Ismajl Beka

Ismajl Beka
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-10-31) 31 October 1999
Place of birth Frauenfeld, Switzerland
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Grasshopper
Number 30
Youth career
–2016 Wil
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Wil U21 47 (6)
2018–2020 Wil 7 (0)
2020–2022 Rapperswil-Jona 44 (5)
2022 Wil 6 (1)
2022–2026 Luzern 35 (1)
2025 Luzern II 11 (0)
2026– Grasshopper 0 (0)
International career‡
2017–2018 Kosovo U19 5 (0)
2023– Kosovo 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:30, 23 December 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 12 September 2023

Ismajl Beka (born 31 October 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Swiss Super League side Grasshopper. Born in Switzerland, he plays for the Kosovo national team.[1]

Club career

Rapperswil-Jona

On 10 February 2020, Beka signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with Swiss Promotion League club Rapperswil-Jona.[2] After the transfer, his debut and the league was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic. His debut with Rapperswil-Jona came on 6 August in the 2019–20 Swiss Cup quarter-final against Sion after being named in the starting line-up.[3] His league debut with Rapperswil-Jona came nine days later in a 1–1 away draw against Bellinzona after being named in the starting line-up.[4] Four days after league debut, he scored his first goal for Rapperswil-Jona in his third appearance for the club in a 2–1 home win over Breitenrain Bern in Swiss Promotion League.[5]

Return to Wil

On 10 June 2022, Beka signed a two-year contract with Swiss Challenge League club Wil.[6] His debut with Wil came on 17 July in a 2–0 home win against Neuchâtel Xamax after being named in the starting line-up.[7] Fourteen days after debut, he scored his first goal for Wil in his third appearance for the club in a 2–0 home win over Vaduz in Swiss Challenge League.[8]

Luzern

On 31 August 2022, Beka signed a three-year contract with Swiss Super League club Luzern and received squad number 30.[9] His debut with Luzern came four days later in a 0–2 home defeat against Servette after coming on as a substitute at 69th minute in place of Leny Meyer.[10] He made two further appearances from the bench in 2022.[1] For the second half of the season he became a fixed starter in Luzern's defense, missing just one game due to yellow card accumulation. His upward trajectory was abruptly cut short on 8 October 2023, when he was substituted due to injury after 55 minutes in a league match against Lausanne-Sport.[11] The club later confirmed that he had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and would miss the remainder of the season.[12] Despite the injury, his contract was renewed on 15 December 2023 until summer 2026.[13]

He returned to Luzern's matchday squad more than a year later in December 2024, but remained an unused substitute.[1] His return to was delayed further on 31 January 2025, when he suffered a metatarsal bone fracture in training, sidelining him for at least a further two months.[14] He finally made his return in the final games of the 2024–25 season, making three appearances.[1]

Grasshopper

On 23 December 2025, Grasshopper announced that they had signed Beka as of 1 January 2026 for an undisclosed fee.[15] He was nominated to the starting lineup in the first league match after the winter break. Unfortunately, his debut for the Swiss record champions ended with him being sent off following a high-boot challenge in the 90th minute of a 1–3 home loss to FC Thun.[16][17]

International career

Youth

On 1 October 2017, Beka was named as part of the Kosovo U19 squad for 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifications.[18] His debut came two days later in a 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification match against Austria U19 after being named in the starting line-up.[19]

On 4 October 2018, Beka received a call-up from Kosovo U21 for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against Israel U21,[20] he was an unused substitute in that match.

Senior

In August 2023, Beka received his first call-up to the Kosovo senior national team by head coach Primož Gliha, for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Switzerland and Romania.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Ismajl Beka at Soccerway
  2. ^ "FCRJ mit vier Neuen im Kader" [FCRJ with four new players in the squad] (in German). Telegrafi. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Rapperswil-Jona vs. Sion 1–2". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  4. ^ "AC Bellinzona – FC Rapperswil-Jona (Promotion League 2020/2021, 1. Round)". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  5. ^ "FC Rapperswil-Jona – FC Breitenrain Bern (Promotion League 2020/2021, 2. Round)". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Ammeter und Beka stossen zum FC Wil 1900" [Ammeter and Beka join FC Wil 1900] (in German). FC Wil. 10 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Ein Sieg zum Saisonstart" [A win to start the season] (in German). FC Wil. 18 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Drei Punkte nach Leistungssteigerung" [Three points after performance increase] (in German). FC Wil. 1 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Neuer Innenverteidiger" [New centre-back] (in German). FC Luzern. 31 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Niederlage gegen Servette" [Loss to Servette] (in German). FC Luzern. 4 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Nach Beka-Schock geht Luzern unter" (in Swiss High German). Blick. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Voraussichtliches Saisonende für Ismajl Beka" [Probable season end for Ismajl Beka] (in Swiss High German). FC Luzern. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  13. ^ "Der FC Luzern und Ismajl Beka verlängern Vertrag vorzeitig" [FC Luzern and Ismajl Beka extend contract early] (in Swiss High German). FC Luzern. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  14. ^ "Ismajl Beka erleidet Mittelfussfraktur" [Ismajl Beka suffers metatarsal fracture] (in Swiss High German). FC Luzern. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  15. ^ "GC Zürich verpflichtet Ismajl Beka" (in Swiss High German). Grasshopper Club Zurich. 23 December 2025. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  16. ^ "GC unterliegt dem FC Thun mit 1:3" (in Swiss High German). Grasshopper Club Zurich. 18 January 2026. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  17. ^ "Zwei Spielsperren für Mambwa und Beka" (in Swiss High German). Swiss Football League. 19 January 2026. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
  18. ^ "Kombëtarja U19 udhëtoi për në Austri" [National U19 team traveled to Austria] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 1 October 2017.
  19. ^ "Humbje minimale e Kombëtares U-19 përballë Austrisë" [Minimal defeat of national U19 team against Austria] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 3 October 2017.
  20. ^ "Prekazi publikon listën e futbollistëve për ndeshjen kundër Izraelit" [Prekazi publishes the list of footballers for the match against Israel] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 4 October 2018. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Përzgjedhësi Gliha publikon listën e futbollistëve për ndeshjet e shtatorit" [Selector Gliha publishes the list of footballers for the September matches] (in Albanian). Football Federation of Kosovo. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Publikohet lista e Kombëtares së Kosovës për ndeshjet e shtatorit". Kosova Press (in Albanian). 31 August 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
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