President of the Albanian Football Association, Armand Duka, was invited to the panel “The Albanian Diaspora and the Power of Sport”, held as part of the Albanian Diaspora Summit in Tirana on April 13–15, 2026.
The panel also included two former captains of the Albanian national team, Altin Lala and Lorik Cana, as well as the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Endrit Hoxha, who discussed the role of the Albanian diaspora in the development of sport and football.
During his speech, President of the Association emphasized the importance of investment and relations with Albanians living abroad, underlining that the diaspora is a major potential for the development of Albanian football.
President Duka stressed that the results of the national team have significantly influenced the growth of interest and the strengthening of ties with Albanians worldwide. He mentioned as key moments Albania’s qualification for Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, which have also positively impacted the promotion of the country’s image.
He further emphasized that the development of football is not only linked to sporting results, but also to the impact sport has on education and youth inclusion. He also praised the role of Albanian fans, describing them as extraordinary support for the national team.
The discussion also addressed the role of sport in international diplomacy, where President Duka stated that Albanian footballers have been important ambassadors of the country in many parts of the world.
Investments and the role of the diaspora in football development
“It is a very special pleasure for me to be in this distinguished panel with the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Endrit Hoxha, and two very important figures of Albanian football, two former captains, both former players, Altin Lala and Lorik Cana. To return to the topic you raised, the investments we need to make so that Albanians living around the world can become a potential force in the development of sport in Albania.
It is truly a kind of circle where everything supports everything else. You need results to create positive examples and to attract and inspire more people, because I am very sure that many children and young people, sons of Albanians living in different countries, have been inspired by Lorik Cana, by Altin Lala, and also by the results of the national team.
The results of the Albanian national team, especially the qualification for Euro 2016 and Euro 2024, as well as the current playoff qualification, have served the overall Albanian national cause. We may have needed to show who we are, and the national team has given us that opportunity. What we need now is to invest in creating better conditions for this national team, but also for football in Albania to go higher.
Things in Albania have changed significantly in many aspects. We are a country that has gone through a transition period, with major challenges, and today we are quite developed and can think even more about improving quality of life. And how is quality of life improved? One way is through sport and football. In my vision, the goal of football is not only to achieve results, but also to educate as many people as possible through sport. But to have more people, you need results—so it is indeed a circle.
As a Football Association, I believe we have done a lot to achieve this objective. We have built a very good relationship with Albanians living outside Albania. Today, not only the national team but also youth national teams include players who were perhaps born outside Albania. Investments in the country, in relationships, and in results are the most necessary and essential things to move forward.
Relationship with fans
In football they call it the “12th player”, but in Albania you could say even more than that, because they support football so passionately. It is not a problem to fill stadiums for the national team; the problem is how to provide tickets for everyone. This shows that a very good job has been done in bringing fans closer, especially to the national team.
Diplomacy through sport
States invest heavily in diplomacy to represent themselves well through embassies and officials to improve their image. Fortunately, in football we do not have this difficulty, because we have ambassadors all over the world. With all due respect to diplomats, I do not think that Albania’s image in Germany, for example, has been raised more by anyone than by Altin Lala, or others like him, or Lorik Cana and many other players.
We have many ambassadors in football, but what we must do is institutionalize these relationships, organize them, and use this gift we have through footballers during and after their careers. Everything must be done in an organized way to further improve the image of Albanian football and Albania itself.
The De Biasi era
De Biasi is truly a beautiful story of Albanian football. He was the coach of the national team, Lorik Cana’s coach when Lorik was captain in Euro 2016. We continue to have a very good relationship with De Biasi and great respect for him. But football is a collective game—neither De Biasi, nor Lorik, nor Duka, nor Altin alone can take Albania to the Euros or win matches. Only when we are all together can we succeed.
We have never had the highest level of individual stars like Messi or Ronaldo, but we have always had a positive atmosphere and a strong group. Whenever we have united our energies—not only the players and staff, but also the Association, the government, and the fans—we have achieved positive results. Football is like that. We hope for even better in the future.”
