Kuwait Ruler Accepts Minister's Resignation over Sports

Kuwait's emir on Tuesday issued a decree accepting the resignation of the information and youth minister who quit before facing a confidence vote over an international sports ban.

Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah appointed the state minister for cabinet affairs as the new information minister and handed the youth portfolio to the commerce minister, state-run KUNA news agency said.

Sheikh Salman Humoud Al-Sabah stepped down Monday after around 30 deputies of the 50-seat parliament announced their support for the no-confidence motion filed after opposition MPs grilled the minister last week.

Opposition lawmakers, who hold almost half the seats in parliament, accused Sheikh Salman of failure to lift a 15-month international ban on Kuwaiti sports and charged him of alleged administrative and financial violations.

Opposition lawmakers blamed the minister for causing the ban imposed on the Gulf state by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the world football body FIFA and several sports federations.

Sheikh Salman, a member of the ruling family, categorically denied the charges, and accused Kuwaitis with senior positions in international sport organisations of orchestrating the suspension.

FIFA and IOC imposed the suspension in October 2015, for the second time since 2010, over alleged government meddling in sports.

This week's confidence vote needed the support of just 25 MPs to pass. Under Kuwaiti law, approving the no-confidence motion means automatic dismissal.

The IOC has demanded that Kuwait amend its sports laws and immediately reinstate the Kuwaiti Olympic Committee, which was dissolved in August, along with several sports federations.

It has also urged the emirate to withdraw all cases it has filed in Swiss courts against international sports bodies challenging the suspension's legality.

As a result of the suspension, Kuwait was barred in early January from taking part in qualifiers for the 2019 Asian Cup.

The wealthy emirate has already missed out on the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

Analysts say the crisis was partly caused by a political struggle involving senior ruling family members and politicians.