The following information was obtained during a 16 October 1996 telephone interview with a representative of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in Geneva. According to the representative, prior to 1990 the Partizani football club was widely known as the "army club," and was regarded with a great deal of suspicion. The representative stated that the club was definitely linked to the Ministry of Defence and that its members would have delivered information to the Ministry of Defence. The Partizani club was considered the best football club in Albania as, due to the funding it received from the Ministry of Defence, it could hire the best players in the country. In this regard the Partizani club was considered by the UEFA to be professional, although the representative clarified that the Partizani club itself would have never admitted to being so. The representative added that to his knowledge the Partizani football club has been "more or less independent" since 1993-94, and that its association with the Ministry of Defence has not existed since that time.

The following information was obtained during a 10 October 1996 telephone interview with a representative of the Albanian Human Rights Group in Tirana. The representative indicated that prior to 1990 the Partizani football club "had a relationship" with the Ministry of Defence and that members of the Partizani club likely had family in or significant political connections with the communist party of Albania. Members of the Partizani football club travelled outside of Albania before 1990 and "delivered information" to the Ministry of Defence upon their return. The representative also stated that the Dinamo football club was connected to the Ministry of the Interior prior to 1990. She added, however, that links between football clubs and the Ministry of Defence or the Ministry of the Interior no longer exist today.

Also according to the representative, prior to 1990 the Tirana football club did not have the same relationship with either the Ministry of Defence or the Ministry of the Interior, as the Tirana club was "much more independent" and did not have as high a profile as the other two clubs. Members of the Tirana club did not necessarily have family in or political connections with the communist party of Albania.

During interviews held on 9 and 15 October 1996, a research associate with Human Rights Watch (HRW) in New York stated that prior to 1990 the Partizani football club was affiliated with the Ministry of Defence and the Dinamo football club with the Ministry of the Interior. The Dinamo and Partizani football clubs likely received funding from the two ministries, and members of the two clubs may have had family in or political connections with the communist party of Albania, but he doubted that these connections were required in order to play on the football teams. The research associate added that he did not believe these affiliations between football clubs and the ministries of Defence and Interior exist today.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below a list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Albanian Human Rights Group, Tirana. 10 October 1996. Telephone interview with representative.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), New York. 15 October 1996. Telephone interview with research associate.

_____. 9 October 1996. Interview with research associate.

Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Geneva. 16 October 1996. Telephone interview with representative.

Amnesty International country file.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1995.

Country-specific books on Albania.

DIRB country file: Albania.

DIRB and UNHCR databases.

Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States 1994.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily.

Internet searches.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge].

News from Helsinki Watch [New York].

On-line search of NEXIS news database.

OMRI Daily Digest [Prague].

Five additional oral sources contacted did not provide information on the requested subject.

Transition: Events and Issues in the Former Soviet Union and East-Central and Southeastern Europe [Prague].