Algiers, March 31, 2020 – 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.
