Kamer Qaka (born 11 April 1995) is an Albanian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...

for Macedonian club Shkëndija.

Club career

Early years / Norway

Qaka was born in Peja, modern-day

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, but when he was two years old his family moved to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and settled in

Brandbu Brandbu is a village in Gran Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located in Hadeland, along the eastern shore of the large lake Randsfjorden, about to the northwest of the capital city of Oslo. Brandbu and its neighbori ...

. In 2010, while still attending

lower secondary school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

, he signed his first professional contract for Norwegian

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotio ...

side Vålerenga. In a May 2010 cup game against

Oppsal IF Oppsal IF is a multi-sports club from Oslo, Norway. The women's handball team currently competes in Rema 1000-ligaen. The men's football team currently competes in the 2. divisjon, the third tier of the Norwegian football league system. Wome ...

, as Qaka made his professional debut, he became Vålerenga's youngest goalscorer ever. He made his league debut in 2011. In 2013, he signed for fellow Norwegian club

Raufoss Raufoss is the administrative centre of Vestre Toten Municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. The village is located about south of the larger town of Gjøvik. The village area is located along the municipal border with the neighboring Gjøvi ...

. He made his debut on 15 April 2013 against Odd 2 as they won the game 2-1. In January 2014, he joined

Hønefoss BK Hønefoss Ballklubb is a Norwegian football club from Hønefoss, founded in 1895. The club was a part of the multi-sports club L/F Hønefoss, which folded in 2008. After 11 years in 1. divisjon, the second tier of Norwegian football, Hønefo ...

, and a year later he went on to

Sarpsborg 08 FF Sarpsborg 08 Fotballforening, commonly known as Sarpsborg 08 or simply Sarpsborg (), is a Norwegian football club based in Sarpsborg, playing in Eliteserien. Sarpsborg 08 and its predecessors played in 1. divisjon from 2005 to 2010. In 2010, the ...

. In 2016 he tried his luck with

Kristiansund BK Kristiansund BK is a Norwegian football club located in Kristiansund that currently plays in Eliteserien. The team plays its home matches in the 4,444-capacity Kristiansund Stadion. Kristiansund BK was formed in the autumn of 2003, when two riv ...

. His performances paid off when Qaka helped his team get promoted to the

, as well as being awarded the trophy for the best player in the league.

Politehnica Iași

On 17 July 2017, after terminating his contract with Kristiansund, Qaka put pen to paper on a two-year deal with Romanian team Politehnica Iași. A week later, he made his competitive debut in a 0–0

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently Sponsor (commercial), sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It ...

draw with Gaz Metan Mediaș, coming on as a half-time substitute for Dan Spătaru. From the following matchday, Qaka established himself as a starter under head coach Flavius Stoican. In November 2017, after his international debut for

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, it was reported that fellow league teams

FCSB Fotbal Club FCSB (), commonly known as FCSB, is a Romanian professional football club based in Bucharest. It has spent its entire history in the top flight of the Romanian league system, the Liga I. The original ''Steaua București'' footbal ...

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ), is a Romanian professional football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, which competes in the Liga I. It was founded in 1907 as ''Kolozsvári Vasutas Sport Club'', whe ...

and Universitatea Craiova, as well as Portuguese side

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

, were interested in acquiring the player.

Universitatea Craiova

On 3 June 2019 he signed a 4-years contract with

CS Universitatea Craiova U Craiova 1948 Club Sportiv, commonly known as Universitatea Craiova (), CS U Craiova, or simply U Craiova, is a Romanian professional football team based in Craiova, Dolj County, which competes in the Liga I, the top tier of the Romanian lea ...

Return to Shkëndija

On 5 January 2023, Qaka returned to Shkëndija on a two-year contract.

International career

Qaka from 2010 until 2014 has been part of

at youth international level, respectively has been part of the U15 and U19 teams and he with these teams played 36 matches, he accepted the invitation from the Albania national team by coach Christian Panucci for the

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

on 13 November 2017 as a replacement for the injured Amir Abrashi. He debuted for Albania against Turkey as a 67th minute substitute for

Odise Roshi Odise Roshi (born 22 May 1991) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Turkish club Sakaryaspor and the Albania national team. Roshi started his professional career with his hometown club Apolonia Fier whom he pl ...

in a 2–3 away win for his side.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

;Sarpsborg 08 *

Norwegian Football Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest footba ...

: Runner-up 2015 ;Kristiansund * OBOS-ligaen:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

References

External links