"Juban Danja" turns 20/ The first girls' football team celebrates its anniversary

2025-09-07 15:34:00, Sport CNA

"Juban Danja" turns 20/ The first girls' football team celebrates

Two decades ago, in a small village in Shkodra called Juban, girls' football first started in Albania. "Juban Danja" is the team founded by Ferdinand Jaku in Guri i Zi, an area with history and tradition, which celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Ferdinand Jaku, president of Juban Danja, said that at first he did not think that girls' football in the country would reach this size.

" It all started 20 years ago with my family. In fact, it was more from the majority of girls and women in my house. From there it started initially as an idea and then we decided to organize ourselves differently by starting the formation of the Juban Danja football team, which is the first girls' team in Albania. Initially, I did not think that girls' football in the country would then take the dimensions it has today and I am very happy that you are among the first to take the step for this by giving life to girls' football. Today, after 20 years, of course, it is a great emotion and a source of pride for all of us and we are celebrating that significant date. Initially, we were a rival team and we have developed good championships to the point that in 2011 we managed to win the Albanian Cup and I believe that was the highlight for us. We have not had a first team for several years now for various reasons, but this does not mean that Juban Danja no longer exists because we continue with age-group teams. Many of our players have "going to Vllaznia or even other teams ," said Jaku.

Emotionally, Loreta Jaku and Agetina Marku, two of the first players in the Juban Danja lineup, talk about the challenges and how they overcame the prejudices of the time to play football.

Loreta Jaku, former Juban Danja footballer, tells how she started her career on the girls' team.

"I joined Juban Danja after an invitation from Ferdinand Jaku. I came and started playing and I was very happy that we had a regular team. In fact, I was 20 years old at the time but I played football even before that with the church's Catechism group. I have played since I was little even though it was actually a taboo at the time. My family allowed me and supported me but there have been other girls and there are still today who have problems and are prejudiced even by their own families, facing difficulties. We have had some successes as a team with trophies and beautiful championships as a rival team. Today there are fewer girls due to immigration but the quality is greater nowadays compared to our time. I am proud that I am still part of the team as a coach. I congratulate Juban Danja on this 20th anniversary", said Jaku.

Agetina Marku, former Juban Danja footballer, says she was 15 years old when she started her football career at the Shkodran club.

" I was 15 years old when I first started. I had never played football before and when I came to Juban Danja I started training and playing for the first time. It was a great pleasure for me. I want to tell the girls today to get involved in football because it is a beautiful thing and sport helps them a lot in their development. They have been beautiful years and we have experienced many emotions. I want to wish my team many more years", said Marku

The "Juban Danja" team has also been a help to the Vllaznia team over the years.

President of Vllaznia for Girls, Lazër Matija, said that the "Juban Danja" team has been a help to the club he leads.

"It is a pleasure for me to be here today. It is true that Juban Danja is the first girls' team in Albania. We have had a lot of rivalry with this team for several years, first when we had Ada and then as President of Vllaznia. I believe that this rivalry has served football as a whole and today I am not happy that Juban no longer has an adult team and I hope it will be restored as soon as possible. Girls' football, unlike boys who have much more investment, support and everything else, has much greater difficulties. From Juban Danja but also other Albanian teams, Vllaznia has had very good players. In recent years we have had an excellent cooperation with Juban and it has supplied us through the chain of teams it has. I wish it much success in this 29th anniversary", said Matija.

The girls of "Juban Danja" have now also touched the international market, such as Alma Hilaj who plays in Italy. "Juban Danja" has not had an adult team for several years as before due to economic difficulties, but this club continues to exist with age teams./ CNA