Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has congratulated the players of his national football team on qualifying for the final of the European play-offs for the FIFA 2026 World Cup.
In a phone conversation with Sports Minister Osman Aşkın Bak, Turkish Football Federation President İbrahim Ethem Hacıosmanoğlu, national team coach Vincenzo Montella, and the national team players, Erdoğan wished them success in their match against Kosovo, scheduled for March 31 in Prishtina.
Since both Turkey and Kosovo advanced in their matches on Thursday night, no final decision has yet been made on whether Erdoğan will personally attend the match against the “friendly brother country,” as he has referred to Kosovo on several occasions.
Sources from KosovaPress within the Turkish president’s cabinet indicate that Erdoğan has a pre-set schedule for Tuesday, and any potential change cannot be decided before Sunday.
Erdoğan has visited Kosovo twice – in 2010 and 2013. During his first visit, accompanied by then-Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, he also visited several mosques. On his second visit, again hosted by Thaçi, he participated in the inauguration of the expansion of “Adem Jashari” International Airport. During this visit, he also stated: “Kosovo is Turkey, Turkey is Kosovo”, expressing the close friendship between the two countries and peoples.
