The 2021 Mediterranean Games have been postponed a year
until 2022 as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Algeria’s
sports minister Sid Ali Khaldi said Tuesday.
The Games were scheduled for
Algeria’s second city, Oran, from June 25-July 5 next year and the postponement
comes after organisers postponed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics until 2021.
“The government of Algeria and
International Committee of the Mediterranean (CIJM) Games have taken a joint
decision to put off the Games by one year,” the minister was quoted as saying
by Algeria’s official news agency APS.
The multi-sport event held
every four years brings together athletes from 26 nations from the
Mediterranean region.
The decision follows last week’s
announcement that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be held in 2021 in a move that
triggered a rescheduling of other major sports events.
“The postponement of the Oran
Mediterranean Games is essentially out of common concern to rearrange the
timing with regard to the Olympic calendar…” as well as other concerns, the
minister added.
Algeria has seen 584 COVID-19
cases to date including 35 deaths.