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| Kosovo striker Milot Rashica in action against Israel in a EURO 2024 qualifying match in Tel Aviv, March 25, 2023. |
The Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK) announced on Thursday that the Group I qualifying match for Euro 2024 between the national team of Kosovo and Israel has been postponed indefinitely due to Israel's conflict with the militant group Hamas.
FFK stated that it was informed by UEFA about the postponement of the match, initially scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 15th, at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina.
"Up to this point, UEFA has come to this decision as a result of the recent situation in Israel, where a state of war has been declared, and, as a result, the Israeli authorities currently do not allow any of the sports teams to travel outside the country," the FFK announcement read.
It mentioned that UEFA will inform about the new date for this match in due course.
Israel declared a state of war on October 7th, just hours after thousands of militant Hamas fighters breached border barriers and entered southern Israel to carry out one of the deadliest attacks in Israel's history.
They killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took at least 150 hostages with them to Gaza during the attacks.
The Israeli army has been bombing Gaza since Monday, causing about 1,200 Palestinians to die during this period.
Israel was expected to travel to Pristina on Saturday, aiming for a result that would keep it in contention to qualify for the European Championship next summer in Germany.
While the Israelis still have high hopes, Kosovo has lost the chance for what would have been its historic participation in a major football tournament.
Kosovo is at the bottom of the Group I qualifiers with only four points from six matches, while Israel has 11 points, just three points behind Switzerland, the group leader, and one point behind Romania, both of which qualify for Euro 2024.