National Olympic Committee: Difference between revisions

As of 2020, there are 206 National Olympic Committees.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Olympic Committees |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/national-olympic-committees |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref> These include each of the 193 [[member states of the United Nations]], one [[United Nations General Assembly observers#Non-member observers|UN observer state]] ([[Palestine Olympic Committee|Palestine]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palestine |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/palestine |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref>) and two [[list of states with limited recognition|states with limited recognition]] ([[Olympic Committee of Kosovo|Kosovo]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kosovo |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/kosovo |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref> and [[Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee|Taiwan]]{{NoteTag|Designated as ''[[Chinese Taipei]]'' by the IOC.}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chinese Taipei |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/chinese-taipei |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref>).

There are also ten [[dependent territory|dependent territories]] with recognized NOCs: four [[territories of the United States]] ([[American Samoa National Olympic Committee|American Samoa]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=American Samoa |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/american-samoa |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref> [[Guam National Olympic Committee|Guam]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guam |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/guam}}</ref> [[Comité Olímpico de Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Puerto Rico |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/puerto-rico |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref> and the [[Virgin Islands Olympic Committee|United States Virgin Islands]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Virgin Islands, US |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/virgin-islands-us |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref>), three [[British Overseas Territories]] ([[Bermuda Olympic Association|Bermuda]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bermuda |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/bermuda |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref> the [[British Virgin Islands Olympic Committee|British Virgin Islands]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Virgin Islands, British |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/virgin-islands-british |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref> and the [[Cayman Islands Olympic Committee|Cayman Islands]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cayman Islands |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/cayman-islands |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref>), one [[Kingdom of the Netherlands#Constituent countries|constituent country]] of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]] ([[Aruban Olympic Committee|Aruba]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aruba |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/aruba |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref>), one [[associated state]] of [[New Zealand]] (the [[Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee|Cook Islands]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cook Islands |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/cook-islands |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref>) and one [[special administrative regions of China|special administrative region]] of [[China]] ([[Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China|Hong Kong]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hong Kong, China |url=https://olympics.com/ioc/hong-kong-china |website=International Olympic Committee}}</ref>).

The only state which thus qualifies to participate in the future is the [[Vatican City]], a UN observer state. [[Niue]], another associated state of New Zealand, could also be eligible for participation in the future as it conducts its own foreign relations and participates in several UN specialized agencies like other sovereign states. Currently, [[list of states with limited recognition|all other remaining states]] are ineligible to join the IOC as they are not recognised by a majority of the United Nations member countries.<ref name=IOC-09Dec2014a>{{cite web |url=http://www.olympic.org/news/127th-ioc-session-comes-to-close-in-monaco/242155|title=127th IOC Session comes to close in Monaco|publisher=International Olympic Committee|date=9 December 2014|access-date=6 August 2016|quote=The NOC of Kosovo met the requirements for recognition as outlined in the Olympic Charter. These include the sport and technical requirements as well as the definition of "country" as defined in Rule 30.1 – "an independent State recognised by the international community". Kosovo is recognised as a country by 108 of the 193 UN Member States.}}</ref> Constituent countries and dependent territories such as [[Curaçao]], the [[Faroe Islands]], [[Gibraltar]], [[Greenland]], [[Macau]], [[New Caledonia]] and [[Tahiti]] can also no longer be recognised, so athletes from these territories can only participate in the Olympics as part of their parent nation's national team. This rule also applies to territories experiencing a change in status – the [[Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee]] was dissolved at the 123rd IOC session in July 2011 as the [[dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles|Netherlands Antilles ceased to exist]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/media?articleid=112731&articlenewsgroup=-1|date=13 January 2011|access-date=13 January 2011|title=Executive Board concludes first meeting of the new year|publisher=olympic.org ("Official website of the Olympic movement")}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/mr-jose-perurena?articleid=133159|title=Curtain comes down on 123rd IOC Session|publisher=Olympic.org}}</ref>

|{{Flagicon|NMI}} Northern Mariana Islands, {{Flagicon|Sint Maarten}} Sint Maarten, {{Flagicon|Saint-Martin}} Saint-Martin, {{Flagicon|Guadeloupe}}Guadeloupe, {{fb|MTQ}}, {{Flagicon|French Guiana}}French Guiana, {{Flagicon|Bonaire}}Bonaire, {{Flagicon|Reunion}}Reunion (not allow to enter [[Africa Cup of Nations]], {{Flagicon|Zanzibar}} Zanzibar (not allow to send national team on continental level because [[Confederation of African Football]] rules forbid one sovereign to have 2 national team<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40682462 | title=Zanzibar loses membership in Caf U-turn | work=BBC Sport }}</ref> but can participate in club competition without restriction. However, Zanzibar can participate in [[CECAFA]] , football governing body of East Africa at any level<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cecafaonline.com/senior-challenge-cup | title=Senior Challenge Cup - CECAFA FOOTBALL }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cafonline.com/development/women-football/news/ethiopia-score-five-against-zanzibar-in-cecafa-senior-women-s-championship | title=Ethiopia score five against Zanzibar in CECAFA Senior Women's Championship }}</ref>)