UEFA vote on Kosovo could boost World Cup hopes

UEFA vote on Kosovo could boost World Cup hopes

BUDAPEST - UEFA will decide on Tuesday whether to admit Kosovo as a full member while French and Norwegian candidates are in contention to become the first woman voted onto the governing body's executive committee.

UEFA will decide on May 3, 2016, whether to admit Kosovo as a full member while French and Norwegian candidates are in contention to become the first woman voted onto the governing body's executive committee

Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, is allowed by world body FIFA to only play friendly internationals.

If granted membership by the UEFA annual congress in Budapest, FIFA will vote on Kosovo's membership at its congress on May 13.

Kosovo hopes FIFA approval could allow it to get a late place in European qualifying groups for the 2018 World Cup.

Kosovo would become the 55th member of the European body and with further approval from UEFA's executive, could take part in the Champions League and qualifying for the 2020 European Championship finals.

Kosovo was the centre of a bitter war between ethnic-Albanian and Serbian forces in 1998-99.

Serbia has sought to prevent Kosovo gaining international recognition, but in sport it has secured membership of a host of world bodies, including athletics and gymnastics.

That campaign for recognition built a groundswell of support so it will make its Olympic debut at the Rio de Janeiro Games in August.

Karen Espelund, a former Norwegian international who is already a co-opted member of the UEFA executive, is up against French Football Federation director general Florence Hardouin in the landmark vote for a woman's place on the executive.

Both say the vote will be a key step in changing football's administration in its most powerful regional confederation.

UEFA president Michel Platini cannot attend the congress because of a six-year ban imposed by FIFA over a suspect $2 million payment authorised by the world body's former powerbroker Sepp Blatter.

Platini has made a final appeal against the ban to the Court of Arbitration but no decision is expected before May 9.

The ban at the moment means the Frenchman cannot attend the European Championship finals in his homeland in June and July.

If his appeal is turned down, UEFA could organise an emergency congress to elect a new president before Euro 2016 starts on June 10.

The UEFA executive met on Monday and "received a positive update on the successful preparations for UEFA EURO 2016," said a statement released after.

The committee "expressed its confidence in the measures put in place to stage a safe and festive tournament for all involved," the statement added.

French authorities have ordered a huge security operation to protect the tournament and fanzones around the 10 host stadiums following the November 13 attack on Paris last year in which 130 people were killed.

UEFA is to pay four million euros of 24 million euros that France will spend on security for the 24-nation tournament.

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