for Finland U19 on 7 September 2004 for a match against Sweden in Vihti. He made four appearances in the U19 team and scored two goals. Hetemaj made his debut for the U21 side on 13 April 2005 against Estonia. Hetemaj, along with his brother Mehmet, was called up to represent Finland at the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and he played in all the three matches which Finland played. Senior Hetemaj made his senior debut for Finland as an 84th-minute substitute against Japan on 4 February 2009 in a 5–1 loss. He gained his first UEFA European Championship qualifying game on 3 June 2011 when Mixu Paatelainen chose him to the starting line up against San Marino. On 26 May 2012, he scored his first national goal—a last-minute goal—against Turkey in a friendly match, which assured a 3−2 victory for Finland. Përparim Hetemaj was part of Finland squad in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. Thus, despite having a chance to switch to represent Kosovo, his Finland cap in the qualification effectively locked him to represent Finland only. His brother Mehmet played once for Kosovo before the Football Federation of Kosovo became a member of UEFA and FIFA. However, he also lost the eligibility for Kosovo after played for Finland after Kosovo became a member. On 8 January 2018, Hetemaj announced that he would retire from international duty. Outside football Charity work As of 2015, Hetemaj occasionally helps football club of his birthplace, Drenica, and he usually helps with different monetary means as well as technical means. Career statistics Club International Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hetemaj goal. Honours HJK Helsinki Veikkausliiga: 2022 Finnish Cup: 2006 Benevento Serie B: 2019-20 Finland Baltic Cup runner-up: 2012; third place: 2014 References External links Perparim Hetemaj at A.C. ChievoVerona Perparim Hetemaj – SPL competition record 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Skenderaj Kosovan emigrants to Finland Naturalized citizens of Finland Association football midfielders Finnish footballers Finland international footballers Finland under-21 international footballers Kosovan footballers Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players Klubi 04 players AEK Athens F.C. players Apollon Pontou FC players FC Twente players Brescia Calcio players A.C. ChievoVerona players Benevento Calcio players Reggina 1914 players Veikkausliiga players Super League Greece players Serie A players Serie B players Finnish expatriate footballers Kosovan expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Greece Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Kosovan expatriate sportspeople