The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 spurred US President Jimmy Carter to issue an ultimatum on January 20, 1980: If Soviet troops did not withdraw from Afghanistan within one month, the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics in summer 1980. After its April 24 meeting, the head of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Robert Kane told the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the USOC would be willing to send a team to Moscow if there were a "spectacular change in the international situation". On January 26, 1980, Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark announced that like the US, Canada would boycott the Olympics if the Soviets didn't leave Afghanistan by February 20, 1980.

Lord Killanin, then president of the IOC, arranged to meet and discuss the boycott with Jimmy Carter and Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, before the 24 May deadline in an attempt to save the Games. Lord Killanin insisted that the Games should continue as scheduled.

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