Venue of Albania’s match against Israel changed ‘for security reasons’

The Albanian soccer federation says the venue for the country's World Cup qualifying match against Israel has been changed for "security reasons."

Saturday's match had been scheduled to be held at the Loro Borici Stadium in Shkoder, 120 kilometers (80 miles) north of the capital, Tirana. It has been changed to the Elbasan Arena, 55 kilometers (30 miles) south of Tirana in Elbasan.

Federation spokesman Tritan Kokona declined to comment on the reason for the change.

The decision follows media reports yesterday that an alleged terror group had planned an attack during the match.

The prosecutor's office declined to comment on an ongoing investigation.