IOC suspends Ghana, finds solution for Netherlands Antilles

Jan 13, 2011, 15:22 GMT

Lausanne, Switzerland - Ghana's Olympic Committee was on Thursday suspended by the International Olympic Committee over government interference in sports affairs.

If the dispute is not resolved, athletes from Ghana will not be able to compete at the 2012 Games in London. The decision by the IOC executive board also means that Ghana receives no IOC funding.

The move came after months of negotiations failed to produce a satisfactory result for the IOC which said that the government in Ghana is appointing sports federation leaders.

The IOC demands full independence of sports bodies, just as the ruling football body FIFA which has given Ghana an ultimatum to settle the matter.

Meanwhile, the IOC executive found a solution for athletes from the Netherlands Antilles, which were dissolved in October 2010 and no longer have an Olympic Committee.

The IOC said that athletes from the Caribbean islands can compete in 2012 under the Olympic or Dutch flag.

Some of the islands are now special municipalities of the Netherlands, while Curacao and Sint Maarten are constituent countries within the Dutch kingdom.

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