Kosovo faces a further wait before finding out where and when its football teams can start playing friendly matches with FIFA's 209 member countries.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter explained his support for Kosovo on Thursday at a meeting with officials from Serbia and European football authority UEFA, which want to block the Balkan province's acceptance into the world's most popular sport.
FIFA said in a statement that the ''next steps'' for Kosovo football ''will be further discussed with all relevant parties.''
FIFA's executive committee, which voted last week to lift a ban on its members facing Kosovo's national and clubs teams, is scheduled to meet on June 29 in Zurich.
Kosovo has been out of world football since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008, because its sovereignty has not been recognized by the United Nations.
Blatter said last week he hoped that FIFA's decision would ''accelerate'' Kosovo's campaign for full membership of football's governing bodies.
The move was later criticized as ''political'' by UEFA President Michel Platini.
UEFA statutes require member countries to have UN recognition, and Platini said FIFA pushed through a policy change without consultation.
Still, Blatter insisted that, ''We are not there to hinder to play football, we are there to open the doors to play football.''
He backed his stance by stressing that ''22 out of 27 members of the European Union have ties with Kosovo.''
Some European countries are concerned that Kosovo gaining full statehood could fuel independence movements in their own regions.
