The ban for the Kuwait Basketball Association (KBA) comes just days after the Kuwait Olympic Committee (KOC) was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for a second time to protect the country from "undue Government interference".

A deadline set by the IOC to amend a new law in the Gulf country expired on Tuesday (October 27) and the issue has not been resolved.

The law threatens the autonomy of the KOC and all other National Federations, it is claimed, while also meaning the country would no longer comply with the Court of Arbitration for Sport or the World Anti-Doping Agency.

FIBA’s Executive Committee has taken the decision to suspend the KBA "until the matter is resolved and the sports legislation has been amended accordingly so as to allow the National Federation and its member clubs to function independently and in accordance with the General Statutes of FIBA".

As a consequence of the KBA’s suspension, Kuwaiti teams and officials may no longer participate in official FIBA competitions or activities.

"FIBA - together with the IOC and a number of other International Federations - consider that the sport legislation enacted by the Government of Kuwait seriously infringes the autonomy of the Olympic and the sport movement in Kuwait and thus directly interferes in the affairs of one of FIBA's 215 member National Federations," read a FIBA statement.

The KBA is said to have indicated its support for FIBA and the KOC’s efforts to protect the autonomy of the sport movement in Kuwait.

The Kuwait national team and accompanying officials currently taking part in the 2015 FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship in Jakarta are not affected by the suspension.

The team, however, will not be able to qualify for the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship as long as the suspension is in place.

Football's world governing body FIFA suspended the Kuwait Football Association for the same reasons last month.

The KOC had been previously suspended in 2010, again for Government interference.

It has also been confirmed that this year's Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait, scheduled to take place from today until November 12, has been stripped of its Olympic qualification status.

Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, Kuwait's Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs, has claimed the IOC suspension is "totally unacceptable".


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