Equality in Olympic ideals

THERE is a flaw in John Medcalfs attractive article (July 6). In his reflections on the World Cup, he makes the incorrect statement that the Olympic Games "are closed to countries without a healthy bank balance". Not so. The Olympic Games are open to all countries which have recognised National Olympic Committees. There are now nearly 180 of them.
Far from being closed to the poorer nations, the Olympic Games are made accessible to nations which cannot afford to send teams, through the provision of funds from the Olympic movement's Olympic Solidarity resources.
Olympic sports (football is one of them) are just as capable of "raising up the lowly" and "pulling down the mighty" as John Medcalf seems to infer that football alone is. The list of champions from all the games from 1896 to 1988 bears this out.
Liam Nolan
Dublin