FIFA suspends Kuwaiti association in dispute over sports law

Zurich: FIFA has suspended Kuwait’s football association over government interference.

World soccer’s governing body says the sanction against the Kuwait Football Association goes into effect immediately.

FIFA’s executive committee in September gave Kuwait until October 15 to make changes to the Gulf country’s sports law.

FIFA says today “the suspension will be lifted only when the KFA and its members (the clubs) are able to carry out their activities and obligations independently.”

Kuwaiti teams and clubs are banned from international competition, and the association and its members are barred from receiving any FIFA development assistance.

Kuwait is currently second behind South Korea in Group G of Asian qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. Its next scheduled qualifying match is against Myanmar on November 17.

On Monday, the IOC gave Kuwait a deadline of October 27 to resolve the sports law issue or face suspension from the Olympic body.