GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland Under-21 player Leon Avdullahu has opted to play for his parents’ home country Kosovo, ahead of a match between the two senior national teams on Sept. 5 in their 2026 World Cup qualifying group.

The Swiss soccer federation was “disappointed that he now wishes to pursue a different path,” national teams manager Pierluigi Tami said Tuesday in a statement.

Switzerland and Kosovo have close soccer ties, especially because of migration from the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s that brought future stars including Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri.

The relationship became more complex when the now-independent republic of Kosovo officially joined soccer bodies UEFA and FIFA in 2016. FIFA rules let players eligible for more than one country to change, typically before they

See Full Page