FIFA gave a huge boost to Kosovo's push for international recognition by clearing its 208 member countries on Tuesday to begin playing friendlies against teams from the Balkan province.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he hoped the decision would ''accelerate'' Kosovo's campaign for full membership of football's governing bodies.
FIFA and European authority UEFA had previously blocked Kosovo's ambitions because the province's sovereignty has not been recognized by the United Nations. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.
''For me, it's a very important matter from the sports political point of view,'' Blatter said. He proposed the policy change to his executive committee at a meeting on Monday.
''We are not there to hinder to play football, we are there to open the doors to play football,'' Blatter said, adding that most of opposition to Kosovo's recognition within FIFA was from its European members, even though ''22 out of 27 members of the European Union have ties with Kosovo.''
Blatter said it's the game that matters, and added: ''I think it's just a logical gesture and it's also solidarity in football - let them play.''
Serbia's Football Association issued a strong protest to FIFA, and questioned whether the world body's statutes allowed members to play Kosovo.
Serbian officials said they will demand that the decision be retracted.
UEFA has eight votes on the 24-member FIFA ruling panel. It abstained from Monday's Kosovo vote.
''It's very political,'' UEFA President Michel Platini told The Associated Press. ''It's still against the statutes of European football.''
Blatter has accepted Platini's invitation to address the issue at an already scheduled meeting of Europe's 53 football nations on Wednesday.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke emphasized the decision to allow Kosovo to play internationally has no political meaning.
''It's recognition that it's a country where you play football,'' Valcke told the AP. ''It gives them credibility. They were concerned that their players were taken away by clubs in other countries.''
Several Kosovo-born players have settled in Switzerland after their families fled wars that tore former Yugoslavia apart during the 1990s. Many have since played on their adopted country's national team.
Xherdan Shaqiri, who's 20, will join Champions League finalist Bayern Munich from FC Basel next month. Valon Behrami was one of Switzerland's star players at the 2010 World Cup.
FIFA rules allow for players with Kosovo connections to transfer national allegiance if the country gets full international recognition.
Kosovo has sought support with international sports federations in its official push for statehood.
