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ÔOLYMPIC SOLIDARITY COVERS A HUGE RANGE OF POSSIBILITIES FOR NOCs TO STRENGTHEN THEIR ACTIVITIESÕSHEIKH AHMAD AL-FAHAD AL-SABAH, OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY COMMISSION CHAIRMANShortly after the creation of the Olympic Solidarity Commission, the increase in revenue from the television rights at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984 made it possible to take further steps forward. As the Commission continued to develop – and the broadcast revenue grew with each subsequent Games – it became possible to introduce major support programmes for the NOCs, including Olympic scholarships for athletes, which were first introduced ahead of the Olympic Games Barcelona 1992, and the continental programmes, which are designed to meet the specific needs of NOCs on each continent. The Commission’s activities are now based around quadrennial plans, ensuring each NOC receives the benefits offered by Olympic Solidarity in a fair and rational way. By the 2013-2016 quadrennial plan, the Olympic Solidarity budget had grown to USD 439,870,000 – a 40 per cent increase from the previous four-year plan – with all of the funding being distributed to NOCs through the series of programmes run by Olympic Solidarity, in close cooperation with the ANOC, the Continental Associations and the NOCs themselves.PicturedSolidarity athlete Rohullah Nikpai, who won Afghanistan’s first Olympic medal in Beijing in 2008, celebrates winning his bronze-medal taekwondo bout in London in 2012 OLYMPIC REVIEW 65OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY