Tifozat Kuq e Zi ( en, Red and Black Fans, also known as the Albania National Football Team Supporters Club) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

supporters' association for the

Albania national football team The Albania national football team ( sq, Kombëtarja e futbollit të Shqipërisë) represents Albania in men's international football, and is governed by the Albanian Football Association, the governing body for football in Albania. Albania com ...

and various national team sportive activities. It was founded on December 25, 2003. In cooperation with

FSHF The Albanian Football Association ( sq, Federata Shqiptare e Futbollit; FSHF) is the governing body of football in Albania. The association is based in Tirana, Albania. It organises the national football leagues of the Albanian Superliga, the Fir ...

, it organises trips for football fans to visit games, and develops and sells merchandise to support itself and fund sporting related projects. Tifozat Kuq e Zi stands firm in the political view that

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ser ...

should share only one national team and have continuous aspirations to join in one state (Një Komb, Një Kombëtare), i.e. unification of Albania, Kosovo, etc. In this sense, TKZ is joined by different supporters' associations throughout Albanian-speaking regions mainly in

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 international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

( Kuqezinjet e Jakoves of Gjakova, Plisat of

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in District of Pristina, Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population o ...

Torcida Torcidas organizadas () are formal (or informal) associations of football fans in Brazil in the same vein as '' barras bravas'' in the rest of Latin America, ''hooligan firms'' in United Kingdom and '' ultras'' in the rest of Europe, Asia, ...

of Mitrovica, Shqiponjat of KF Besa Pejë, etc.),

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

( Ballistët of Tetovo, Ilirët of

Kumanovo Kumanovo ( mk, Куманово ; also known by other alternative names) is a city in North Macedonia and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the largest municipality in the country. Kumanovo lies above sea level and is surrounded by the Kar ...

, Shvercerat of

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

, etc.) and in Albania itself ( Ultras Guerrils of

Partizani Tirana Futboll Klub Partizani, or FK Partizani for short, is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's current ...

, Tirona Fanatics of

KF Tirana Klubi i Futbollit Tirana (KF Tirana) is an Albanian 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 ...

, Vllaznit Ultras of Vllaznia Shkodër and many other different Albanian fans). The TKZ have been praised by many different football players and managers, whom were not just Albanian. Switzerland's former coach,

Ottmar Hitzfeld Ottmar Hitzfeld (; born 12 January 1949) is a German former professional football player ( striker) and manager. He accumulated a total of 18 major titles, mostly in his tenures with Grasshopper Club Zürich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. ...

was astonished by how many Albanian fans turned up and how enthusiastic they were in

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group E The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group E was a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), UEFA qualifying group for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Norway national football team, Norway, Slovenia national football team, Sloven ...

between

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

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 share ...

on 11 September 2012 in

Swissporarena Swissporarena is a multi-use stadium in Lucerne, Switzerland, completed in 2011. It is used mostly for football matches and hosts the home matches of FC Luzern of the Swiss Super League. The stadium has a capacity of 16,800 spectators, inclu ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...

, where the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

won 2–0 thanks to goals from

Gökhan Inler Gökhan İnler (born 27 June 1984) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Adana Demirspor. İnler began his professional career with FC Basel and later joined FC Aarau and FC Zürich, winning the Swiss Sup ...

and Kosovo-born

Xherdan Shaqiri Xherdan Shaqiri (; born 10 October 1991) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire and the Switzerland national team. Shaqiri began his career at FC Basel, winning honours including ...

. He didn't believe that there were 12,000 Albanian fans in the stands which was more than how many Swiss fans turned up for the game. He stated ''Albanian fans are fantastic and the most passionate fans I have ever seen''. Hitzfeld: Jam i mahnitur nga Shqiptarët, dua ta vizitoj vendin tuaj
Albania Online Revista During that campaign, TKZ attended all games Albania played apart from a match against

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaori ...

and were also large in numbers in the away games to

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

where Albania lost 1–0 and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, 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 ...

where Albania won 1–0 thanks to a stunning goal by

Hamdi Salihi Hamdi Abdullah Salihi (born 19 January 1984) is an Albanian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. He is the assistant manager of Albania. Nicknamed 'The Bomber' by his former international coach Otto Barić who would compare ...

References

External links

Tifozat Kuq e Zi

Tifozat Kuq e Zi
at

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{{Albania national football team Albania national football teams Association football supporters' associations