The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The first Mediterranean Games were held in 1951 in Alexandria, Egypt, while the most recent games were held in 2022 in Oran, Algeria.
Sport in Albania revolves mostly around team sports, such as football, basketball, volleyball and handball. Other sports includes boxing, weightlifting, tennis, swimming, judo, karate, athletics, table tennis, badminton, rugby, cricket, and chess. Football in particular has seen a rapid transformation, with the Albania national football team making its debut at the 1964 UEFA European Football Championship. The national football team also qualified for the 2016 UEFA European Football Championship. Many Albanian athletes have also achieved significant success and have won European and Mediterranean titles in numerous sports during the years, such as wrestling, football, athletics and weightlifting. Albanian athletes have won a total 49 medals for Albania in 8 different Mediterranean sports.
The Olympic Committee of Kosovo is the National Olympic Committee representing Kosovo. Officially established in 1992, the OCK became a full member of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Movement on 9 December 2014. It is responsible for Kosovo's participation at the Olympic Games.
Kosovo made its Olympic debut as a member state in 2016. Its team is organized by the Olympic Committee of Kosovo (OCK), created in 1992 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 9 December 2014. It won its first medal in its debut appearance in 2016, when judoka Majlinda Kelmendi took gold in the women's -52 kg category. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Nora Gjakova won gold in the women's judo -57 kg class, and Distria Krasniqi won gold in the women's judo -48 kg class.
Kosovo was a part of several international sports federations in the 1990s, and has applied to become a member of many more after its 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.
Sport in Kosovo is a tradition and plays a prominent role. Popular sports in Kosovo include football, basketball, volleyball, handball, and rugby, whereas major individual sports include wrestling, judo, swimming, boxing, karate and skiing.
Majlinda Kelmendi is a Kosovan-Albanian former judoka and judo coach.
Albania competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's seventh appearance at the Olympics since its debut in 1972. The National Olympic Committee of Albania sent a total of 11 athletes to the Games, seven men and four women, to compete in four sports. Weightlifter Hysen Pulaku was officially removed from the team on the first day, after failing a drug test for the banned anabolic steroid substance, as announced by the International Olympic Committee. Albania, however, has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal.
Prishtina is the epicenter of sport in Kosovo, where activity is organized across amateur and professional levels, sport organizations and clubs, regulated by the Kosovo Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. Prishtina is known for their success in Sports such as Football, Boxing, Basketball and Futsal. They compete for five seasons in the Yugoslav First League between 1983 and 1988 in which their best finish came in their first ever season in 1983-84 finishing in 8th place. In the same season they reached the Mitropa Cup finals of 1983-84, were FC Prishtina finished Runners up to Eisenstadt from Austria. as well as reaching the semifinals in the Yugoslav Cup in 1987-88.
Palace of Youth and Sports, formerly named Boro and Ramiz, is a multi-purpose hall located in Pristina, Kosovo. It includes two indoor arenas, the larger of which had a capacity of 8,000 spectators but is currently out of use, and the smaller in-use with a capacity of 2,800 spectators. It also includes a shopping mall, indoor parking, two convention halls and a library. The building in its entirety measures over 10,000 m2 (110,000 sq ft).
The 2022 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the XIX Mediterranean Games and commonly known as Oran 2022, was an international multi-sport event held from 25 June to 6 July 2022 in Oran, Algeria. Oran was announced as the host city at the ICMG General Assembly in Pescara, Italy, on 15 August 2015. 3,298 athletes took part in the games.
Nora Gjakova is a Kosovo Albanian judoka. She received a gold medal after winning the women's 57 kg judo competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. In August 2021, she was awarded the Honor of the Nation Decoration of Albania by the President of Albania.
Albania has competed at every celebration of the Mediterranean Games since the 1987 Mediterranean Games. As of 2022, Albanian athletes have won a total of 49 medals. The country's ranking in the history of the Games is the 17th place.
Loriana Kuka is a Kosovan judoka. She won Judo Grand Prix in Tbilisi (2019), Tashkent (2018) and Antalya (2018). She represented Kosovo at the 2019 European Games in Minsk and won the bronze medal in –78 kg. She won the bronze medal in the 2019 World Championships in Tokyo
Albania (ALB) competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, represented by the Albanian National Olympic Committee (KOKSH). Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Distria Krasniqi is a Kosovar Albanian judoka. She is a two-time Olympic medallist and won the gold medal in the women's 48-kg judo event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the silver medal in the women's 52-kg judo event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Krasniqi is also a two-time World Championships bronze medallist and two-time European champion. In August 2021, she was awarded the Honor of the Nation Decoration of Albania by the President of Albania.
Kosovo (KOS) competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, represented by the Olympic Committee of Kosovo (KOK/OKK). The nation had previously participated in the Summer Olympic Games on one occasion in 2016. A total of 11 athletes, five men and six women, were selected by the national committee to compete in six sports. Initially scheduled to take place during the summer of 2020, the games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021 in relation to the pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Donjeta Sadiku is a Kosovan boxer. She competed for Kosovo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the women's lightweight event and has previously competed for the country at the 2019 European Games. Her coach is Marjola Sallauka.
The 2030 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the XXI Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Prishtina 2030, is a forthcoming international multi-sport event that is scheduled to be held from 24 July to 4 August 2030 in Pristina, Kosovo.
Kosovo competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. This was the nation's third appearance after the team's debut in 2016.
Yugoslavia (1951–1991)
Serbia and Montenegro (1997–2005)
Serbia (2009–)
