Olympic aid for Iraqi athletes

A delegation of American and international Olympic officials will meet in Kuwait today and tomorrow to discuss plans for rebuilding Iraq's Olympic programme after the war and years of neglect. Iraq's Olympic committee had been run by Saddam Hussein's elder son, Uday, who was accused of torturing, jailing and even killing athletes who did not perform well. An International Olympic Committee ethics investigation has found the allegations credible.

The abuse all but devastated Iraq's Olympic programme, leaving the country with just four athletes at the 2000 Sydney Games after 46 had competed in Moscow in 1980.

The group will discuss plans for providing training opportunities for Iraqi athletes, rebuilding the country's sports infrastructure - particularly at youth level - and creating exchanges of athletes and coaches. American officials have discussed plans to bring Iraqi athletes to train at their training centres.