The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee today (22.10.2014), granted provisional recognition to the Kosovo Olympic Committee.
In the IOCs announcement was stated:
The executive Board of the International Olympic Committee today granted provisional recognition to the Kosovo Olympic Committee and proposed that he 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 (Table Tennis, archery, judo, sailing, weightlifting, modern pentathlon) are full members of their respective International Federations (IFs), while the other seven (wrestling, boxing, curling, taekwondo, gymnastics, skiing, handball) are provisional or associate members of their respective IFs.
The Executive Board 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 recognized by the international community.” Kosovo is recognized 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.
KBF congratulates the leaders of KOC, Minister of Sports Mr. Memli Krasniqi and all the athletes for this great achievement.
KBF is convinced that this acceptance will open the door for all other sport federations who seek internationalization and will mark the beginning of a new era in the sport of Kosovo.