Before the Olympic Games started, FIFA banned Iraq from hosting qualifiers in the World Cup and in the Olympics for security concerns, and for having a player with two cards participating in a match against United Arab Emirates.[1]
Iraq also competed for the first time in Olympics without receiving any sanctions, bans or suspensions, from the International Olympic Committee. The National Olympic Committee of Iraq sent a total of 8 athletes to the Games, 5 men and 3 women, to compete in 7 different sports. Most of them were awarded places in their respective sporting events under wild card entries and Tripartite Commission invitation. Wild card competitor Rand Al-Mashhadani became Iraq's first Olympic archer, after having reached the entry deadline for her event. Sprinter Dana Hussain, who had previously competed in Beijing, set the nation's historic record as the first Iraqi female flag bearer at the opening ceremony. Iraq, however, failed to win an Olympic medal since the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, where Abdul Wahid Aziz won the bronze for weightlifting.
