Kosovo delegation meets with NOA of Croatia

September 2021 marked the foundation of the Kosovo Olympic Academy under the guidance of the Kosovo Olympic Committee (KOC). A delegation from the Kosovo Olympic Committee subsequently visited the Croatian Olympic Academy (HOA) in mid-October of this year.

The three-member delegation, formed by KOC General Secretary Besim Aliti, and the coordinators of the Kosovo Olympic Academy, Fitim Arifi and Diellza Kelmendi, was welcomed by the President of the Croatian Olympic Committee (COC) Zlatko Matesa, its General Secretary Sinisa Krajac and the Director of the Croatian Olympic Academy and EOA Board Member Sasa Ceraj.

The purpose of the visit to Zagreb by the Kosovo delegation was to develop the cooperation between the two Olympic Academies, specifically by gaining relevant knowledge and experience from the Croatian Olympic Academy.

During a one-day workshop, HOA presented its functional model and shared in-depth knowledge about the model’s application with the Kosovar colleagues. The plan is for the Kosovo Olympic Academy to be developed according to the Croatian model.

KOC General Secretary Aliti, on behalf of President Krasniqi, thanked COC President Matesa for the hospitality and the fruitful dialogue between the two Olympic Committees and indicated the intention to formalise this cooperation by planning to sign a Memorandum of Cooperation next time the two organisations meet.

COC President Matesa expressed his willingness and that of the Croatian Olympic Committee to work closely with their Kosovar colleagues.

The President of the European Olympic Academies, Manfred Laemmer, sees this exchange as a key progression which will strengthen the dissemination of Olympic values within sport in Kosovo.

The NOA of Kosovo will now continue its collaboration with the Croatian Olympic Academy on an operational level in order to foster the development of sports coach education and enhance its dissemination of Olympic values. The NOA of Kosovo and the HOA will meet again in the coming months.

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