الحرب السوفيتية في أفغانستان
Prior to competing in these Olympic Games, Djibouti had never participated in the Olympics. Djibouti gained independence from France in 1977, making 1980 the first Summer Olympics the country would be eligible for. Djibouti was one of 65 countries that boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics in protest of the Soviet war in Afghanistan.