Iraq to qualify for Olympics

by Courtesy ISAF on 4 Feb 2004 The Constituent General Assembly of the Iraqi National Olympic Committee (NOC) will be held under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 29 January in the city of Al-Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.

An IOC delegation, composed of Toni KHOURY, IOC Executive Board member, and Pere MIRÓ, IOC Director of NOC Relations and Olympic Solidarity, will travel to Iraq to oversee the proceedings of the meeting and assist the Iraqi sports representatives in the staging of the event.

The aim of the Constituent General Assembly is to adopt the new statutes of the Iraqi NOC and to elect the members of its Executive Board.

The IOC Executive Board suspended the Iraqi NOC on 17 May 2003. The suspension was necessary to allow the NOC to restructure itself, so as to comply with the Olympic Charter. Since then, in order to ensure that athletes could take part in the Olympic Games, and to aid the restructuring of the NOC, the IOC has worked with the competent authorities in the country and sent two missions to Iraq.

As of today, a number of Iraqi athletes have been identified as the most likely to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, mainly in athletics, swimming, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling and taekwondo. The IOC will organise various training camps to allow these athletes to pursue their preparations.

The IOC delegation attending the Constituent General Assembly in Iraq will report to the Executive Board at its next meeting on 27-29 February in Athens, where the decision to lift the suspension of the Iraqi NOC might be taken, thereby allowing the Iraqi athletes to compete under their NOC’s flag in Athens.

ISAF have been informed of a body representing sailing in Iraq and look forward to welcoming the country into ISAF in the future.

IOC Website: www.olympic.org