Iraq at the 2012 Summer Olympics Iraq at the 2012 Summer Olympics The Middle Eastern nation of Iraq competed at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's thirteenth appearance at the Olympics since its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics in the same host city. Before the Olympic Games started, FIFA banned Iraq from hosting qualifiers in the World Cup and even in the Olympics for security concerns, and for having a player with two cards participated in a match against United Arab Emirates. Iraq also competed for the first time in Olympics without receiving
Summer Olympic Games federal government; the country's economic crisis; health and safety concerns surrounding the Zika virus and significant pollution in the Guanabara Bay; and a state-sponsored doping scandal involving Russia, which affected the participation of its athletes in the Games. Tokyo, Japan will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, making it the first Asian city to host the Olympic Games twice. Forty-two sports, spanning 55 disciplines, have been part of the Olympic program at one point or another. Twenty-eight sports have comprised the schedule for three of the recent games, 2000, 2004, and 2008 Summer Olympics. Due to the removal of baseball and