Palokë Nikaj (1892–1961) was a 20th-century Albanian athlete, sports events organizer, footballer, referee, and sports journalist. His pioneering activities in sports made him one of the most notable figures in organized sports in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. He is recognized as one of the most important initiators of the creation of

KF Vllaznia Shkodër Klubi i Futbollit Vllaznia Shkodër, commonly known as Vllaznia is an Albanian football (soccer), 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 1 ...

, but he also helped create

KF Tirana Klubi i Futbollit Tirana is an Albanian professional football club based in the country's capital city, Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore, the top tier of Albanian football. The men's football club is part of the multi-discipli ...

, by being its first coach.

Life

Palokë Nika was born in 1892 in Gimaj, Shalë. In 1908, while pursuing a secondary college, he played at a local team in

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

, Italy. Later, he became the captain of ''Indipendenca Shkodër'', a local football team, located in Shkodër, Albania. In spring 1913, Indipendenca Shkodër played an unusual game against a selection of footballers of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Navy, which at that time was in

, in order to guarantee the borders of the newly created country. In 1919, Nika was one of the founders of

of which he was also captain and coach. In 1920, after having helped create the newly formed

, which he also coached, he initiated a friendly match between KF Tirana and Juventus Shkodër, which was a selection of players from Bashkimi Shkodran, later to be known as

. On June 13, 1920, Nika organized and won first place in the first public running competition of a 4200m distance in Shkodër, where 25 runners participated. One month later, on July 4, 1920,

Luigj Gurakuqi Luigj Gurakuqi (19 February 1879 – 2 March 1925), also called Louis Gurakuchi, was an Albanians, Albanian writer and politician. He was an important figure of the Albanian National Awakening and was honored with the People's Hero of Albania ...

organized again in Shkodër another public race, of 8 km distance, which was won by Nika. In 1923 Nika won a mini-marathon of 16 km in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...

. Nika organized in May 1920 the first biking event in Albania, a Shkodër-

Koplik Koplik (also known as Koplik i Poshtëm) is a town and former municipality in the northwestern tip of Albania. At the 2015 local government reform, it became a subdivision, and the seat of the municipality Malësi e Madhe. It was the seat of the ...

and return. In August 1920 he organized another race, Shkodër-Tirana. In 1925 he organized the first biking national tour for amateurs in Europe, a race of 1,000 km that would go through 14 Albanian cities. The race involved 25 bike runners. Nika was the main referee of the tour, besides being its sports director. The second tour of Albania occurred in 1936, and its sports director was again Nika. Nika was also a journalist. He published ''Gazeta e Sportit'' during 1925 and 1926.

Legacy

The municipality of Shkodër awards the "Paloke Nika Prize" to individuals (athletes and coaches) who leave a rich legacy in sports,Per miratimin e Rregullores “Për llojet e titujve te nderit, kriteret dhe proceduren e dhenies se tyre“. Vendim Nr. 35, datë 30.06.2014
/ref> while a street in his native city bears his name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nika, Paloke 1892 births 1961 deaths Sportspeople from Shkodër Footballers from Shkodër Albanian men's footballers Men's association football players not categorized by position KF Vllaznia Shkodër players Albanian football managers KF Vllaznia Shkodër managers KF Tirana managers Albanian male long-distance runners Albanian male cyclists Albanian journalists 20th-century journalists