Mediterranean Games - Participating Countries

Participating Countries

At present, 23 countries participate in the games:

• Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia

• Asia: Lebanon and Syria

• Europe: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey

National Olympic Committees within the Olympic Movement bordering the Mediterranean Sea which are not permitted to participate are Israel, Palestine and Great Britain.

Allen Guttman in The Games Must Go On argued that Israel's exclusion is both antisemitic and politically motivated due to antagonism towards Israel by the participating Arab nations. The IOC's Avery Brundage was not supportive of Israel's desire to compete, saying: "I cannot understand why anyone wants to go where he is not wanted". The International Amateur Athletics Federation pushed the issue at the 1959 Mediterranean Games in Beirut by refusing to grant permission to hold an athletics competition unless Israel were allowed to compete. Lebanese games organiser Gabriel Gemayel conceded to this, but sidestepped the ruling by holding a parallel Lebanese Games comprising athletics events between the present nations alongside the official Mediterranean Games competitions.

There are countries not bordering the Mediterranean Sea which nonetheless participate: Andorra, San Marino, Serbia and Macedonia.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee has suggested that nine more countries that do not satisfy geographic criteria to be allowed to participate, such as Bulgaria, Portugal and some Arab countries.