After the field at the “Shën Prenda” Parish, another investment by the Football Association has been inaugurated in Shkodër. As part of the important “100 Fields” project, a new artificial turf field has been inaugurated in Shtoj, a joint investment by the AFA and the “Soccer Star” academy. The inauguration ceremony was attended by the President of the AFA, Armand Duka, one of the representatives of the “Soccer Star” academy, Agim Zani, the chairman of SHRF Shkodër, Lazër Matija, as well as representatives of football in Shkodër, media representatives, and children from the area.
In his speech at this event, President Duka praised the collaboration with the “Soccer Star” academy and expressed his hope that, in the future, Shkodër would produce more football players.
“It is a pleasure for me to be at the inauguration of the field in Shtoj. This field will serve the training of all the children in the area. It is the best example of cooperation between the Football Association and a private Academy. What we can offer to the children to get involved in our sport is infrastructure and qualified coaches, which we have. We are the only Association in the world that finances the sportswear that the children are wearing today and the footballs. As long as the children have the desire, we have everything else, and football will move forward. I thank Gimi, Lazeri as the chairman of SHRF Shkodër for the cooperation and all of you. I hope we will have more and more football players in Shkodër.
Among other things, President Duka said that Shkodër needs more training fields to provide better training conditions for this region and for the city to be one of the hosts of the U-21 European Championship finals. “The project here is even bigger. We will need to start the natural grass field as soon as possible because it is one of the requirements to host matches for the 2027 European Championship in Shkodër. If we don’t have at least one field for training, it will be impossible to play in Shkodër, as was the case in the Euro U-17 2025 matches, because in Shkodër we did not have a field that meets the criteria for natural grass. The sooner we start the new field to serve the academy and the children, but also the other important goal, the development of the U-21 European Championship, Shkodër should not be excluded from the map.
Meanwhile, I hope that we will also start the project with the Municipality that we have initiated at the “Zmijani” Sports Complex, to transform it into a modern complex with all the necessary conditions, where there will be both a natural and an artificial field. I believe we are on the right track, and we will need cooperation with everyone, with the private sector, the municipality, and the Association, to create the best possible conditions,” -said President Duka.
The Chairman of SHRF Shkodër, Lazër Matija, present at this special ceremony, welcomed the investment and emphasized that this field serves the children of the city. “On behalf of SHRF Shkodër, this field is thanks to Gimi’s investment and the support of the AFA. It is an investment that is not made simply for business purposes, but for the community. Every field built in the territory of Shkodër serves the future and these children,” -said Lazër Matija, the chairman of SHRF Shkodër.
The new field in Shtoj provides a high-quality space for training, meeting the highest standards for artificial turf fields. This investment by the Football Association is expected to have a significant impact on the local sports community, giving the youth of Shkodër more opportunities to engage in football.
