The president of the Kuwait Olympic Committee, Sheikh Fahad, has met with several clubs whose declarations were revoked last December by the former Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Mohammad Al-Aiban, and the country's General Sports Authority, urging them to contact him before taking any action if they receive official letters from their international federations. The meeting was prompted by the clubs' appeal, which was held at Dr Falah Al-Mahwaish's diwaniya last Saturday. Discussions during the meeting focused on the events of December 2023, particularly the possible repercussions from international federations due to the absence of Kuwaiti players in foreign competitions for almost a year.

Late last year, the former minister's decision led to the cancellation of the declarations of several sports organisations affiliated with the General Assembly of the Kuwait Olympic Committee, citing violations of Law No. 87 of 2017. In response, the Kuwait Olympic Committee issued a statement expressing deep regret and sadness over the consequences of the ministerial decision. It considered the decision to be a clear abuse of sports bodies and an injustice to a significant number of athletes. It also expressed its concern that such actions could lead to the paralysis of the Olympic and sports movement and deprive young athletes of their fundamental rights to participate in sports and represent Kuwait.

With regard to this particular situation, the federations have informally inquired about the matter and any resulting sanctions could lead to the suspension of sporting activities. If official letters are sent from Kuwait, indicating government interference by cancelling the declarations of 43 specialised clubs, these letters could be escalated to the International Olympic Committee, resulting in sanctions for violation of the Olympic Charter, which could lead to significant penalties, as Kuwait has experienced over the past decade.

Sanctions could include the suspension of the Olympic Committee or the inability to participate in Olympic Games and/or Olympic disciplines under its flag and national anthem could be imposed, as has recently happened to Guatemala. As a result, the external consequences could be even more serious than the internal ones, ranging from loss of international reputation to important positions in international, continental, and Arab federations, as well as the aforementioned suspension.

The participants expressed their gratitude to Sheikh Fahad for promptly accepting the invitation to meet with the clubs and stressed their commitment to overcoming obstacles and resolving the crisis quickly, avoiding any possible intervention by international federations. 

Looking to the future, there is optimism about the understanding of the Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Dawood Marafi, and his desire to expedite a solution by reinstating the advertisements of the affected clubs. 

In line with the Kuwait Olympic Committee's commitment to abide by the Olympic Charter, the rules of international federations and the law, it had previously stated that it would continue to recognise the members of its General Assembly from existing sports federations, specialised clubs, and their respective boards and would seek solutions. 

Sheikh Fahad thanked the clubs for their patriotism and patience so far. He praised them for refraining from approaching international federations and urged the clubs to contact the Kuwait Olympic Committee before taking any action if they receive official letters from their international federations.