Kuwait Olympic Committee (, IOC code: KUW) is the

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

representing

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

and organising the Kuwait Olympic team.

2010–2012 suspension

The

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

imposed a suspension on the committee with effect from 1 January 2010 due to government legislation that permits the state to interfere in elections of sporting organisations. The government had failed to meet the IOC's 31 December 2009 deadline for amending the legislation. As a result, Kuwait was barred from receiving IOC funding and its athletes and officials were banned from Olympic Games and Olympic meetings. At the

2010 Summer Youth Olympics The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, ) officially known as the I Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Singapore 2010, were the inaugural edition of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), an Olympic Games-based event for young athletes. Held ...

, the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), were a regional multi-sport event held from November 12 to 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (although several events commenced ear ...

, and the

2011 Asian Winter Games The 2011 Asian Winter Games (; ), also known as Astana-Almaty 2011 (), were a continental winter multi-sport event held from January 30 to February 6, 2011 in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was the first time that Kazakhstan hosted such a larg ...

, Kuwaiti athletes competed as independent athletes in a team named "Athletes from Kuwait" (code: IOC) under the

Olympic Flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags, and symbols to represent and enhance the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competitions such as the flame, fanfare, and theme as well as those u ...

. On 14 July 2012 the suspension was lifted and Kuwaiti athletes were allowed to participate in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

under their own flag.

2015–2019 suspension

The Kuwait Olympic Committee was again suspended on 27 October 2015 by the IOC to protect the Olympic movement in Kuwait from undue government interference. As a result of this suspension, participation by athletes from Kuwait at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

was allowed by the IOC in a special team named " Independent Olympic Athletes" (code: IOA) under the

Olympic flag The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags, and symbols to represent and enhance the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competitions such as the flame, fanfare, and theme as well as those u ...

. As a gesture of goodwill for the progress made by Kuwait to address the problem, the IOC temporarily lifted the suspension on 16 August 2018 and Kuwaiti athletes were allowed to participate in the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games (), and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, were a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 201 ...

under their own flag. The suspension was fully lifted in July 2019.

References

External links

*
Kuwait Olympic Committee
at

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a sports governing body, governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was elected as President of the OCA on 8 July 2023. However, on 3 ...

website
Kuwait Olympic Committee
at

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

website *

Sports governing bodies in Kuwait Kuwait at the Olympics 1957 establishments in Kuwait Sports organizations established in 1957 {{Kuwait-sport-stub

2010–2012 suspension

2015–2019 suspension

See also

References

External links