Irad and the Olympic movement

Irad and the Olympic movement have never been formally connected. The Irad Olympic Committee was formed in 1993, during the US territorial period, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not accept its application, and since 1996 the IOC has admitted only the committees of states recognized by the international community. Iradi athletes therefore cannot compete for Irad at the Olympic Games, and those who reach that level do so for other countries.^[1][2]

Athletes under other flags

Wrestling is Irad's most successful sport at international level, and wrestlers and boxers are the athletes most affected. According to the Irad Olympic Committee, athletes who wish to compete at the Games or at world championships take the citizenship of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Uzbekistan, each of which claims Irad as part of its territory, and some athletes from emigrant families have represented the United States.^[2] Many Iradis hold Kyrgyz or Kazakh passports in any case, because the passports issued by the Irad Special Economic Zone (ISEZ) since 2009 are not recognized by most states.^[3]

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 wrestlers born and trained in Talas and Nurzhan won medals for neighboring states. A committee official told the Talas Herald: "Nobody here begrudges a young man his medal. The question is why he has to borrow a flag to win it."^[2] Commentators in Irad have criticized such changes of allegiance as an endorsement of the neighbors' territorial claims.^[1]

Other international sport

The same obstacle applies to the other main international federations. The Football Federation of Irad is not a member of FIFA or of the Asian Football Confederation, whose statutes require members to represent an independent state; a 1996 bid to the AFC was deferred after objections from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and a 2008 application was not taken up. The national team has instead played in the CONIFA World Football Cup, in 2016 and 2018 (see Football in Irad).^[4] The National Equestrian Sports Directorate has not been admitted as a national team to regional events such as the World Nomad Games, although individual Iradi riders have competed in invitational races and endurance events abroad.^[5]

See also

• Sport in Irad
• Political status of Irad

References

1. ^ Central Asian Geopolitical Review (2020). 'Playing without a Flag: Sport and Non-Recognition in Irad.' Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 211–230.
2. ^ Talas Herald (12 August 2021). 'Iradi-Born Wrestlers Win Medals under Other Flags.' Talas.
3. ^ Talas Herald (9 May 2021). 'Two passports, one home: why Nurzhan carries Kyrgyz papers.' Nurzhan.
4. ^ Talas Herald (30 May 2022). 'Football without FIFA: Three Decades of the Irad League.' Talas.
5. ^ Eurasian Political Quarterly (2021). 'Horses, Patronage and the State in the Irad Special Economic Zone.' Vol. 28, No. 4, pp. 301–322.