Albania Braces for Partizan Belgrade's 'Historic' Return

Albania's Elbasan Arena stadium on Thursday night will host a "historic" football match when Serbian team Partizan Belgrade play in the country for the first time in 30 years.

Both Partizan Belgrade and Skanderbeu Korca have qualified for the Europa League 2017-2018 championship.

Partizan last played in Albania in September 1987, when they lost to Albanian team Flamurtari Vlora in the European competition.

Albanian fans hope Skenderbeu will repeat that slice of history - but they are going to be alone in the Elbasan stadium, since both the teams and EUFA have decided not to allow Serbian fans to come.

The same rule will apply for Albanian fans when Skenderbeu play in Belgrade in the second-leg match.

Tension between Serbs and Albanians in the Balkans remains high, especially over the hot issue of the former Serbian province of Kosovo, whose mainly Albanian population declared independence in 2008.

In the now notorious October 2014 match between the Serbia and Albania national teams, a drone flew over the pitch carrying a 'Greater Albania' flag, causing chaos both on the pitch and off.

Partizan in a statement warned fans not to try to buy tickets for the game, saying that if they did show up, they would seriously damage the club's chances.

The club said that another "incident could cost us a lot, even meaning that we are kicked out of European competitions".

The coaches of the two teams during a press conference in Tirana on Wednesday said they wanted to focus on good football, not on politics.

However, strong security measures are still being imposed for the Thursday match in Elbasan, where 221 police will be deployed to ensure safety.

Many streets will be blocked off while shops will not be allowed...