Olympic Games of African countries threatened the IOC with a boycott to force them to ban South Africa and Rhodesia, because of their segregationist regimes. New Zealand was also one of the African boycott targets, because its national rugby union team had toured apartheid-ruled South Africa. The IOC conceded in the first two cases, but refused to ban New Zealand on the grounds that rugby was not an Olympic sport. Fulfilling their threat, twenty African countries were joined by Guyana and Iraq in a withdrawal from the Montreal Games, after a few of their athletes had already competed. Taiwan was excluded from
South African Games Black games from 24 April to 10 May. The 1969 South African Open Games were held in Bloemfontein, beginning on 15 March. That month U Thant, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, called on all members to break all sporting links with South Africa. Invitations were extended to white athletes from mostly-white countries. The games were organised by the South African National Olympic Committee (SANOC), which used the Olympic rings in its publicity material, without the approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This violation of the Olympic Charter was added to multiple counts of sporting segregation, for which the