Sports in Albania

What sports are played in Albania?

The broadest list is the Albanian National Olympic Committee's own. Its federations page lists, under the heading Federata, bodies from the Federata Shqiptare e Alpinizmit dhe Turizmit Malor to the Federata Shqiptare e Zhytësve. Among them are the federations for football, athletics, basketball, volleyball, weightlifting (Federata Shqiptare e Peshëngritjes), wrestling (Federata Shqiptare e Mundjes), swimming, judo, sport shooting and skiing. It also lists federations for chess, esports, padel and teqball, national associations for canoe-kayak, fencing and archery, and federations for school sport and university sport. The page publishes no total.^[8]

Olympic participation gives a second, narrower list. Olympedia's table of Albanian Olympians by discipline prints 13 in weightlifting, 11 in shooting, 10 in athletics, 9 in swimming, 6 in Alpine skiing, 6 in wrestling, 3 in judo, and 1 each in artistic gymnastics and road cycling.^[1]

Football is the one sport with a national league whose broadcast rights are sold under a published contract, as §2 and §4 set out.^[13]

What is the most popular spectator sport in Albania?

No season attendance figure for the national football league could be retrieved from the federation or the league, so the proxies here are broadcast carriage and spending, each attributed.

The domestic-football proxy is a rights contract. Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit announced on 16 August 2024 that it had signed an agreement with Radio Televizioni Shqiptar, which “do të transmetojë për tre sezonet e ardhshme kampionatin Kategoria Superiore, duke përfshirë edhe Final 4, Kategorinë e Parë, Kupën e Shqipërisë dhe Superkupën e Shqipërisë”.^[13] A matchday notice by the broadcaster of 31 October 2025 placed league matches on RTSH Sport, RTSH 1 and RTSH 2.^[29]

The spending proxy comes from the public broadcaster's own accounts. RTSH's economic and financial statement for 2025 reports, within spending on film, artistic projects and rights, “Blerjen e të drejtave sportive: 252,414,124 lekë ose 49% e totalit”, and states that “Detyrimet për të drejtat sportive përbëjnë rreth 62% të totalit të detyrimeve të institucionit.”^[14]

The international-football proxy is exclusivity. TV Klan announced on 9 June 2026 “Transmetim ekskluziv në Klan, Klan Plus, Klan Sport 1 dhe Klan Sport 2” of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, played from 11 June to 19 July 2026.^[15] Top Channel announced on 2 August 2026 that the 2026–27 UEFA Champions League would be shown exclusively on its screen.^[16] None of these sources publishes an audience figure, and no audited national television-audience currency could be identified.

How is sport organised in Albania?

The Constitution, in a consolidated text published by the Prokuroria e Përgjithshme and marked as amended up to Law No. 115/2020 of 30 July 2020, is titled “Kushtetuta e Republikës së Shqipërisë”.^[30] The Council of Ministers' English pages use “Republic of Albania”.^[9]

The statute. The text read is Ligji nr. 79/2017 “Për sportin”, published on the site of the Agency for Local Self-Governance and marked “(ndryshuar me ligjin nr. 105/2020, datë 29.7.2020)”. Article 61 provides that the law “hyn në fuqi 15 ditë pas botimit në Fletoren Zyrtare” and records its approval on 27 April 2017; the same text repeals Law No. 9376 of 21 April 2005 on sport.^[5] The official gazette portal served no document text without scripts, so no later consolidation could be confirmed there. The draft that became the 2020 amendment was put to public consultation by the Ministry of Education from 24 January to 13 February 2020.^[28]

Article 8 is headed “Ministria përgjegjëse për sportin dhe njësitë e qeverisjes vendore” and assigns national sports policy to the ministry responsible for sport and local sports policy to local government units.^[5] On the build date the ministry's own site named it Ministria e Turizmit, Kulturës dhe Sportit.^[7]

The NOC. Article 14 opens: “Komiteti Olimpik Kombëtar Shqiptar është person juridik, që organizohet dhe funksionon në zbatim të Kodit Civil të Republikës së Shqipërisë dhe kuadrit ligjor për organizatat jofitimprurëse”; the same article ties it to the Olympic Charter and a statute approved by the minister responsible for sport, and allows state-budget transfers.^[5] Olympedia records that the committee was founded in 1958 and recognised by the IOC on 25 May 1959, at the IOC session in Munich; its organisation entry gives the abbreviation KOKSH.^[1][4] An NOC is recognised by the IOC; it is not a member of it.

Federations. Article 16 provides that “Ministria përgjegjëse për sportin njeh vetëm një federatë në një sport të caktuar”. Article 17 gives the designation federatë shqiptare, granted by the minister responsible for sport after an opinion from the Olympic committee, and sets out grounds for revoking it, among them that the national championship and the Albanian Cup are not held every year, or that the annual assembly or the electoral assembly of the Olympic cycle is not held.^[5] For football, UEFA records Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit as founded on 6 June 1930, affiliated to FIFA in 1932 and to UEFA in 1954 as a founder member.^[10]

What are the main domestic leagues and competitions?

Football's top division is Abissnet Superiore, the name the federation's own site uses; its site listed the 2026–2027 season as current on the build date, alongside Kategoria e Parë, Kategoria e Dytë, Kupa e Shqipërisë, the women's Superiore Vajza and a futsal championship.^[11]

The federation's draw notice of 13 July 2026 states: “Edicioni i 88-të i kampionatit elitar shqiptar do të nisë më 22 gusht”. It names ten clubs — Partizani, Teuta, Laçi, Elbasani, Vllaznia, Skënderbeu, Dinamo, Vora, Egnatia and Tirana — and describes three regular phases followed by a six-club play-off for the title and a play-out for the clubs placed seventh to tenth, with the tenth relegated directly.^[12] On 24 September 2026 that season is in progress.

The rights have moved between broadcasters on dated contracts. The federation announced on 24 August 2023 a three-year contract with MCN TV for Abissnet Superiore, Kategoria e Parë and the Albanian Cup and Super Cup.^[27] It announced the agreement with Radio Televizioni Shqiptar for the next three seasons on 16 August 2024.^[13] No statement ending the MCN TV contract was retrieved.

How has Albania performed at the Olympic Games?

Olympedia's per-edition table lists Albania at the Summer Games of 1972 and of every edition from 1992 to 2024, and at the Winter Games of every edition from 2006 to 2026. It gives five Albanian athletes in 1972, seven in 1992 and eight in 2024.^[1]

Olympedia prints no totals row. Its medals-by-Games table carries one row, “2024 Summer Olympics”, typed as Olympic Games, with 0 gold, 0 silver and 2 bronze; its medals-by-sport table carries one row, Wrestling, with the same figures. The two tables agree.^[1] Olympedia's 2024 roster for Albania marks Islam Dudaev in men's freestyle welterweight and Chermen Valiev in men's freestyle middleweight each “=3” with bronze.^[2] The page carries a separate Youth Olympic Games table, not included here, and no 1906 row.^[1]

Olympedia's narrative differs from its tables. It states that “Albania has not won any medals but has had fairly good weightlifters”, and that “the best result for athletes representing Albania was a fourth place by Briken Calja in women's weightlifting lightweight class”. Its 2020 roster lists Briken Calja fourth in men's middleweight weightlifting.^[1][3] This page uses the tables.

On the Winter Olympic Games, the narrative states that Albania has competed “continuously since 2006, but only in Alpine skiing”; the per-edition table lists one Albanian athlete in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022, two in 2018 and four in 2026.^[1]

Which athletes and teams are internationally recognised?

At the Olympic Games, Olympedia records bronze medals for Islam Dudaev and Chermen Valiev in freestyle wrestling at Paris 2024.^[2]

In athletics, the European Championships Munich 2022 organisers state that “Luiza Gega of Albania pushed not only herself but also Germany's Lea Meyer to go sub the old championship record from 2010, winning the steeplechase race in 9:11.31 min.”^[31] LetsRun reported on 20 August 2022 that she won the women's 3000m steeplechase at the European Athletics Championships and “smashed the 12 year-old championships record by six seconds”.^[18] No record from European Athletics itself could be retrieved.

In football, UEFA records that Albania qualified for its first major tournament at UEFA EURO 2016, and that Armando Sadiku's goal against Romania there made him “the first Albanian player to score in any major tournament”.^[10] The statistics site 11v11 lists a 2-2 draw with Croatia on 19 June 2024 in the UEFA European Championship.^[22]

Weightlifting and anti-doping. The International Testing Agency's table for the IWF lists individuals “currently either serving a provisional suspension or a period of ineligibility” under the IWF's anti-doping rules, with the IWF as results management authority. It lists two Albanian weightlifters. For Evagjelia Veli it gives a violation dated 29 May 2022 under Art. 2.1 (stanozolol metabolite and exogenous 5αAdiol and/or 5βAdiol), a period of ineligibility of 8 years from 27 July 2022 to 26 July 2030, status “Resolved” and means of resolution “Sanctioning Decision”. For Daniel Godelli it gives a violation dated 19 April 2023 under Art. 2.1 (enobosarm, ostarine), “Provisional Suspension (since 3 July 2023)” and status “On-going”.^[17] The first is recorded as resolved by a sanctioning decision; the second is a provisional suspension, which is not a finding. The International Testing Agency last modified that table on 10 August 2026.^[17]

Earlier, the IWF reported on 17 September 2012 that its Executive Board, meeting in Kosice before the 2012 Youth World Championships, had imposed a sanction: “Having 3 positive doping cases within this calendar year, the Afghanistan and Albanian Federations were sanctioned to a fine of 50.000 USD.”^[32]

What major international competitions has Albania hosted?

The European Weightlifting Championships of 2013 were held in Tirana. The IWF reported on 18 April 2013 that its president travelled from the Youth World Championships in Tashkent “directly to the European Championships in Tirana, Albania”.^[23]

The final of the 2021/22 UEFA Conference League was played at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana on 25 May 2022; UEFA records AS Roma against Feyenoord and headlines the result “Mourinho's Roma take inaugural title”.^[24]

In wrestling, United World Wrestling announced on 2 October 2024 that “The World Championships in Non-Olympic Weight Classes is making a return after eight years and will be held in Tirana, Albania from October 28 to 31.”^[25] That event has taken place.

University sport has also come to the capital. The Ministria e Turizmit, Kulturës dhe Sportit published a review of EUSA Combat Tirana 2026 on 21 September 2026, giving “Mbi 1,600 studentë-sportistë, 400 universitete, 39 vende europiane”; the event is finished.^[26]

What are Albania's main sporting rivalries?

The documented recurring fixture with a sanction attached is against Serbia. The counts below come from the statistics site 11v11, a single secondary source, not the federation's own record; the Serbia page carries Serbia's side of the same fixture.

11v11 publishes Albania's men's record against Serbia as 2 won, 1 drawn and 1 lost, and lists four matches: Serbia v Albania, 0-3, on 14 October 2014, and Albania v Serbia, 0-2, on 8 October 2015, both under the UEFA European Championship, then Albania v Serbia, 0-0, on 7 June 2025 and Serbia v Albania, 0-1, on 11 October 2025, both under the FIFA World Cup. It publishes no matches-played total and no goal aggregate.^[19]

The 2014 match was abandoned. The Court of Arbitration for Sport stated on 10 July 2015 that the match in Belgrade on 14 October 2014 was stopped “at the 41st minute”. It recorded that the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body decided on 23 October 2014, and that the UEFA Appeals Body confirmed that decision on 2 December 2014. The Panel decided that the match “be deemed to have been forfeited by the FAS by the score of 0:3”. It confirmed the three-point deduction for Serbia, two home matches behind closed doors and a EUR 100,000 fine, and it confirmed “the fine of EUR 100,000 imposed on the FAA”.^[20] UEFA's own notice records that its disciplinary body had awarded a 3-0 forfeit win to Serbia, gives the Appeals Body date as 3 December 2014, and records that CAS awarded a 3-0 forfeit victory to Albania.^[21]

What is the role of school and university sport?

School sport is set by statute. The Ministry of Education's page on physical education cites Article 6 of Law No. 79/2017: “Sporti është pjesë përbërëse e programit të edukimit të nxënësve dhe studentëve në institucionet arsimore publike dhe jopublike.”^[6] Article 6 of the law is headed “Edukimi fizik dhe sporti në sistemin arsimor”.^[5]

The ministry's page gives the teaching minimum: “Edukimi fizik në kurrikulën bërthamë zhvillohet me minimumi tre orë mësimore në javë për klasat 1-12.” It names the two national bodies: “Federata Shqiptare e Sportit Shkollor dhe Federata Shqiptare e Sportit Universitar janë persona juridikë, që organizohen dhe funksionojnë në zbatim të kuadrit ligjor për organizatat jofitimprurëse.”^[6] Both federations appear on the Olympic committee's list of federations.^[8]

At university level, Tirana hosted EUSA Combat Tirana 2026, which the ministry reviewed on 21 September 2026, as §7 records.^[26]

Were any sports invented in Albania?

No claim that a sport was invented or codified in Albania was found from an Albanian federation, a government instrument or a standard reference.

The text of Law No. 79/2017 read here runs to Article 61, “Hyrja në fuqi”, and contains no provision declaring a national sport or naming traditional sports.^[5] The Olympic committee's list of federations includes bodies for mountaineering, rafting, hunting and fishing, and pigeon racing, and makes no claim of origin for any of them.^[8]