Kosovo has been voted a member of FIFA with 141 votes for and 23 votes against during the 66th FIFA Congress held in Mexico City today. The vote gives a green light to the country’s national team to compete in the qualifiers for the World Cup to be held in Russia in 2018.

“This is a very important moment. The players will welcome the decision,” said the President of the Football Federation of Kosovo Fadil Vokrri in front of the Congress. As soon as it was declared that 86% of the members voted for Kosovo’s membership, the country’s flag was revealed signalling its entry into the global football league.

Kosovo’s admittance to FIFA comes a week after the federation was admitted to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).

Similarly to Kosovo, Gibraltar was also admitted to FIFA immediately after Kosovo, with 172 votes for and only 12 against.