of Sport Osman Askin Bak, the President of the Turkish Football Federation Ibrahim Ethem Haciosmanoglu, the head coach of the national team Vincenzo Montella, and members of the national squad, he wished them success in the match against Kosovo, which will be played on March 31 in Pristina.
Since both Turkey and Kosovo advanced on Thursday night, there is still no final decision on whether Erdogan will personally attend this match with the friendly country and “brotherly nation,” as he has previously referred to Kosovo on several occasions.
Sources from KosovaPress within the Turkish president’s cabinet indicate that he already has a scheduled agenda for Tuesday, and any possible change to it is unlikely before Sunday.
Erdogan has visited Kosovo twice — in 2010 and 2013. During his first visit, accompanied by then-Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, he also visited several mosques. On his second visit, again hosted by Thaci, he attended the inauguration of the expansion of the Adem Jashari International Airport. During that visit, he made the statement: “Kosovo is Turkey, Turkey is Kosovo,” as an expression of friendship between the two countries and peoples.
