The extraordinary Fatmire Bajramaj

Steffi Jones, herself once a world-class player, compares her with Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi. You really can’t get much better praise than that. And yet Fatmire Bajramaj is not awestruck, but simply has to laugh out loud, before dutifully explaining that she is naturally honoured to be mentioned in the same breath as the World Player of the Year 2009.

At 22, Fatmire Bajramaj is still only at the beginning of her playing career, but she is already a World Cup winner, European champion, and Olympic bronze medallist. “Lira sets the alarm bells ringing when the other side is already flagging,” says German coach Silvia Neid. That’s what happened at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing when she was substituted in the 62nd minute of the third place playoff against Japan and secured the bronze medal for the German team by scoring two goals.

Fatmire Bajramaj is an extraordinary young woman. At the age of five she fled Kosovo for Germany with her family. The beginnings were difficult and poverty was a constant companion. Nobody wanted to talk to her at the kindergarten, but Fatmire Bajramaj – called simply Lira by her mother – eventually found her feet. She played football – initially, against her father’s wishes (“I was his princess and he would much rather have seen me acting, singing or dancing”), later with his support (“Today he’s my biggest fan and at the same time my biggest critic”). Her exceptional talent took her into the Bundesliga with FCR 2001 Duisburg. She was U-19 European champion, debuted with the German national a-team at 17 and became the first Muslim female national player.

Fatmire Bajramaj © dpa

The media literally pounced on her because she combined sporting skill and feminine charm. They wanted to know more about the former refugee child who now serves as a soldier in the Bundeswehr sport support group in Warendorf. Fatmire Bajramaj also wanted to give something back. When she published her autobiography Mein TorTor
“Tor” is a goal in football.  A “Tor” is also the massive entrance to a castle residence, the ruins of which can be found scattered throughout Germany’s villages. ins Leben – vom Flüchtling zur Weltmeisterin (My Goal in Life – from Refugee to World Champion) in October 2009, she said she wanted it to encourage other refugees and migrants who had been less fortunate than her. “I want to show them that you can accomplish something if you believe in yourself and have a strong will.”

She first gained recognition through football. After running up in the German championship four times, a DFB Cup win and victory in the UEFA Women’s Cup with FCR 2001 Duisburg, at the beginning of the 2009/2010 season Lira Bajramaj transferred to 1st FFC Turbine Potsdam with whom she wants to win the German championship and the Champions League. Together with her best friend Anja Mittag, also a national player, she plays in attack for the “Turbines” and lives in Potsdam separated from her parents and brothers, who have remained near Mönchengladbach, for the first time since their flight together from Kosovo.

Lira Bajramaj is frequently described as a successful example of integration and is considered a role model by many young girls. She is one of the great hopes for the 2011 Women’s World Cup. In 2010 she is making a commitment as ambassador of the EU Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. “I go to schools where there are large numbers of foreigners’ children. Many children who fled from Kosovo experienced worse things than I did. I want to show them that you mustn’t think in false categories, but have to listen to your heart.”