Related Research Articles
Albania, officially the Republic of Albania, is a country in Southeast Europe. The country is located in the Balkans on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south. Spanning an area of 28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi), it displays a varied range of climatic, geological, hydrological and morphological conditions. The country's landscapes range from rugged snow-capped mountains in the Albanian Alps and the Korab, Skanderbeg, Pindus and Ceraunian Mountains, to fertile lowland plains extending from the coasts of the Adriatic and Ionian seas. Tirana is the capital and largest city in the country, followed by Durrës, Vlorë, and Shkodër.
The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as in Croatia, Greece, Italy and Turkey. They also constitute a large diaspora with several communities established across Europe, the Americas and Oceania.
Enver Hoxha was an Albanian Communist politician who was the ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 until his death, a member of its Politburo, chairman of the Democratic Front of Albania, and commander-in-chief of the Albanian People's Army. He was the twenty-second prime minister of Albania from 1944 to 1954 and at various times was both foreign minister and defence minister of the country.
During classical antiquity, Albania was home to several Illyrian tribes such as the Albanoi, Ardiaei, Bylliones, Dassaretii, Enchele, Labeatae, Taulantii, Parthini, Penestae, Amantes, and many others, but also Bryges and Epirote tribes, as well as several Greek colonies established on the Illyrian coast in cooperation with the local Illyrians, notably Epidamnos-Dyrrhachium and Apollonia.
The Kosovo War, was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It was fought between the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which controlled Kosovo before the war, and the Kosovo Albanian separatist militia known as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The conflict ended when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intervened by beginning air strikes in March 1999 which resulted in Yugoslav forces withdrawing from Kosovo.
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a country in Southeast Europe with partial diplomatic recognition. Kosovo lies landlocked in the centre of the Balkans, bordered by Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the southeast, Albania to the southwest, and Montenegro to the west. Most of central Kosovo is sits on the plains of Metohija and the Kosovo field. The Accursed Mountains and Šar Mountains rise in the southwest and southeast, respectively. Its capital and largest city is Pristina.
Tirana is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea in the distance. It is among the wettest and sunniest cities in Europe, with 2,544 hours of sun per year.
The Albanian Armed Forces are the military of Albania and were formed after the declaration of independence in 1912. Today, it consists of the General Staff, the Albanian Land Force, Albanian Air Force and the Albanian Naval Force.
The flag of Albania is a red flag with a silhouetted black double-headed eagle in the center. The red stands for bravery, strength, valour and bloodshed, while the Eagle represents the sovereign state of Albania. The flag was established as the national flag of Albania when the country gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912.
The lek is the currency of Albania. Historically, it was subdivided into 100 qintars.
Klubi i Futbollit Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana. The men's football club is part of the multi-disciplinary sports club SK Tirana, and is the most successful in Albania, having won 54 recognized major domestic trophies. They are the only football club in Albania with two stars in their crest after winning the 20th championship in 2003, each star corresponds to ten championships. Making them the first and only Albanian club to have achieved such a feat. They play their home games at the Selman Stërmasi Stadium in Tirana and they play in the Kategoria Superiore.
The Albania national football team represents Albania in men's international football, and is governed by the Albanian Football Association, the governing body for football in Albania.
The Parliament of Albania or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of no less than 140 members elected to a four-year term on the basis of direct, universal, periodic and equal suffrage by secret ballot. The Parliament is presided over by the Speaker, who is assisted by at least one deputy speaker. The electoral system is based on party-list proportional representation. There are 12 multi-seat constituencies, corresponding to the country's counties.
The Kategoria Superiore, officially known as Abissnet Superiore for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Albania. At the top of the Albanian football league system, it is the country's premier football competition. It is contested by 10 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Kategoria e Parë. Seasons run from August to May, with teams playing 36 matches each.
Klubi I Futbollit Vllaznia Shkodër, commonly known as Vllaznia is an Albanian football club based in the city of Shkodër. It is the association football branch of the Vllaznia Sports Club, which was founded on 16 February 1919. It is also the oldest club in Albania which means it is the first club created in Albania. The club have competed in every edition of Kategoria Superiore since 1930, which is the top tier of football in Albania, besides in the 1956–57, 1961-62 and 2018-19 football seasons.
The Kosovo national football team represents Kosovo in men's international football. The team is controlled by the Football Federation of Kosovo, the governing body for football in Kosovo, and is under the jurisdiction of FIFA globally.
Klubi Futbollistik Skënderbeu Korçë, is an Albanian professional football club based in Korçë, a city in southeastern Albania. The club plays in the Kategoria Superiore, which is the first tier of football in the country. The club was founded as Vllazëria Korçë in 1909. In 1925, it took on its current form following the merger of several local clubs, and the club's name was changed to Skënderbeu Korçë, after Albania's national hero Skanderbeg. The club's home ground has been the Skënderbeu Stadium since it was built in 1957, and it now has a capacity of 12,343, of which 5,724 are seated.
The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, which is held every two years.
The People's Socialist Republic of Albania, officially the People's Republic of Albania from 1946 until 1976, was the one-party communist state in Albania from 1946 to 1991. It succeeded the Democratic Government of Albania (1944–1946).
Albanian is an Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan group. Standard Albanian is the official language of Albania and Kosovo, and a co-official language in North Macedonia and Montenegro, as well as a recognized minority language of Italy, Croatia, Romania and Serbia. It is also spoken in Greece and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europe and Oceania. Albanian is estimated to have as many as 7.5 million native speakers.
References
- ↑ "History of Albanian People" Albanian Academy of Science. ISBN 99927-1-623-1
 | This biographical article relating to Albania is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |