Denmark urges IOC to recognise Greenland and Faroe Islands as Olympic teams

Copenhagen, June 30: Denmark asked the IOC to recognize its territories Greenland and the Faroe Islands as independent Olympic teams, the national parliament said Tuesday.
The parliament published a letter urging the International Olympic Committee to recognize the semi-autonomous territories as “independent National Olympic Committees and to participate in the Olympic Games under their own flags.”
The revival of a longstanding Olympic proposal previously made 20 years ago comes weeks after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen formed a new coalition government. She has pledged support for Greenland against US President Donald Trump’s wish to acquire the island.
The IOC recognises 206 national Olympic bodies and is unlikely to support Denmark’s request. The Olympic body’s policy since 1996 has been to recognise only independent states, such as Kosovo in 2014 and South Sudan the next year. (AP)