Zekirija Ramadani

Zekirija Ramadani (Macedonian: Зекирија Рамадани; born 21 January 1978) is a Macedonian professional football coach and former player of Albanian descent who most recently was the manager of Kosovan club Drita. He has won the Kosovo Superleague as a manager five times with four different clubs.

Date of birth 21 January 1978 (age 48)

Place of birth Skopje, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia (now North Macedonia)

Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)

Position Defender

Quick facts Personal information, Date of birth ...

Zekirija Ramadani
Personal information
Date of birth	(1978-01-21) 21 January 1978 (age 48)
Place of birth	Skopje, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia (now North Macedonia)
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position	Defender
Youth career
1995–1999	Shkëndija Haraçinë
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2004	Sloga Jugomagnat	104	(11)
2004–2005	Bashkimi	21	(2)
2005	Vëllazërimi 77	12	(0)
2005	Dinamo Tirana	1	(0)
2005-2007	Belasitsa Petrich	25	(1)
2006	→ Rabotnički (loan)	4	(1)
2007–2008	Besa Kavajë	23	(0)
2008–2009	Qarabağ	15	(0)
2009–2010	Shkëndija	0	(0)
2010	Vardar	2	(0)
2010–2011	Flamurtari	15	(0)
Total		222	(15)
International career
2001–2004	Macedonia	6	(0)
Managerial career
2014–2015	Shkupi
2016	Flamurtari
2017	Trepça'89
2017	Feronikeli
2018	Shkupi
2018–2019	Feronikeli
2020–2021	Prishtina
2021–2022	Egnatia
2023	Ohod
2023–2026	Drita
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

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Club career

Ramadani began his professional career at Sloga Jugomagnat, where he played from 1999 to 2004. During his time with the Skopje-based club, he featured in European competitions, including the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds in 2000 and 2001, as well as the UEFA Cup qualifying phase.^[1]

Following his stint at Sloga, Ramadani moved to Bashkimi for the 2004–05 season, followed by short spells at Vëllazërimi 77 and Albanian side Dinamo Tirana. In 2005, he transferred to the Bulgarian club Belasitsa Petrich, where he spent two seasons. During the summer of 2006, he returned to North Macedonia on loan to Rabotnički, making appearances in the UEFA Cup qualifiers.^[2]

In January 2007, Ramadani returned to Belasitsa Petrich before moving to the Albanian Superliga club Besa Kavajë later that year. He was a key part of the Besa squad that competed in the UEFA Intertoto Cup and the UEFA Cup qualifiers. In 2008, he signed with the Azerbaijani club Qarabağ, where he won the Azerbaijan Cup in the 2008–09 season.^[3] He concluded his playing career in 2011 after a season with Flamurtari in Vlorë.

International career

Ramadani made his senior debut for the Macedonia national team on 26 July 2000 in a friendly match against Azerbaijan. He earned a total of 7 caps for his country between 2000 and 2004. His final international appearance came on 27 January 2004 in a friendly match against China.^[4]

Managerial career

Early career and success in Kosovo

Ramadani began his managerial career in 2014 with the Macedonian club Shkupi, where he served two stints (2014–2015 and 2018).^[5] Between these spells, he briefly managed the Albanian club Flamurtari Vlorë in early 2016.

In 2017, Ramadani took charge of Trepça '89 in the Kosovo Superleague. He led the club to its first-ever league title in the 2016–17 season, making history as the first manager to guide a Kosovan club into UEFA Champions League qualifying.^[6] Following this success, he joined Feronikeli in 2018. During the 2018–19 campaign, Ramadani won his second Kosovo Superleague title, along with the Kosovar Cup and Supercup, completing a domestic treble.^[7]

Ramadani was appointed manager of Prishtina in September 2020. In the 2020–21 season, he guided the capital club to their first league title in eight years, securing his third championship with a third different club in Kosovo.^[8] After leaving Prishtina, he managed Egnatia in the Kategoria Superiore (2021–2022) and Gjilani (2022–2023).

Ohod

On 20 June 2023, Ramadani moved to Saudi Arabia to manage the First Division side Ohod Club.^[9] His tenure was brief, and he departed the club in September 2023.

Drita

On 30 November 2023, Ramadani returned to the Kosovo Superleague, signing a one-and-a-half-year contract with Drita.^[10] In his second season, he led Drita to the 2024–25 Kosovo Superleague title, marking his fourth league championship in Kosovo with four different teams.

This title victory qualified Drita for the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League. On 28 August 2025, Ramadani's side secured a historic qualification for the League Phase after defeating the Luxembourgish champions Differdange 03 in the play-off round.^[11] He became only the second manager, after Ilir Daja, to reach the group/league stage of a UEFA competition with a Kosovan club.

During the League Phase, Ramadani achieved a notable away victory on 6 November 2025, defeating Shelbourne FC 1–0 at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin.^[12] Following additional positive results, including a win against Shkëndija and draws against KuPS and Omonia Nicosia, Drita finished the phase with 8 points, qualifying for the knockout phase play-offs.^[13] They lost 6-4 on aggregate against Celje.^[14]

After winning the 2025-26 Football Superleague of Kosovo -his second league title with Drita, and his fifth overall-, his team lost against FK Kauno Zalgiris in the first qualifying round of the 2026-27 UEFA Champions League. Despite winning against Floriana F.C. in the extra-time in the second qualifying round of the 2026-27 UEFA Conference League, Ramadani left Drita on 31 July 2026. ^[15]