The silence of Agim Ademi, or when Sports Journalists Abandon the Truth and Select Silence

It says: Baton Haxhiu

In small Kosovo, football has always been more than a game. It has been an inspiration, a tool of resistance, and a hope for the future. A country that, for decades, was excluded from any international system, where teams in Kosovo played not in stadiums but in grass fields, awaiting the day when they would be accepted with dignity in the international arena.

Fadil Vokrri, a legendary Kosovo football figure, achieved that for a long time it was only a dream of bringing Kosovo to U EFA. This was a moment that marked a small nation's triumph over division and injustice. But unfortunately, Vorkri's legacy is twofold: besides this historic success, he left behind a federation absorbed by a corrupt and ignorant system, a model that has destroyed morals and the future of sports in our country.

Using Fadil Vokrri's death to manipulate his choice as head of the FFK is an act that deeply challenges morality and ethics. A sentence involving this shameful idea may sound that way, and the public has not noticed it. Maybe!

Agim Ademi exploited the death of Fadil Vokrrit, manipulating his choice as head of the SFF, an act that can be described as a moral form of ʹnecrophilia, where respect for the deceased's legacy is desecrated for personal gain.

This process alludes to an abuse of inheritance of an honourable figure like Vokri, using his death to manipulate the outcome of the elections.

Today, the current chairman of the Kosovo Football Federation, Agim Ademi, embodys this failed system. His choice at the top of the FFK was the product of a corrupt process, and for years, he has been involved in criminal investigations, facing heavy charges. And yet, it is publicly supported by top political figures such as President Vjosa Osmani, former ministers and war commanders, who have chosen to stay close in the name of personal interests and nepotism.

Even worse, this support from local institutions has been reinforced by the U. EFA, an organisation that theoretically needs to protect the integrity of football. But for the sake of a single vote in her election, UEFA has chosen to close its eyes to crime and corruption that is destroying our sport. The funds UEFA allocates for the federation have been misused to employ relatives and retain power in the hands of those who have turned football into a monopoly of families and political clans.

What happens to citizens? In a country that has produced the talents playing for four different nationals -- Switzerland, Northern Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo -- is it not ironic that Kosovo itself, 25 years after the liberation, still has no natural - grassed football field? All fields are of artificial grass, and what should be a platform for the development of new generations has been transformed into a landscape plagued by corruption and political interference.

But it's not just infrastructure that's falling apart. Within the Federation, people who were supposed to protect the sport have been subjected and silent. Superleague club owners, forced by fear of depression, have accepted a grim reality: if you are not part of this corrupt system, you have no place in Kosovo football. This submission is comprehensive and affects every level of football hierarchy in the country.

Politicians and institutions supposed to be advocates of values and integrity have failed. Only 200 free tickets to national matches are enough to buy their support. This shows a moral collapse exceeding football, affecting every aspect of public life in Kosovo. And the Football Federation, in an unprecedented act, dares write public letters denouncing journalists who dare to tell the truth.

This letter is not a simple accusation against a man. It is a call to awaken the conscience of a nation that is allowing its most beloved sport to be destroyed by corruption and personal interest. Agim Ademi was not supposed to be president of the Federation. It should not be supported by those who claim to represent the people, much less by an international organisation like W EFA, who has closed its eyes to this evil only for temporary interest.

Kosovo, the country that gave stars for international football, must fight to save its future stars. To fight for a fair system, where every child will have the opportunity to play in the fields of natural grass, not in areas where corruption prevails.

* Why would an author write such a letter? * Because colleagues from sports editorials have lost courage. Those who once represented the critical voice of Kosovo sports today have kept silent in the face of corruption. The media, which should be pillars of transparency and defenders of truth, are subject, like many other institutions. Some of them were bought with privileges, free tickets, and safe access to the inside of the NFF, excluding any critical voice.

That's why I, as the Author, feel the moral obligation to speak. Others, stuck in corruption and compromises, no longer have a voice. But to keep quiet is to share the problem. Someone must report this moral and institutional destruction. Someone should show the public that Kosovo's sport is in the wrong hands, and that the hopes of new generations are being destroyed for personal and political interests. If sports journalists don't have the courage to tell the truth, then I still have to write- to do it, for the sake of sports, truth and the future of a country that deserves much more.

Time for a change has come long ago.

(This is Open Letter for the Kosovo Football Federation, the Ministry of Sports, and U EFA)