Med Games Body Revotes on Kosovo

(ATR) Kosovo's membership of the International Committee of the Mediterranean Games is safe.

A vote took place Friday afternoon after the conclusion of the 2015 ANOC General Assembly in Washington D.C.ANOC president Sheikh Ahmad,ICMG president Amar Addadi, and ICMGsecretary general Isidoros Kouvelos were all in attendance at Friday's extraordinary general assembly.

"We are very happy to have cleared up this awkward situation," Addadi said.

"We must show that the Olympic family is united."

Last month, the IOC warned the ICMG that it could cut ties after its August general assembly in Pescara on voted 38 to 32 to block the small Balkan nation from joining its other 23 member countries.

"I cried after the vote came down [last month]," Kosovo NOC presidentBesim Hasani said in addressing the assembly after the vote.

The IOC and European Olympic Committees were furious at the decision. It came only eight months after Kosovo was officially recognized by the IOC, and a few months after the EOC welcomed the nation as a new member.

In an IOC letter sent to ICMG leaders last month – seen byATR– the Olympic body expressed "great disappointment" at the Pescara vote. The Kosovo NOC had already sent a delegation of athletes to compete at the Baku European Games; it’s now busy preparing athletes for its first Olympics in Rio next year.

The IOC questioned the motivation of the ICMG members to block Kosovo, saying most international federations had affiliated their respective national federations in Kosovo or were in the process of doing so.

Hasani went on to say that he was beyond happy with the results of the vote and that he looks forward to working "closely with fellow member-countries of the ICMG."

Looking forward, Addadi added that it is time to put politics aside and "put the athletes' interests first."

Written byNicole Bennett

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