IOC grants provisional recognition to Kosovo Olympic Committee

Lausanne, Oct 22, 2014: The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today granted provisional recognition to the Kosovo Olympic Committee and proposed that the NOC be granted full recognition at the next IOC Session to be held in December in Monaco.

The NOC of Kosovo was established in 1992 and has more than 30 affiliated National Federations (NFs), 13 of which are Olympic sports federations. Of these, six* are full members of their respective International Federations (IFs), while the other seven** are provisional or associate members of their respective IFs.

The EB noted that the NOC of Kosovo has met the requirements for recognition as outlined in the Olympic Charter. These include the sport and technical requirements as well as the definition of “country” as defined in Rule 30.1 – “an independent State recognised by the international community.” Kosovo is recognised as a country by 108 of the 193 UN Member States.

The decision was taken by the Executive Board in the interests of the athletes in Kosovo and to remove any uncertainty they may have. It will allow them to take part in qualifications for the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and in future editions of the Games.

*Table tennis, archery, judo, sailing, weightlifting, modern pentathlon
**Wrestling, boxing, curling, taekwondo, gymnastics, skiing, handball. —- IOC