The third edition of the Games had been set to begin on January 9 and conclude on January 19, but this has been pushed back by a further four months.

The decision was taken at an Executive Committee meeting of the National Olympic Committees of the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, held in Bahrain’s capital Manama.

The well-being of athletes, officials and others involved at the Games was among the factors cited at the meeting, as reported by The Daily Tribune.

Having remained in double figures since early September, the daily number of new COVID-19 infections has been rising in Kuwait in recent weeks, with 609 new cases reported yesterday.

The spread of the more transmissible Omicron variant has led to a rise in infections and a tightening of restrictions in several countries and disrupted the sporting calendar, with last month's Winter Universiade in Lucerne cancelled after Switzerland introduced quarantine measures for international arrivals from a number of nations.

Kuwait is set to be joined by the five other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council in competing at the Games - Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Twelve sports are on the programme.

The inaugural edition of the Gulf Games was held in Manama in 2011, with the event intended to be staged every four years.

However, it has not taken place since 2015, when Dammam in Saudi Arabia hosted.

Kuwait's edition of the Gulf Games was originally scheduled for April 2020, but attempts to hold the event have been hampered by the pandemic.