European Olympic Committees (EOC) President Spyros Capralos and Secretary General Raffaele Pagnozzi visited the Albanian and Kosovan National Olympic Committees (NOC) during a four-day trip to the Balkan region.

The first leg of President Capralos and Secretary General Pagnozzi’s trip saw them meet with Albania NOC President Fidel Ylli, before they were hosted by the Minister of Education and Sport, Ms. Ogerta Manastirliu and the Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Both the EOC President and Secretary General paid tribute to the efforts the NOC Albania is doing for sports and athletes in the country with a great passion. President Capralos then gave a short speech while receiving and award at the Star of Sport Gala Dinner on 16 December, congratulating the NOC on the impressive Schools Sports Teams project that includes so far more than 10 000 pupils and 700 teams from 61 municipalities across Albania.

President Capralos and Secretary General Pagnozzi were then joined by President Ylli for their visit to Kosovo. They met with Kosovan INOC President Ismet Krasniqi at the NOC’s headquarters to discuss the country’s continued support of the EOC having sent 38 athletes to the European Games and having representation at both European Youth Olympic Festivals in 2023.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Minister of Youth Culture and Sport Hajrulla Çeku then welcomed the EOC delegation for meetings on 18 December ahead of their departures.

This was a fantastic opportunity to hear about the great work being done by Kosovan sport movement over the past 3 years and their organisational efforts to raise private money for sports. Capralos praised what the NOC President and the Secretary General have achieved as well as the support of the government, which has allocated a specific budget for sport and approved a special law.

President Capralos said: “Secretary General Pagnozzi and I enjoyed an interesting and insightful trip to both Albania and Kosovo. We met with sports leaders and politicians to discuss their continued support of and involvement with the European Olympic Family.

“The Kosovan and Albanian NOCs are great supporters of our events, having both sent large delegations of athletes to the European Games and attending the two European Youth Olympic Festivals we held this year.

“President Krasniqi has enjoyed a long and distinguished career leading the Kosovan NOC and I know he will continue to make a positive impact on sport in the country, while Present Ylli has already proven a true supporter of the EOC during his two years as President.

“We look forward to working closely with them over the coming years, and maybe hosting EOC events in their countries.”