Adnan Januzaj invited to play for Kosovo

Januzaj’s international allegiance has been the subject of much conjecture

Manchester United’s 19 year old sensation Adnan Januzaj has been invited to play in Kosovo’s first ever international match against Haiti who are ranked 79, on 5 March, which is the same night England face Denmark in a friendly at Wembley.

Januzaj, who was born in Brussels but qualifies for Albania through his Kosovan-Albanian parents, Turkey through his grandparents and Serbia as Kosovo’s independence has not yet been recognized by the United Nations, has been a center of attraction when it came to his international allegiance, with a host of countries trying to tie down the youngster for their nation’s national team.

Albeit Januzaj could eventually qualify for England’s ranks through his citizenship and has impressed the national team manager, Roy Hodgson, this season with impressive performances for the troubled Old Trafford club.

Eroll Salihu, the secretary general of the Football Federation of Kosovo was quoted saying:

“We are in discussions with Adnan’s family and to have a player of his amazing talent play in our very first match would be hugely symbolic. We feel he owes it to his people to take some part in the match, even if it is for just 15 minutes.

“I stress this is a symbolic gesture. By playing in this match we are not thinking he is making any commitment to us. It is a friendly and would not have an effect on him being able to play for another country in the future.

“It is not our purpose to do that, but we hope he can be with us on a very special and memorable occasion.”

However there is no indication from the player nor his ‘people’ about the potential participation and even if Januzaj does feature for Kosovo in the friendly, it does not seal his future to their national team.

From England’s point of view, Januzaj, 19, will be eligible under Fifa regulations to play for England, should he choose to do so, in time for the 2018 World Cup finals. The naturalization of players born outside the United Kingdom is a sensitive subject, even though other football nations, especially the world champions Spain, have taken advantage of new rules. Januzaj would have to remain a resident in the United Kingdom for the next four years, in total five years after his 18th birthday in order to qualify to play for England.

Since Kosovo declared independence in 2008, Januzaj has regularly visited his extended family there and Salihu expects a decision from the Januzaj camp next week, on the historic friendly taking place at the 18,000 capacity Aden Jashari Stadium in Mitrovica in the north of the country. Kosovo are due to publish the names of their first-ever squad on March 2.