KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait on Thursday dissolved the country’s Olympic committee and football association, citing financial irregularities.

Hamoud Fulaiteh, deputy director general of the Kuwaiti Public Authority for Youth and Sport, said the decision was made in a meeting on Thursday and two interim administrations had been appointed, state news agency KUNA reported.

Fulaiteh said the two new commissions would be empowered to deal with all the alleged illegal actvities committed by the dismissed boards.

They had refused to co-operate in addressing the irregularities, according to KUNA.

The country’s General Commission for Sports announced it had named a new head and deputy head for both organisations.

Sheikh Fahd Jaber al-Ali has been named as the new head of the Olympic committee, replacing Sheikh Talal Fahad al-Sabah. Fawaz al-Hassawi has been chosen to lead the football association.

The International Olympic Committee suspended Kuwait in October 2015, accusing the government of interference in its national Olympic Committee, prompting a $1 billion lawsuit for damages in Swiss courts by the Gulf Arab state in June.

The decision forced Kuwaiti athletes in this month’s Oympic Games in Rio de Janeiro to compete under the Olympic flag.

In June, Kuwait’s parliament agreed sweeping amendments that gave the government the right to dissolve the Olympic committee and local federations.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2016