Kuwait City – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive bureau has temporarily lifted the ban on the Kuwaiti sports, pending “completion of the roadmap that has been agreed upon by the two parties.”
Kuwaiti Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Mohammad Al-Jabri yesterday announced the decision which followed “fruitful meetings” with the IOC officials.
“The roadmap that has been agreed upon aimed at securing stability for sports in Kuwait”, said the minister, stressing full coordination with the IOC towards lifting the ban permanently.
Lifting of the ban should allow Kuwaiti athletes will be able to take part in the 18th Asian Games, which open in Jakarta, Indonesia tomorrow, under their own flag and anthem.
The Kuwait National Olympic Committee had been suspended since October 27, 2015 due to what the IOC described as ‘government interference’, with the country’s sports laws not being compliant to the Olympic Charter.
Kuwaiti athletes were forced to participate and under the IOC flag at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where shooter Fhaid Al-Daihani won a gold medal as an Independent Olympic Athlete in the double trap.
The IOC said that its executive board will review in its next meeting in early October the situation of the Kuwait National Olympic Committee and the progress of implementing the agreements, after which it will consider maintaining the lifting of the ban.