Sport pigeon racing/ A tradition that continues to unite enthusiasts in the Korça region

2026-05-03 11:19:00, Qyteti im CNA

Sport pigeon racing/ A tradition that continues to unite enthusiasts in the

A tradition inherited over the years continues to gather dozens of passionate pigeon racing enthusiasts in the Korça region. The association, established in 2003, is holding its competitions on a national scale, attracting participants from different cities in the country and turning this passion into a well-organized activity.

The head of the association, Olgert Kafazi, says that the love for this sport has been inherited from generation to generation, while for four years now, competitions have been held at the national level.

"This association was created in 2003 by the founders of this association who are now adults and have inherited it as a culture and we move forward. I have been involved in pigeon racing for 16 years, but in the last 4 years it has started to be played at the Albanian level where all associations participate, from Vlora, Tirana, Korça and so on ," said the head of the Association.

The race is divided into three stages, short, medium and long distances. Each pigeon is equipped with an identification chip and the ranking is determined through a computer program that records the arrival in real time.

"Pigeons are qualified and disqualified by a computer program using a chip that each pigeon has with a code, and the moment this pigeon arrives at the nest, the delivery is made online," Kafazi said.

In the last race, around 450 pigeons started from the Korça region, while the route this time was Pristina, at a distance of approximately 240 kilometers.

"It is the third race we are doing. We started from 130 kilometers and now we are in Pristina which is approximately 240 kilometers. The pigeons are released in the morning around 7:30-08:00. In 2 hours and 30 minutes the pigeons must reach their destination ," he said.

For veterans of this sport, like Seladin Mema, the passion remains unchanged even after decades.

"I have been dealing with pigeons for 60 years, since I was a child. I have had a passion for them, I enjoy them, I treat them properly. I used to keep simple pigeons, while now I have sports pigeons, racing pigeons, they have an unprecedented adrenaline rush ," said Mema.

After 15 years of emigration to the United States, Mema returned to Albania to rekindle this passion.

"I was in America for 15 years, now I came back and started again from scratch. I have a lot of trophies. Now I have 60 racing pigeons," he added.

Even in Pogradec, interest in this activity is growing, especially among young people. Sotiraq Vesho says that the work of preparing pigeons begins in the first months of their life.

"We are from Pogradec. The more we are, the better it becomes. There are many young people who join, now we are trying to reduce costs. The young birds that we take out in December, we get identification rings and we start raising them. When they are 3 months old, we train them from the beginning in small kilometers and we continue to increase them", said Vesho.

However, alongside passion, the association's members also face difficulties.

"The problems we have encountered are numerous, from the moment we take the pigeons to the border, where the state has not given us the necessary favors in terms of procedures, but the biggest problem is the hunters. They have even come to us with shotguns on their bodies, so I would appeal that this does not happen again ," said the head of the association, Olgert Kafazi.

Through this activity, pigeon racing enthusiasts aim to preserve an ancient tradition and further develop this sport throughout the country. /CNA