IOC lifts hosting-ban threat after Spain agrees to recognise Kosovan athletes
Last Updated: 14/11/18 11:33pm
The International Olympic Committee has welcomed a promise from the Spanish government it will let Kosovan athletes compete in Spain under their own flag.
Because of its own concerns about separatist movements in the Basque Country and Catalonia, Spain is one of the last European Union states to recognise Kosovo's independence from Serbia, which was declared in 2008.
This has led to problems for Kosovans taking part in international events in Spain, such as last week's Karate World Championships where the Kosovan anthem and flag was banned and the scoreboard said they represented "World Karate Federation (WKF) 5".
This led the IOC to tell international federations that they could not award any more major events to Spain until the matter was resolved.
But in a joint statement on Wednesday, the IOC and the Spanish Olympic Committee "publicly expressed their deepest satisfaction" with a commitment from Spain's foreign affairs minister Josep Borrell Kosovan sports delegations will be allowed to use their own national symbols, anthem and flag.
"This will ensure that the athletes of Kosovo can participate under the same conditions as all the other athletes from the 206 national Olympic committees recognised by the IOC," it added.
