February 7 – Kuwait could be about to take a significant step towards ending its damaging exile from international football with the news that information and youth minister Sheikh Salman Humoud Al-Sabah has resigned, two days before he was scheduled to face a no confidence vote.
The move comes after around 30 lawmakers backed the no-confidence motion in the Sheikh, the minister at the centre of Kuwait’s sports law that has resulted in the Gulf state being banned by both the Olympic movement and FIFA over alleged government interference in sport.
Sheikh Salman, a member of the ruling family, has categorically denied the accusations but a government source confirmed to AFP that Salman had stepped down.
The confidence vote would have needed the support of 25 MPs to pass. Under Kuwaiti law, approving the motion means automatic dismissal.
The International Olympic Committee suspended Kuwait in October 2015, accusing the government of interference in its national Olympic Committee. FIFA followed suit over alleged government interference in the running of the Kuwaiti FA. As well as the World Cup, Kuwait has also been barred January from taking part in qualifiers for the 2019 Asian Cup.
Sheikh Salman said in June that Kuwait would sue the IOC in Swiss courts for $1 billion in damages over the Olympic suspension, calling it an “unjustifiable decision.”
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