Nearly three years after winning the right to organize the 2030 Mediterranean Games, Kosovo has still not begun to properly complete the work on the sports infrastructure for organizing the competitions, perhaps putting their holding in question.
The Mediterranean Games are multi-sport events that take place every four years and are considered the most important after the Olympic Games.
Kosovo will host them for the first time – from July 24 to August 4, 2030 – in what would be the largest sporting event held in the country to date.
Albania has pledged to help by offering its coast for sailing competitions.
However, not everything is going according to plan for the organizers, as work on the construction of the main facility and the renovation of one of the most important ones has not even begun: the national stadium – where the opening and closing ceremonies of the games are to take place – and the Mediterranean village, a complex necessary to accommodate around 5.000 athletes from around 26 participating countries.
Kosovo must have its sports infrastructure ready by approximately 2028 – before it can be tested and accepted by international federations – and the Government has allocated 250 million euros in a draft law on games, which must be approved by the Assembly.
The Kosovo Ministry of Sports and Youth, together with the Municipality of Pristina and the Kosovo Olympic Committee (KOK), are responsible for organizing these games.
KOK spokesman Kushtrim Krasniqi admits to Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) that Kosovo has lagged behind in preparations.
"Of course we are behind with infrastructure and every day that passes is to our disadvantage," Krasniqi emphasizes.
The construction of a national stadium has been a long-standing topic in the country, but even though it is now more necessary than ever, neither land nor money has been allocated for its construction.
"In fact, the biggest delay is in the construction of the national stadium. Even though football has been replaced by futsal, we need the national stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies, because due to the ICMG rules and the grandeur of these games, the stadium must have a capacity of 25-30 thousand seats," Krasniqi underlines.
According to Krasniqi, Kosovo currently has no other alternative if it does not have a stadium with this many seats ready in time.
However, Fidan Shatri from the Ministry of Sports and Youth denies that the country has stalled in preparations, underlining that "we cannot say that we are late, because most sports facilities are planned for renovation and adaptation, and not for construction from scratch, which makes the process more manageable in terms of time."
Regarding the Mediterranean village, two projects were mentioned, one from the Ministry and one from the municipality of Pristina.
Pristina Mayor Përparim Rama last October presented a project calling it an “Olympic Village,” indicating that 60 hectares of land had been allocated in Bernica on the outskirts of the capital. However, construction has not begun.
But, the Ministry is working to prepare the Mediterranean village in the center of the capital, at the Student Center.
The project includes dormitories, the 1 Tetori gym, the student cafeteria, the health services center, and other ancillary buildings. It also includes the physical education halls of 12 schools in the capital.
Shatri tells REL that regarding the Mediterranean village, in the second half of this year, the implementation project is expected to proceed, while in the first half of 2027, work is planned to begin on the renovation and construction of the Student Center, along with the 1 Tetori gym.
The International Committee of the Mediterranean Games (ICMG) has put pressure on Kosovo to roll up its sleeves to complete preparations on time.
During a visit to Pristina in late February, ICMG Secretary General Iakovos Filippoussis met with the new Minister of Sports and Youth, Blerim Gashani, as well as members of the KOK, whom he asked to accelerate the work.
Krasniqi underlines that the ICMG is continuously monitoring the proceedings and that the Kosovo Provisional Organizing Committee (OCMG) is “continuously in coordination and cooperation with it”.
"The OCMG, led by the President of the KOC, Ismet Krasniqi, whose members include representatives of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, as well as the Municipality of Pristina, are continuing their work on the best possible preparation of the Pristina 2030 Mediterranean Games and we are currently on the verge of finalizing the selection of the logo," he adds.
Shatri, who is acting director of the Sports Agency at the Ministry of Sports, says that the projects are expected to be completed in the second half of 2029, a period in which infrastructure testing is also foreseen.
Meanwhile, in many other facilities, work is continuing, although in the initial stages.
The "Adem Jashari" stadium in Mitrovica, which is Olympic and multi-use, is being reconstructed, but completion of the works seems far away.
This stadium, which was opened in 1979, also hosted the first international match of the Kosovo national football team recognized by FIFA in 2014, before it became a member two years later.
This stadium, the only one planned to be used for the Mediterranean Games, appears to be hosting athletics competitions.
Meanwhile, in addition to the stadium in Mitrovica, the state aims to reconstruct stadiums in other large cities, such as Gjakova, Gjilan and Peja.
However, because football was removed from the competition calendar for the upcoming Mediterranean Games, these stadiums will not be used during the games.
This has made the organizers' work easier, seeing as the reconstruction work has not made any progress.
But, the early reconstruction of the stadium in Gjilan, for example, is extremely important for the development of football.
This city in the southeast of the country, among the largest in Kosovo, has two clubs that compete in the Super League, the country's elite competition: Gjilan and Drita, the latter the reigning champion.
These two clubs are forced to play on an alternative field with artificial grass and no stands for spectators.
Meanwhile, when its candidacy was accepted in September 2023, Kosovo's goal was to, in addition to improving infrastructure for many sports, also encourage tourists to the country by organizing the 2030 games.
The ICMG considers the Mediterranean Games to be the most important multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.
For a country that has not hosted any major sporting events, hosting the Mediterranean Games is seen as a major achievement for Kosovo.
26 countries from three continents are expected to participate in the 2030 Mediterranean Games, while the sports program contains around 24 sports, with the participation of around five thousand athletes.
Whether Kosovo will have completed the work before 2029 and whether its sports infrastructure will pass the test of organizing the games remains to be seen.
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