European dreams fuel football fever in small Kosovo town

THERANDA: The Europa Conference League may not be the highest level of European football but there is a small town in Kosovo where it has taken on the enormity of the World Cup.

Theranda - sometimes known by its Serbian name Suva Reka and with a population of around 10,000 - is gripped by football fever following the exploits of local club Ballkani.

Winners of the domestic Superliga for the last two season - and going along nicely in search of the hat-trick - Ballkani are eyeing the possibility of becoming the first Kosovar club to qualify from the group stages to the knockout rounds in a UEFA club competition.

So far they have played two of their six group games, losing 1-0 at Czech side Viktoria Plzen before producing a minor miracle and beating the much bigger and more storied Croatian team Dinamo Zagreb 2-0.

On Thursday, Ballkani host Kazakh champions Astana although technically it is not actually 'at home'.

Their 1,500-capacity stadium falls short of UEFA requirements, which means 'home' matches are being played at the Fadil Vokrri stadium - capacity 13,980 - some 50 kilometres away in the capital Pristina.

Construction businessman Faton Bytyci, 41, told AFP that the fans are mobilising for the roughly one hour drive to Pristina because a victory would give them "a great chance" of reaching the knockout stage.

"None of our clubs have achieved that so far," he said. "That's why not a single seat should be empty. The Pristina stadium should be full."

The players are also optimistic.

Right back Armend Thaqi, who also plays for the Kosovo national team, said "the victory over Dinamo gave us great motivation".

Head coach Ilir Daja believes that opponents no longer underestimate his team, especially at home.

"From the first